Aloha Friday Message – December 13, 2019 – The Power of Patience

December 13, 2019

1950AFC121319 – The Power of Patience

Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

   James 5:7 – 7 Be patient,* therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.

*Μακροθυμήσατε (Makrothymēsate) from μακροθυμέω (makrothumeó) {mak-roth-oo-meh’-o} to persevere, to be patient – I am longsuffering, I have patience, I am forbearing, I have perseverance. James uses this word in a way that is unusual when coupled with the image of a farmer waiting for crops to come in. He directs the Church to wait as God waits – with divine longsuffering. In the six verses before today’s Key Verse, James is describing how the rich have abused the poor, thinking they could set aside the wages owed to their workers thereby enriching themselves even more through fraud. James urges his flock to be patient in these trials because “the coming of the Lord is near.”

Psalm 37:7 – 7 Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.

“Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is ‘timing.’ It waits on the right time to act, for the right principles, and in the right way.” ― Fulton J. Sheen

In today’s world, feelings are more important than truth. The World takes delight in shaming and persecuting us; nonetheless, we can – and must – endure in firmly declared and patient Truth. DO we want to be liked more than we want to be truthful? How easily we have forgotten that nothing, nothing in this World is worth dying for? Only that which is beyond the muck and smut of the World is worth dying for because only those things are worth living for if we are being truthful.

All of us know we will die in this life on Earth. All of us know we will live an Everlasting Life beyond our life on Earth. NONE of us know with absolute certainty what the condition and surrounding of that Everlasting Life will be. All of us know we will get to that point of transition eventually. Many of us want to “die young and put it off as long as possible.” Some of us are ready to leave at less than a moment’s notice. Between this present moment and that coming moment, what shall we do? What can we do? What may we do? What must we do?

The answer comes in one of those very-familiar four-letter words: WAIT. It is true that some of us do things that will, in effect, “hurry-up” that Big Change of Address – usually it involves excessive use or consumption of Worldly possessions, perhaps even to the point of abuse. The list of “Worldly Good Things” that can kill you seems interminable and has grown longer (and more ludicrous) every day. Many times we think we can substitute those things for God. We make gods of celebrities, material things, feelings, beliefs (whether right or wrong), luck or fate or “destiny,” and even things which don’t exist like Leprechauns and unicorns. We try to find something for which we can live, for which we can do something that will give value to our lives. Among the many things we do not do is WAIT. Waiting seems to be cowardly, or stupid, or simply unproductive. There is an old adage which seems to motivate many of us: “Don’t just stand there! DO SOMETHING!” What if I told you that – since that is what the World expects – it is backwards? In more moments that we’d like to admit, the truth is we should be saying “Don’t just do something! STAND THERE!” That seems counterintuitive in “this day and age.” And that is exactly why this chiasm (or chiasmus ← definition) actually makes sense. We must be patient. We must wait. We must not run headlong into death in ignorance. We should make our waiting worth something. We should wait actively. Wait? What does that mean – wait actively? How can patience be active? To understand that let’s look at some additional Scriptures about waiting and patience.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 – 8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.

Job 6:11 – 11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?” New International Version (NIV)

That last quote from Job carries an important clue about waiting. We wait because we have HOPE. If you think about it, there’s no point in waiting unless we are waiting for a purpose – a someone or something – that we can reasonably expect to be given. And if we are waiting for a purpose then we are not just passively letting life roll by. That’s like being a living speed-bump – you just lay down and let everything run slowly over you! No, Belovéd, we wait with active readiness – “CONSTANT VIGILANCE.” That way, no matter what comes our way – for good or ill – we are prepared to deal with it, and our preparation usually includes a surplus (that surplus is the direct evidence of God’s generosity). We are patient, then, because we have HOPE. Where or what is the source of that HOPE? Well, dearhearts, I know you know the answer to that! Behold! “I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.” (See Psalm 119:11)

So what Word have I hidden in my heart that defines hope for me?

Jeremiah 17:7-8 – 7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.

Psalm 39:7 – 7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.

1 Timothy 1:1-2 –  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5: 3-5 – 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Romans 8:38-39 – 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For me, that is hope. When I look around the world and see loved-ones suffering; innocents being murdered, persecuted, tormented, and terrorized; natural disasters overwhelming the great and the small alike; the oceans, the lands, and the very sky above us polluted and dying; then I turn my eyes toward Jesus, and I see HOPE.

I can’t think of anyone or anything better to wait for than God! My HOPE is to spend my eternity with, in, and for him as intimately as possible. The most intimate parts of our lives center on Love: God, family, friends, country, the Eucharist. We are vigilant because we want what we have and it is – or should be – enough. If we grow impatient and let our vigilance lapse, we may miss out and be caught unprepared – like the people in Noah’s time, we might miss the boat. Instead, as the wise virgins who trimmed their lamps and brought extra oil, if we are patiently, selflessly, continuously well-prepared; if that for which we have prepared does not come, we have a surplus. We run into a problem when  we start to believe that we don’t deserve God’s Good Gifts and therefore he will withhold them from us. LIES, and all lies are not of God. The World tells us plenty of lies when it comes to patience and waiting. Some of those lies sound pretty convincing – they are the “PC version” of Scripture. I confess, I use them, too; but as I become more aware of what they actually do to my patience, I am discerning better choices. Instead of actively waiting in hope, we say “I’m just going to let God tell me what to do.” That way, if things “go sideways,” it’s God’s fault, not ours. Or maybe we just sit there on the fence rail and figure we’re safe if we don’t commit to one or the other course of action. That isn’t active waiting; that’s hiding in plain sight. If we’re not moving, growing, producing, then we are useless. “But hang on there, Chick! Didn’t you just say ‘Don’t just do something! STAND THERE!’?” Yes, I did, but I did not immediately say what we should be doing as we stand. Standing is a form of waiting, or readiness for action. Sitting on my butt and moaning about the World is not waiting. It is self-indulgent pessimism, and I want no part of that. There are better ways.

There are some simple things each of us can do starting today that will help us sharpen our skills in discernment. We can begin with acknowledging that God does not and will not withhold from us what he set aside for us at the moment of creation. He has created each and all of us to be like him, but with special emphases on what he plants within us. If we sit around waiting for a telegram from God to tell us exactly what to do, that isn’t waiting and that isn’t patience. Rather, we should thank God for giving us body, mind, and spirit that we can offer up for him to use. Then, share our Gifts to the World – don’t sell them, don’t count them, don’t be prideful in them – just share them as liberally as we received them. THAT is active waiting. Note, though, that we are called upon to be discerning. We’ve mentioned 3-D discernment before (← Check it out!).

3-D Discernment is  Discernment that is Direct, Deliberative, and Descriptive. Direct in the sense that it is confrontational as when Jesus spoke directly to the demon that was oppressing someone. Deliberative in that it weighs the evidence of Good Fruits versus Corrupt Fruit. Descriptive in that it lays out in no uncertain terms where the errors are and defines them so that only a demon or a fool would walk into those traps again. I encourage you to reread 1839AFC091418 – Discernment and Discrimination. There is yet another part of waiting we usually forget in our selfishness. Someone is waiting for us.

Isaiah 30:18 – 18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Yes, Belovéd, God is waiting for you, waiting for me, waiting for the World to wake up and declare that HE is God. Isaiah 48:9 – 9 For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, so that I may not cut you off. Isaiah 45:22 – 22 Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. Why will – why does – God wait for us? He waits so that everything he has put into us has a chance to come to fruition so that in our Salvation, he may be exalted. God made all things with the potential to grow. Knowing that, let’s go back and look at that farmer James mentioned.

The farmer starts with seed – he bought it or grew it himself – and he places it in the soil. He cares for it with irrigation and weeding. He waits for it to grow. He knows what to expect because “this is the way it works – plant, grow, harvest.” Now, we know it would be a fool who goes out on the sunny afternoon of August 15th to sow a field of wheat and waits until September 26th to harvest. What will he harvest? NOT MUCH! God plants, the spirit tends, the Angels harvest, the Lord judges. That’s how it works. Waiting is part of the process; vegetating is not. The full season of maturation is required for a full harvest. The farmer plants in hope of a harvest, and he assists in that hope by taking action as the crop grows. “Be still and wait upon the Lord” does not mean “sit down, shut up, and watch.” It means to confidently trust that God knows better than we do. Isaiah 30:15 – 15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. (New International Version (NIV) How many thousands of years did God wait for the World to be ready before Jesus came to us? For 2000+ years, we have waited for his return. God is waiting for our return. Are we ready yet? Or will we be like the foolish virgins who did not come prepared? If you listen carefully, we might hear him calling our names. (↔ Music Link) When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, (↔ Music Link) are we going to be listening for HIM (↔ Music Link) or will we be listening to our own little selfish selves? I am waiting for Jesus, and as long as I’m waiting, I’m trusting that loving you is a major part of what he has given me to do. Let us wait on Him together so the Lord will renew our strength. (← Check it out!)

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

PASSAGES MARKED NIV are from the New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Creative Commons License
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

 

Aloha Friday Message – December 6, 2019 – It’s the Same Old Story

December 6, 2019

1949AFC120619 – It’s the Same Old Story

Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

   Romans 15:4 – 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd! Can you believe it’s December already? It is often said that as we age life seems to go by faster and faster. When we were kids, summer was always too short (well, for most kids, but not for me – I wanted to be back in school). It seemed to take forever to have another birthday. Church service was lo-o-o-o-ong, and coffee-and-donuts after was short. We never wanted to go visit my parents’ friends, but when it was time to go home hours later, we threw a fit and wanted to stay. Does any of this sound like a familiar story? I’m sure we all have memories like these – memories of time dragging along, time spent with our chums – or later on with our romancer. As we get older, we find genuine pleasure and sometimes gales of laughter in the time spent retelling some of these memories with or about family, or perhaps with longtime friends, or new acquaintances. In our house – the Land of the Todd Tribe in Denver – a lot of those story-telling events occurred with people we knew at Corona Presbyterian Church. Mostly they were stories about things people had done, or places they had gone. Sometimes, though, they were about moments of trial or danger, or stories of faith, and even at times stories about the Bible and how it affected our lives.       My very first “public speaking experience” was one of telling a Bible story – the story of Jonah and the Whale. In the Old Testament, the word for story is מִדְרָשׁ (midrash) {mid-rawsh’}, so I told the midrash of Jonah in front of several hundred people while standing on the dais at Corona Presbyterian. You can find out more about that disaster here. I loved reading, and I especially loved telling and retelling the stories I read. Most people these days don’t know anything about Tanzy and Bobbles on Fable Island, or The Water Nix. I could recite Simple Simon top to bottom, knew the stories of Siegfried (I called him Sig-FRIED like French Fried), Beowulf, and Reynard the Fox. Gulliver and Sinbad were favorite stories along with Saggy-Baggy Elephant, Babar, The Little Train that Could, Bongo the Bear, Lassie, Aladdin, the Velveteen Rabbit, “Br’er Rabbit,” and on and on. I loved the stories of Jonah and The Great Fish, Moses and the Bush, Jacob and the Angel and the Ladder, David and Goliath, Jonathan and David, the Nativity Story, Jesus in the Temple, Psalm 138, and all the Gospel Parables and accounts of Jesus’ preaching, teaching, healing, dying, and rising. By now, all of you know that much of my past centered around the hymns and Gospel songs we sang at Corona. I’ve put bunches of those links in previous posts, so let’s talk about the story behind the posts and the stories about the stories.

These posts are the stories of my story with Jesus and his Church. It is a way for me to testify about how God has shaped my life – given me my life. Sometimes I get to share your stories – especially your prayer requests (which is one of the main reasons we have this outlet on the Internet). Music has always been a top activity in my story. From marching around the room to Big John and Sparky with Yehudi to the 12-inch 78 rpm records my Gramma gave me to the coral-colored transistor radio I got in the seventh grade to the Children’s Choir and Sunday School, and Concert Choir, the Folk Song Club, my guitar and dulcimer, always, always, always there is music, music, music. That strange little guy in the back right-hand corner of my brain is always playing something. If there is music coming from any source, I cannot help but listen to it. That is especially true if it is music in related in any form or fashion to His Story the story of Jesus. So, Belovéd, I’m going to risk sending you into the listening booth. If you’re at work, you might want to find your ear-buds; however, if you are at home or at the beach or in the mountains, go ahead and PUMP UP THE VOLUME.

Tell Me the Old, Old Story (↔ Music Link) From the Corona and Two-by-Two days

Tell Me the Stories of Jesus (↔ Music Link) I still sing this one when I need pepping up

I Love to Tell the Story (↔ Music Link) I like the traditional arrangement better than the contemporary, overly orchestrated versions

Tell Me The Story Of Jesus (↔ Music Link) A close relative of my pep-up song

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (↔ Music Link) Gramma’s favorite was The Old Rugged Cross

Shadrach (↔ Music Link) I sang Armstrong’s version for years.

Blessed Assurance (↔ Music Link) This and Jesus Loves Me are great ways to start your day, remember?

I don’t want to take up much more of your time, but I do want to make a point related to today’s Key Verse:

His Story can be, should be, would be, could be part of our story if the Spirit of God is within us (See Romans 8:9). So what I write is because whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.   "Our Hope is in the Lord..."I’m not going to take up any more of your day because I want you to give as much of it as you can (and Belovéd that means 100% of it) to God. Play the music. Find more music. Send me links to your favorites. Let me know what you felt listening to this handful of my favorites. This is a short-short post with a long-long message. Tell the story for others to hear, hear the stories others tell, and make The Greatest Story the Story of Our Faith in God and each other. I love you, Jesus loves you more, and that should be good enough for everyone.

 

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —

at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Aloha Friday Message Mercy Series

Mercy Series – Part 2 of 4

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Creative Commons License
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Aloha Friday Message – November 29, 2019 – Ready! Set! WAIT!

November 29, 2019

1948AFC112919 – Ready! Set! WAIT!

Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

    Matthew 24:42, 44c – 42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day [or hour] your Lord is coming.44b for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! May Peace always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd! This coming Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. I was thinking back about the various series we have done over the years. It was tempting to go back to the Aloha Friday Message Mercy Series and reissue them in edited and updated form. That was contrary to the guidance already in heart and mind for this post – the idea of watchful waiting during Advent. Advent means coming, a beginning, a dawn, a start, an anticipated arrival of an important person, event, or object. For Christians, and especially Catholic Christians, it is the season of reflection, discernment, and anticipation for the birth of Jesus – Christmas.

“But everyone loves Christmas, and we all look forward to it. We know ‘Jesus IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON,’ but there is so much more to anticipate with joy!” Yes, that is certainly true. We all have more than one reason to look forward to Christmas; not all of us, though, are ready for the Season of Advent. This particular season of Advent is the beginning of Cycle A of the Liturgy.

Cycle A is essentially a process of preparing us for baptism and for understanding the principals behind our baptismal vows. Most of the Gospel readings are from the Gospel of Matthew. The first Sunday of Advent (which is the first Sunday of the liturgical year) uses Matthew’s account of Jesus’ warning to be vigilant because we will not know the day or hour of his return. Matthew’s Gospel covers Jesus’ ministry with emphasis on compassion and forgiveness – Mercy. Its focus is on the early Christian community among the Jews. Matthew portrays Jesus as “the New Moses,” leading his people out of the wilderness of sin and into the Promised Land of The Kingdom of God. Matthew makes sure they (and we) fully understand that Jesus is a man, a Jewish man, a son of Abraham and Israel who is the True Son of God. In this Gospel, Jesus’ followers frequently beg him for mercy. Jesus takes the Jewish leaders – the Scribes and Pharisees – to task for failing to show mercy. In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us, his Disciples “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (See Matthew 5:7). Because of this theme of compassion and mercy leading to forgiveness, I’m going to include a link at the end of every Aloha Friday Message during this Advent season for Liturgical Year 2020, Cycle A (← Check it out!) that will take you to a previous lesson on Mercy that is posted on the Catholic 365 website.

There you have it, the background for the four Sundays of this Advent season. For each Sunday we will follow our customary practice of choosing a key verse from the readings, amplifying the meanings and background of that passage, and then – at the end of the message – there will be a “supplementary link” to allow us to reflect on the importance, the effects, and the reality of God’s Mercy in our own lives. We all know (or should know) that it is only the Mercy of Grace that makes it possible to be prepared for the return of Christ. As we prepare to welcome Christ the King coming as a baby during Advent, we also prepare – at least in our hearts – for the day or hour our Lord is coming, “for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” For the past 2000 years we have been waiting. During the first century after Jesus established the Church, people really believed that his coming back was imminent – during their lifetimes. Hence, the Apostle Paul frequently warned the early Church to stay vigilant, to be faithful to the Apostolic Gospel, and to be ready … to WAIT. That is what we are told to do – to watch and wait. Let’s take a quick scriptural survey of WAIT.

Psalm 10:2-11 – The Psalmist cries out to God about how evil people always seem to prosper and even though they say “there is no God,” God sees them and gives them ample time to repent and claim his Mercy. Take a moment this week to read that passage and see if it doesn’t sound like what we hear in the news almost every day.

Psalm 27:14 – 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Psalm 37:7 – 7 Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. (Follow up with that passage from Psalms 10)

Psalm 130:5 – 5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

Psalm 59:9 – 9 O my strength, I will watch for you; for you, O God, are my fortress.

Psalm 130:5-6 – 5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.

And finally, Psalm 123:2 – 2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us.

We wait with “constant vigilance” for the coming of Jesus first as a baby in a manger, then as the King of Kings ascending the Throne of the Cross, and now – today and until “as long as it takes” – we wait for the day and the hour he will return in Glory. Let the evil one prosper and scoff. WE know how to wait and why we’re waiting. Here’s why:

2 Peter 3:3-9 – 3 First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” 5 They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, 6 through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.
   8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you*, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. * Some translations read “on your account,” or “for your sake” and YES, he is coming back!

We can find that ability to wait patiently in watchful waiting by knowing he is coming back – not just returning – coming back – and bringing judgment with him: They should also be strengthened by the assurance of his foreordained parousia*, and by the fruits of faith that they have already enjoyed (Hebrews 10:19–39).

*This word is παρουσία. The word parousia is found in the following verses: Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 8, 9; James 5:7, 8; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:2, Philippians 1:26

He’s not waiting for someone else. He’s not waiting for everyone else. He may be waiting for anyone else, but the bottom line is, he’s waiting for me, so I’d best get my act together, right? And here’s the thing: I know – really, really know it’s worthwhile and doable because Not one promise from God is empty of power, for nothing is impossible with God! (See Luke 1:37) Not even me, because I have a great reason to wait. Jesus is coming. You know, He just might be on that Slow Train Coming (↔ Music Link) ’cause This train (↔ Music Link) is bound for Glory, and Belovéd I got my ticket to ride! You’ll find me at the depot waiting, watching ’round the bend.

Here are the links for the Mercy Series I mentioned:

Aloha Friday Message Mercy Series

Mercy Series – Part 1 of 4

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Creative Commons License
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Aloha Friday Message – November 22, 2019 – This Blood’s For You

November 22, 2019

1947AFC112219 – This Blood’s For You

Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

    Colossians 1:11-14 – 11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption [through his blood], the forgiveness of sins.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Does the title of today’s post surprise you – sound a little too familiar? I was surprised to when it was given to me, but maybe the following passages will help us focus on what that title means.

Hebrews 9:14 – 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit[a] offered himself without blemish to God, purify our] conscience from dead works to worship the living God!

Ephesians 1:7 – 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

Colossians 1:20 – 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Romans 5:9 – 9 Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.

Romans 3:25 – 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed

Proverbs 6:16-19 – 16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, 19 a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.

1 John 1:5-10 – 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

This coming Sunday, November 24, 2019, is the end of the Liturgical Year – The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The Gospel reading focuses on the Crucifixion, the taunting by the onlookers – including one of the crucified – and Jesus’ promise that the second man suffering with Jesus would be with him that day in paradise.

The Old Testament reading recounts the moment David – the chosen of God – became King over Israel. The Epistle from which our Key Verse is taken is from the letter to the Colossians, congregation at Colossae in the Lycus Valley in Asia Minor, east of Ephesus. Local “preachers” had adulterated the teachings of The Way so that it had become a cultic practice involving “spirituality” focused on angels and spirits rather than on the redemptive capacity of Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection and ascension into Heaven. These false doctrines seemed plausible to them, but he corrects that by lovingly explaining that “the cosmos” (these days the “spiritually enlightened” call it “The Universe”) has nothing at all to do with Salvation. The cosmos cannot hear, cannot act, cannot be placated, cannot even care. Only Christ and the Perfect Sacrifice he made has now reconciled [you] in his fleshly body through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him. (See Colossians 1:21-22) Nothing else matters beyond the fact that Jesus died for us – suffered greatly, shed his blood, died and was buried, and conquered Death by defeating it in his own flesh; his promise to us is that we shall share in that Blesséd (as opposed to curséd) Eternal Life. There is Power in The Blood (↔ Music Link). Did you hear him sing that phrase “in the Precious Blood of the Lamb?” That comes from someone who was there when that blood was shed. Let’s get out our Bibles and turn to 1 Peter 1:18-19 – 18 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. That is why we also sing about “Precious Body, Precious Blood” (↔ Music Link) in the song “The Supper of The Lord” by Laurence Rosania.

Indeed, what could be more precious that The Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation? That is why during Communion we don’t see or consume the bread and wine of this world, but instead take up the Cup of Salvation – the Precious Blood of Christ – (See Psalm 116:13 – in the rubrics a Priest says this silently as he prepares to drink from the Chalice) and the Precious Body of Christ – the Real Presence of the Lord. This is difficult for many to understand – including Catholics (and even some Catholic Priests!); nonetheless, all Christians know and believe that it is the purposeful and willingly-given shedding of blood by Jesus that secures our Salvation. In short his blood was shed for us (and one might also say by us) for the remission – reduction, forgiveness, expiation, reparation, recompense, however else you can come to understand it – for our sins. His blood is for US. Blood has been considered the source and symbol of life since Adam and Eve, and the shedding of blood has been the source and symbol of death. Jesus the Christ shed his blood for the sins I commit, the sins you commit, the sins we have committed. Why did he do that?

He did that because it pleased God to fashion for us redemption out of the very thing that brought us condemnation (See Isaiah 53:10, please). Because of our disobedience, he set the supreme obedience of his Son against that disobedience to eradicate Death forever. He did that out of Love for his Creation (which includes “the Universe” of which we recognize Christ as King). The Ruler is not the ruled. The Universe – the cosmos if you will – includes us but it does not rule us. The Earth, the Moon and Stars are subjects of the One who Rules. His blood is for you, for me, for us, and even for those who despise us, despise Jesus, and even those who despise the God who created them. We are called to accept that incredible Gift, the Gift of Life. It is ours to have and to hold, or to lose and cast away. It is useful to remember the words of Deuteronomy 30:19 – 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live. There is no other Life but HIM, no other Truth but HIM, no other Way but HIM, and no other Precious Body and Precious Blood but HIS that is given up for us. We should remember that THIS (← Check it out!) is important. It is Life, and it is ours. His Blood is for us.

Now, I want to just take a brief moment to thank those of you who were kind enough to remember that this week I turned 73. If you got last week’s post, I mentioned there that when I was a kid, seventy-three seemed ancient. Well, the good news is that now that I’m finally here, it still feels ancient! Of course when I was 19, then I was young and going on 45, so at 73 I’m old and going on 111 – which makes sense. I know some of you are saying “No, you’re only as old as you feel.” Well, in that case, you’re right; I’m 73 going on 118, so 111 sounds pretty good, yes? Well, if there’s any truth to the adage that “with age comes wisdom,” here is a suggestion to help you as you age. When you get up in the morning, sing this song (↔ Music Link), and I guarantee you will have a better day! (Try this one, too! (↔ Music Link)

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —

at your service, Belovéd!

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer

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Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Aloha Friday Message – November 15, 2019 – Here it comes!

November 15, 2019

1946AFC111519 – Here it comes! (Special Edition)

Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

     Luke 21:17-19 – 17 You will be hated by all because of my name. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish*. 19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.

* ἀπόληται·(apolētai) {apo-let-ta-hee} from ἀπόλλυμι (apollumi) {ap-ol’-loo-mee} → to destroy, destroy utterly kill, destroy, lose,  as in “I am perishing” (the resultant death being viewed as certain) implies permanent (absolute) destruction, i.e. to cancel out (remove); “to die, with the implication of ruin and destruction;” to cause to be lost (utterly perish) by experiencing a miserable end.

That’s sounds terrible! BUT – “you will not perish – not even a hair on your head will be destroyed.”

I’ve been looking forward to this post for a long time. The index number for this post – 1946AFC111519 – contains the year of my birth which means that in just a few days (God willing) I will be 73. When I was a kid, seventy-three seemed ancient. Well, the good news is that now that I’m finally here, it still feels ancient! Of course when I was 19 and was young and going on 45, so at 73 I’m old and going on 111 – which makes sense. I know some of you are saying “No, you’re only as old as you feel.” Well, in that case, you’re right; I’m 73 going on 118, so 111 sounds pretty good, yes?

November 17 (this post will go up on the 15th) is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings for that Sunday are a collection of my favorites, so I feel doubly blessed. This message also connects with other studies from the past. It is best known for the prophecy of the End Times – in Luke 21: 8-11 Jesus says “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.” All of that will come with the added Christian necessity of enduring persecution. Jesus tells us we should not fear these opportunities – opportunities to display our trust in him, as we said previously.

In 2016 we used Luke 21:13 – 13 This will give you an opportunity to testify.

GNT Luke 21:13 Ἀποβήσεται δὲ ὑμῖν εἰς μαρτύριον (marturion) {mar-too’-ree-on} → a testimony, a witness; witness, evidence, testimony, proof; “one who bears testimony to faith,” especially “one who willingly suffers death rather than surrender his or her religious faith,” specifically “one of the Christians who in former times were put to death because they would not renounce their beliefs,” late Old English martyr, from Late Latin martyr, (source also of Old French martir, Spanish martir, Italian martire, etc.), from Doric Greek martyr, earlier martys (genitive martyros), in Christian use “martyr,” literally “witness.” https://www.etymonline.com/word/martyr

Luke 21:8 – 8 And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am *he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them. (*or just I AM, i.e., YHWH.) That connection between “martyr” and “testify” in our English language usually draws up a mental image of someone being murdered – often in a horrible way – for their faith in Christ. I have often wondered what becomes of the souls who are martyred for a “not-Christ?” There’s the antichrist spoken of in the Epistles of John (See 1 John 2:18, 1 John 2:22, 1 John 4:3, and 2 John 1:7). There certainly are false messiahs at work on The World. There are also false Christians. Perhaps you’ve seen the coined-work RINO in the media. That stands for “Republican In Name Only.” I think we could coin a similar word – CINO for “Christian In Name Only” or even CCINO “Catholic Christian In Name Only.” These are souls who have heard and embraced the Truth, they have repented and believed the Gospel; but there is no evidence of “Christian living.” We also recall Jesus’ admonition “by their fruits you shall know them” (See Matthew 7:16-20). What becomes of these souls when the Day of Reward comes upon them unexpectedly? The Apostle Paul has some stark words for the CCINO that also apply to unbelievers and adversaries of God. Here are a couple of examples from his letter to the Hebrews:

Hebrews 10:26-31, 36 – 26 For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy “on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 29 How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. … 36 For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

Hebrews 6:4-8 – 4 For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt. 7 Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned over.

Do we get to line up with the sheep or the goats? That Day of Reward (often heartlessly called “Judgment Day”) is coming! Jesus himself said that we must be prepared and that some of us will have an unpleasant surprise when the roll is called up yonder. We are familiar with the account in Matthew 7 about superficial faith – CCINO faith. Matthew 7:21-23 – 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.'”

What is the will of the Father? How can we know what to do? How can we be opened to the Grace that saves us if we do not know “the will of the Father?” We might think about the passage where Jesus told us the answer to that question: John 14:21 – 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.  How do we get those commandments so we have those commandments and can love Jesus enough that God will be revealed to us? What is God’s will for us in that? The will of the Father is that we should listen to the Son: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. LISTEN TO HIM.” (See Matthew 17:5) As Katnip the Cat used to say, “That sounds logical.” (← Check it out!) Would it surprise you to know that there are 50+ commandments from Jesus in the Gospels? Here are just a few: Repent, believe, follow me, seek the Kingdom first, do not be afraid, do not worry, do unto others a you would have them do unto you, do not judge, love God, love your neighbor, Love one another as I have Loved you, do more than is expected of you, beware of false prophets, take care of orphans and widows – the poor and marginalized, honor your parents, keep your word, be generous, do not swear, let your yes be yes and your no be no, choose the narrow way, forgive your enemies, bless them that curse you, and a whole bunch more! Had enough? How can we ever do all of these things? Try these ideas.

Make these the rules of your life:

  • Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness & Humility
  • To instruct the ignorant. to counsel the doubtful, to admonish the sinner, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive offenses willingly, to comfort the afflicted, to pray for the living and the dead.
  • To feed the hungry, to give water to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, to visit the imprisoned, or ransom the captive, to bury the dead.
  • And this: Romans 12:9-21 – 9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Yes, the World will hate us. Yes, the World will come after us with everything they can that will hurt us. Yes, the World will judge us a lunatics, and unfit, as delusional, deplorable, and worthless. God, therefore, will see to it that in the end, nothing will harm us because we were patient in our perseverance. Blesséd be God forever in his angels and his Saints (that’s gonna be us, folks!)

      Feast on the Word Belovéd, and you will be empowered and inspired to have Jesus’ commandments and keep them. Remember that everything we need to know about knowing and pleasing God is as close at hand as our Bibles.

To help make it easier for us to get started on that, I’ve put together a little Treasure Trove of Scripture. You can use this link – just click on the picture – and you’ll find it, or you can use this link as well. I’ve also relocated the Subscribe link to make it easier to sign up for mailing directly from the website. Of course, most subscribers just use the email-list method; send me an email address and I’ll add it to the list. This Treasure Trove page is a collection of passages that have nourished my soul, and many of them have been shared in other posts. As more of these nurturing Treasures are found, I’ll add them to the collection. Meanwhile, do dust off that Bible and look for a little “snack” – a treat you might share with the rest of us. It is a way to grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (See Luke 2:52) – we will grow in Virtue by feeding on the Word. You know the word VIVO –  it means “in something alive.” Today I’ll also state that V.I.V.O. is short for Virtue In – Virtue Out.

Yes indeed, the Day of Reward is near; here it comes. As it grows closer, we will see wondrously terrifying moments and events, and yes indeed we will see increasing persecution; not to worry! We have the Word to sustain us so that not even a hair will be harmed.

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —

at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

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Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

A Treasure Trove of Scripture for Your Use

November 11, 2019

A Treasury of Verses

Here is a little treasure trove of favorite Bible verses for your meditations. Each quotation from scripture is equipped with a link, so just click on the B00k-of-the-Bible name and see each verse in three different versions.

Peace – John 14:27 – 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Power – Acts 1:8 – 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Comforter – John 14:26 – 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

Protection – Acts 16:6 – 6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

Spiritual Values – Ephesians 2:3-7 – 3 All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

New Life – 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 – 5 Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, 6 who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Spirit of Truth – John 16:13 – 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

Access to Abba – Ephesians 2:17-18 – 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father

Hope – Romans 15:13 – 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Liberty – 2 Corinthians 3:17 – 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Change – Acts 10:44-48 – 44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

Love – John 15:10 – 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

Life – John 3:16-18 – 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Courage – Isaiah 41:13 – 13 For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”

Happiness – John 13:15-17 – 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants[a] are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Healing – James 5:14-15 – 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.

Renewal – Revelation 21:1-2 – 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rest – Matthew 11:28-30 – 28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Forgiveness – Colossians 3:13 – 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Cleansing – 1 John 1:9 – 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Wisdom – James 1:5 – 5 If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.

And

Wisdom – James 3:17 – 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.

Calm – Philippians 4:6 – 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Help – Isaiah 55:6 – 6 Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near

And

Help – Psalm 46:1 – 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Relationship – Ephesians 4:31-32 – 31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, 32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Worship – Ecclesiastes 5:1 – 1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools; for they do not know how to keep from doing evil.

And

Worship – 1 Chronicles 16:29 – 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come before him. Worship the Lord in holy splendor

Discipline – Hebrews 12:7  Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

Fatherhood – Proverbs 23:24 – The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.

Sonship – Proverbs 3:11-12 – My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Freely Generous – 1 Chronicles 29:17 17 I know, my God, that you search the heart, and take pleasure in uprightness; in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.

Courage! – Joshua 1:9 – 9 I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Our Brilliant Treasure – 2 Corinthians 4:6-9 –6 For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed

…

First and Last Thing to do – Joel 2:12-14 12 Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. 14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God?

Zechariah 1:3 – 3 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

Psalm 37 – (By David, Contemporary English Version)

Trust the LORD

1 Don’t be annoyed by anyone who does wrong, and don’t envy them. 2 They will soon disappear like grass without rain. 3 Trust the LORD and live right! The land will be yours, and you will be safe. 4 Do what the LORD wants, and he will give you your heart’s desire. 5 Let the LORD lead you and trust him to help. 6 Then it will be as clear as the noonday sun that you were right. 7 Be patient and trust the LORD. Don’t let it bother you when all goes well for those who do sinful things. 8 Don’t be angry or furious. Anger can lead to sin. 9 All sinners will disappear, but if you trust the LORD, the land will be yours. 10 Sinners will soon disappear, never to be found, 11 but the poor will take the land and enjoy a big harvest. 12 Merciless people make plots against good people and snarl like animals, 13 but the Lord laughs and knows their time is coming soon. 14 The wicked kill with swords and shoot arrows to murder the poor and the needy and all who do right.  15 But they will be killed by their own swords, and their arrows will be broken. 16 It is better to live right and be poor than to be sinful and rich. 17 The wicked will lose all of their power, but the LORD gives strength to everyone who is good. 18 Those who obey the LORD are daily in his care, and what he has given them will be theirs forever. 19 They won’t be in trouble when times are bad, and they will have plenty when food is scarce. 20 Wicked people are enemies of the LORD and will vanish like smoke from a field on fire. 21 An evil person borrows and never pays back; a good person is generous and never stops giving. 22 Everyone the LORD blesses will receive the land; everyone the LORD curses will be destroyed. 23 If you do what the LORD wants, he will make certain each step you take is sure. 24 The LORD will hold your hand, and if you stumble, you still won’t fall. 25 As long as I can remember, good people have never been left helpless, and their children have never gone begging for food. 26 They gladly give and lend, and their children turn out good. 27 If you stop sinning and start doing right, you will keep living and be secure forever. 28 The LORD loves justice, and he won’t ever desert his faithful people. He always protects them, but destroys the children of the wicked. 29 God’s people will own the land and live here forever. 30 Words of wisdom come when good people speak for justice. 31 They remember God’s teachings, and they never take a wrong step. 32 The wicked try to trap and kill good people, 33 but the LORD is on their side, and he will defend them when they are on trial. 34 Trust the LORD and follow him. He will give you the land, and you will see the wicked destroyed. 35I have seen brutal people abuse others and grow strong like trees in rich soil. 36 Suddenly they disappeared! I looked, but they were gone and no longer there. 37 Think of the bright future waiting for all the families of honest and innocent and peace-loving people. 38 But not a trace will be left of the wicked or their families. 39 The LORD protects his people, and they can come to him in times of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and saves them from the wicked because they run to him.

What does God want? – Micah 6:8 – 8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

What does God give? – John 3:13-19 – 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

And finally

How to get it done – Philippians 4:13 – 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

“Let go and let God” is not merely a pleasant aphorism. It is the well-known secret of astoundingly successful people.

Be successful. Give it to God. Trust that HE can handle it because

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —

at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Aloha Friday Message – November 8, 2019 – ALL For Christ

November 8, 2019

1945AFC110819 – ALL For Christ

Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! This one is loaded with surprise links, so you know what they say … “If you see a link, click it!”

2 Corinthians 12:10 – Therefore, I accept weakness, mistreatment, hardship, persecution, and difficulties suffered for Christ. It’s clear that when I’m weak, I’m strong.

2 Corinthians 12:15 – But I cheerfully also shall spend and I would even give up my person for the sake of your souls, even though, the more I love you, the less you love me.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! May Peace always be with you and may God bless you, Belovéd!

Nowadays, people would say, “What’s wrong with this guy, Paul? How can he be strong when he is weak? Has he got a persecution complex or something?” I would answer, “Definitely no. A persecution complex is a delusional state and usually has no foundation in reality.” Paul was under no delusion when writing this second letter to the Corinthians. In the first letter he had admonished them to crack down on one of their members who was causing division within the church. Earlier in this letter he chides them for taking things too far and states he has forgiven the repentant man and certainly they should as well.

Paul’s statement should not be interpreted as fatalism, or as false humility, either. In his perspective there is a complementary and harmonizing connection between suffering and sanctity. When his mind, his spirit, and his body are at rest in Christ, he is “in the world but not of the world.” The verb translated “accept” in the first passage is εὐδοκέω (eudokéō) { yoo-dok-eh’-o} which carries connotations of to think well of, or to choose gladly, or willingly accept, or to think best. It is like our expression “It comes with the territory.” If someone had told Paul that his stance was heroic, Paul would reply much the same way suddenly-noticed heroes do: “I’m no hero. I was just doing my job.” And so, Beloved, we are called to look on our own actions when encumbered with weakness, mistreatment, hardship, persecution, and difficulties suffered for Christ. Do we become histrionic like the Pharisee in the temple, tooting our own horn about how deeply we suffer? Do we become tranquil and self-restrained like Paul? Not that Paul didn’t moan and groan a little about his suffering as a prisoner; he let others know he was hurting, but he also let others know that the hurt he experienced was gladly and fervently offered up for the sake of the Body of Christ. Belovéd: All who are of the Body of Christ are called to serve as Paul served – For the Sake of Christ. (↔ Music Link)

When we are troubled, we are often led to prayer, as in “There are no atheists in foxholes.” God always hears the prayers of faith we offer up, but his answers are sometimes – perhaps often – are not what we had on our wish-list. Sometimes when we ask for direction, instead of a push in the right direction we might receive a smack up alongside the head. Sometimes when we are asking for things that will harm us, he withholds them in love; and other times he grants them so the lesson we learn will be indelible. When we don’t get what we want, sometimes, childishly (different from “child-like”), we pout, and grumble, and cry out in the anguish of our suffering that God has abandoned us. If instead he covers us with his Grace we are easily led to believe our own strong faith has saved us. When, however, we accept everything – good or bad, sweet or bitter, bliss or pain – with equanimity, poise, and self-control, we are allowing that Grace to work in us.

    That Grace-at-work (↔ Music Link) fortifies, enlivens, and encourages us. Through this, we show others the centrality of Jesus in our lives and God is therein glorified. Though on the Road to Calvary, we are also climbing the road to Zion and God’s own Heaven. When we are humble enough to glorify God, we are strengthened in ways that overcome every trial, every false accusation, every painful torment our adversary imposes on us. In that way, also, the adversary is defeated and Christ is victorious. (←Hint: Right-Click on the picture and select Open hyperlink!)

In our own right we are weak, but he is strong (↔ Music Link – it’s a POWERFUL one!) . When we hold our peace, we are held in peace. Many years ago I wrote a song called “Man of Peace.” It was so long ago that I can no longer remember all of it. However, this little scrap has existed for well over fifty years, and it still speaks to me.

I am a man of Peace. I own no other name.
I stand before you, gird about with gifts of Love.
You ask me of my Peace, and how I hold it so.
Good listener, I do not hold my Peace.
I am held in Peace.

The Lord waits for us. Why does he do that? He does that so we will turn to him so he can be gracious (pleasant, friendly, generously gently) so that he can bestow on us the Light of his Glory and Grace (↔ Music Link) Whenever we begin to doubt his presence, we can be sure that it is not him who has moved away; it is us – always us. When we ponder how evil can penetrate even the most sacred things – innocent life, Servants of God in The Church, Matrimony, even the very Presence of Christ in the Sacraments – then we are putting our faith in an institution, and denying our confidence in HIS faithfulness. If evil men do evil things because they value their subjective selfish evil more than God’s objective generous Truth, that does not – indeed cannot – make my faith in God hopeless or inadequate. Abraham offered up Isaac because “He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead.” (See Hebrews 11:19) What other earthlings do is important, but not essential to my belief that God is alive, God is here, and God loves us enough to give us all that is good; he will never give us anything that is bad, so whatever is bad is not from God, and not something for me to fret over. We can wait for the evil to be conquered while still trying not to get caught up in our own subjective selfish evil.

When we wait on God, God fulfills us. When we are quiet, he is pleasantly present and we hear and feel that presence. When we reason that God is trustworthy so that when he tells us that all will be well, we realize that whatever is happening to us is what God has desired and intended for us because of his Love for us. That is his promise (one of thousands) to us. We have only to claim it, then live it – forever because YOLOF. (In case you’ve forgotten, You Only Live Once – FOREVER.)

And how do we claim this promise? Behold!

Isaiah 30:15c – In quietness and in trust shall be your strength.

and

Exodus 14:14 – “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —

at your service, Beloved.

I love you, but our El Shaddai-Olam* loves you infinitely more!

* All Mighty, Ever-Living God

Isaiah 30:15 (Read the whole verse here, especially the last line)

“The Lord is my Shepherd. That’s all I need to know.”

Why? Because, for the sake of Christ, and by the Grace of Christ, I am held in Peace flowing like a river. (↔ Music Link)

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Hebrews 12:14 – 14 Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Creative Commons License
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Aloha Friday Message – November 1, 2019 – Little by little

November 1, 2019

1944AFC110119 – Little by little

Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

     Wisdom 11:23-12:2 – 23 But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things, and you overlook people’s sins, so that they may repent. 24 For you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that you have made, for you would not have made anything if you had hated it.

1 For your immortal spirit is in all things. 2 Therefore you correct little by little those who trespass, and you remind and warn them of the things through which they sin, so that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in you, O Lord.

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. We are nearing the end of the Liturgical Year. The Last Sunday in November will be The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The following Sunday will be the First Sunday of Advent. Between now and then our Sunday readings remind us of God’s Mercy. That Mercy is manifested in the birth of Jesus, and revealed in his resurrection.

Our God – the Almighty Ever-Living God El Shaddai-Olam – made everything according to HIS will and the testament to that is everywhere. Consider this familiar passage from Psalm 8:1-5 – 1 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; 4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? 5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, * and crowned them with glory and honor.

* מֵאֱלֹהִ֑ים (mê-’ĕ-lō-hîm) {meh-el-o-heem’} → “less than divine” or less than supernatural beings such as angels, gods, mighty rulers, or judges. From אֱלהִים (elohim) {el-o-heem’}, plural of אֱלוֹהַּ (eloah) {el-o’-ah} God, gods. We are not gods, but we are created to be only a little less than the angels; little by little we advance toward that day when we shall be above even the angels because we will be restored to our status as children of the Lord God. The Apostle Paul tell us this in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 – 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels—to say nothing of ordinary matters? God has given us so very much – dominion over the Earth; forgiveness, redemption, and Salvation; the privilege of adoption as sons and daughters of God; the very desires of our hearts; and even our very own guardian angels. These are among the uncountable treasures given to us. We who are faithful also obtain the blessing of persecutions. When we play that one in our heads we get that sound like dragging the needle over the LP phonograph record – ZZZHHRRRRIIIILKZX! Why is that part of our Grab Bag Gift?

Let’s scroll back up the page and take another look at one of those “I know that” verses (which we often do not know at all). Psalm 8:2 – 2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. The first part of this verse is often used as an adage to express the truth that sometimes the uncensored viewpoints of children point us to truths of staggering importance. In this case, the Wisdom of God is given to children – even nursing infants – who, in their innocence, speak about the Wonders of God. It was that challenge that will  defeat “the enemy” and “the avenger.” What’s that all about? It’s time for a Deep See Dive into the root Scriptures.

The enemy is (Tah-Dah) Satan. Now, I know you usually just skim past these little parts, but I put them in because I want us to see that the Bible is really real. The words there are to help us understand God better – little by little – so that we are more comfortable with him than with the Devil. With that in mind, here’s the skinny on “the enemy:” It is the word א֝וֹיֵ֗ב (’ō-w-yêḇ) {o-yabe’} → related to the word ayab, for hate → therefore a hater, an enemy. Next we have וּמִתְנַקֵּֽם׃ (ū-miṯ-naq-qêm) from נָקַם (naqam) {naw-kam’} → to avenge, take vengeance. Who will refuse to listen to the innocent words of children? Those among us who have not yet learned to recognize intellectually that God is in charge – and are therefore enemies of God, and mistakenly believe they have the power of revenging themselves upon him for condemning their choices of disobedience and sin. Who would do such a thing? Satan and his minions of course, and at times – little by little – we slip into that enemy camp … not as spies or insurgents, but as collaborators, as sinners, and as foolish agents of the evil we know we must avoid, but cannot, do not, and will not listen to what the innocent say. They speak so that we “grown-ups” may know shame because through such feeble and weak soldiers of God – innocent babes and sucklings – there is sufficient strength to defeat the enemy, the Foe, that Avenger against Righteousness; yet in us who know better, and should have the greater strength, the Liar’s deceits prevail so that little by little we, too, betray our God. What are we to do?!

“REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL:” (← Check it out!) We can definitely repent and believe the Good News: Mark 1:15 – “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” See Also 2 Peter 3:9. When I read that, sometimes that weird little guy in the back of my head hits me with the “newspaper questions:” Who, what, when, where, why, how? Who will repent and believe? WE WILL. What will we repent and believe? OUR SIN and his GOSPEL. When will we repent and believe. TODAY AND ANY DAY THAT WE SIN. Where will we repent and believe? IN OUR HEARTS, IN OUR LIVES, IN OUR MINDS. (See Metanoia) Why will we repent and believe? WE WILL REPENT AND BELIEVE TO RETURN TO THE ARMS OF GOD THROUGH JESUS THE CHRIST. How will we repent and believe? LITTLE BY LITTLE EVERY SINGLE DAY. And lastly, what is the final question in this series? What changes when we repent and believe the Gospel? EVERYTHING – IT’S LIKE HITTING THE RESET BUTTON. How do we get to that point? Take a clue from God’s Good Buddy, the Psalmist.

Psalm 51:2-6 – 2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.3 For I recognize my rebellion;  it haunts me day and night.4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. 5 For I was born a sinner — yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.6 But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. New Living Translation (NLT) Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God is not distracted by anything in our lives. He is always aware of everything, and every moment of our existence. We continue to repent and believe the Gospel, continue to fight on so that little by little we defeat the enemy. I’m going to ask you to look at how God told Israel that Joshua should take over Canaan and all the Nations that lived there. Here is how God gave the Promised Land to Israel “little by little” as recorded in Exodus 23:20-33 (especially verse 30) and Deuteronomy 7:17-26 (especially verse 22). He told them that they must utterly destroy these enemies of God – not one soul should be alive, no silver or gold be taken, no son or daughter of Israel should marry among them (they’d all be dead anyway), no livestock should be taken home because everything owned by God’s enemies was “set apart for destruction.” God’s enemies will be destroyed by God’s chosen. I’m going to close with proof that – little by little – we have the Victory over the enemy (Satan), and the Avenger (Death):

Romans 8:35-39 – 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” *

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (*See Psalm 44:22) Little by little we fight the enemy as God sends his angels and Mighty Arm ahead of us to mow down Evil – not all at once, but in God’s measured Wisdom – so that all who are patient, obedient, and persevering will attain Everlasting Light and Glory in Christ Jesus. That’s a pretty good outcome, I’d say. And what are the Evils we combat? Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, Avarice, Wrath as expressed in lying, shedding innocent blood (abortions included), making wicked plans, sowing discord, and everything found in Galatians 5:19-21 – 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry,* sorcery,* enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. *These include horoscopes, witchcraft, rebellion, “The Force,” polytheistic religions based on “elementals” (earth, fire, air, water, Mother Nature, Gaia, Pachamama, Kū, and anyone or anything we place higher than God). Little by little God will deliver us from these sins, but we must suit up (See Ephesians 6:11-18) and fight against God’s enemies (which are therefore also our enemies). There is still time to repent. Let’s get on it; little by little we can win the war!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

Creative Commons License
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Aloha Friday Message – October 25, 2019 – Pray for us sinners

October 25, 2019

1943AFC102519 – Pray for us sinners

Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.

     Luke 18:13 – 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace be to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Recently (← Check it out!) we shared a few common prayers that can be used in our Daily Offering. Today we will look in particular at one very special prayer and some variations on that prayer. It is most often known as “The Jesus Prayer.” One common format is “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” There is a popular musical setting written by Tom Booth The Jesus Song (↔ Music Link).

 

 

     How did this “Jesus Prayer” come into being? The Jesus Prayer combines three New Testament Scriptures: [1] The Messianic theological hymn of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians  Philippians 2:6–11 (See verse 11: “Jesus Christ is Lord”), the Annunciation of Luke 1:31–35 (See verse 35: “Son of God”), and the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Tax Collector) of Luke 18:9–14, in which the Pharisee demonstrates the improper way to pray (See verse 11: “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican”), whereas the Publican prays correctly in humility (See verse 13: “God be merciful to me a sinner”). Once again, it is useful to see what this looks like in Greek, so here is a little table showing the actual content:

ὁ Θεός ἱλάσθητί μοι τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ
ho Theos hilasthēti moi tō hamartōlō
O God be merciful to me, the sinner

The combined scriptural excerpts give us this short and powerful prayer – I would call it a Prayer of Surrender – which is also a prayer of contrition. In it, we recognize Jesus Christ is Lord – which no one can say except through the Holy Spirit (See 1 Corinthians 12:3) – and also recognize that we cannot expiate our own sins, but rather depend on Grace. When I think about grace I consider it to be something like Justice tempered with Mercy that is gifted to all who will accept it. Who would not accept it? Persons like the Pharisee who cannot even fake humility in the presence of Almighty God. Jesus is the ultimate model of humility and the Apostle Paul shows us just how that happened in his letter to the Philippians.

We’ve mentioned Philippians 2:5-11 several times over the years, but I don’t recall spelling it out for you so, let’s have a go at it: Philippians 2:5-11 – 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It does indeed take humility to pray The Jesus Prayer. It takes nothing of conscience or spirit to recite this prayer. Recitation of prayers is a convenient trap for the devil to get into our heads and hearts. Catholics are often criticized for using “vain and repetitious prayers” as referenced in Matthew 6:7 – 7 When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. (Take a look at the New Living Translation version of this verse.) The verb here for “heap up empty phrases” is βατταλογήσητε (battalogēsēte) which comes from Βάττος – battos (stutter, stammer, repeat without purpose) and λόγος – logos (word). A good literal translation is “Do not babble on and on …” (And I really do like the English near-pun babble on for Babylon!) Repetitive prayer is not babbling. It is a form of meditation when properly used. The scriptural basis for this practice is found in Matthew 6:6 – 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Christian Hermits of the Eastern Orthodox Church have used this form of prayer by “withdrawing” from the present and praying without being attentive to their surroundings. It is another contemplative way to “open the heart” to make a “prayer of the heart” (Καρδιακή Προσευχή) which is considered to be a method for “unceasing prayer” as described by the Apostle Paul (See 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) – a way that a well-disposed earthling can be intimately united with our Trinitarian God through the Grace received and perceived in one’s heart. The repetition of The Jesus Prayer, for some, can open this pathway. That intensity of prayer, of course, does not make one any less of a sinner – although it surely might lessen the sins committed – and this means we still need that Mercy of God for without it, we are lost as was the Pharisee in the Gospel account. It is significant that both men were praying to God about themselves. That is also the effect of The Jesus Prayer – “be merciful to me.” What about praying on behalf of others? Is that a valid practice? Can we, should we, will we intercede for others?

The title today is “Pray for us sinners.” I love this phrase because it functions on multiple levels:

  • Sinners, pray for us (we ask other sinners to pray for us)
  • Sinners pray for us (sinners pray as we have asked)
  • Pray for us sinners (someone needs to pray for all the sinners)
  • Pray for us, sinners (same as “Sinners, pray for us)

We know for certain we can and do intercede for others – after all, what is “Church” all about? Do we pray that every living soul will perceive and receive (accept) the Mercy of God? Do we not have an Intercessor in Christ Jesus? Turn to Romans 8:26-27 – 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Or Romans 8:34 – 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Or Hebrews 7:25 – 25 Consequently he is able for all time to save [completely] those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. If God, in Christ, intercedes for us, shall we not intercede for others? May we also pray “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on us.”? And if we were to pray that repetitively, what effect might we expect? MERCY! That’s what we expect when we intercede! We want the Gift of Mercy because the Perfect Justice of God allows Grace upon Grace (See John 1:16). Intercession is praying with, for, or about someone on behalf of others. Are there any others beside Jesus who will intercede for us? Let’s list a few:

  • The Church
  • The MBN
  • Our loved ones
  • The Saints in Heaven (and on Earth!)
  • Our angels in Heaven
  • You and I can also intercede

How do we know what intercession is? Praying is an action, a deed; intercession is how God guides us in the action of praying … so, when we pray we place our being in the presence of His Being. Get it? We connect with him so he can connect with us; and, being connected to God is the practical application of God’s Mercy: “Let the constant Hope I have in you be the Light that drives away the darkness and draws me and everyone I meet to your Perfect Integrity, Endless Mercy, and Eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Belovéd, we are called to Intercessory Prayer which means we must first put our very selves in the Presence of our Almighty Ever-Living God. This requires humility. Humility comes only through humiliation; as is said, “You can’t make this stuff (humility) up.” Who among us is not “Standing In The Need of Prayer?” (↔ Music Link) Pray for us, sinners! We need all the prayers we can get! Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”  “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us, as sinners.”

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —

at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com

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Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

Aloha Friday Message – October 18, 2019 – Use What We Know

October 18, 2019

1942AFC101819 – Use What We Know

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     Exodus 17:11-12 – 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set.

2 Timothy 3:14-17 – 14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is [also] useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. New Living Translation (NLT) Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Luke 18:7-8 – 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! This coming Sunday, all three readings point toward one specific characteristic of a well-lived Christian life: Perseverance. Moses obeys God by holding up his hands and staff as Israel battle against Amalek. The effort is supported by Aaron and Hur who help him keep his posture of perseverance. In the second reading, the Apostle Paul counsels Timothy to persevere in his teaching and preaching – in living out his mission or spreading the Gospel – because he know that what he has learned is true and the people who taught him are trustworthy. Jesus gives us a parable about a corrupt judge who finally gives in and renders a just decision for a woman whose perseverance leave him little room to do anything else. Jesus tells us that God, who alone is the Just Judge, will surely grant justice for those who persevere in crying out to him. In Ephesians 6:18, the Apostle Paul tells us further, “18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.”

“Persevere” is one of those interesting words that we hear often, usually in the context of difficulties impeding our efforts. We have other ways to say the same thing – Stay the course, keep on track, persist always, keep going, never give in, don’t take no for an answer, stand your ground, go the distance, leave no stone unturned, eyes on the prize, stick to your guns, and these days the ever-popular “hang in there.” All of these carry with them the implication that we will continue to pursue a goal or path under arduous circumstances regardless of any opposition, danger, difficulty, or doubt. For those who deem themselves “self-reliant,” this is a formidable challenge. For those who know the power of Scripture and prayer – especially prayer in and through Scripture – this is almost second-nature because we remember that God speaks to us through his word and listens to us through our prayers. We have learned to use what we know.

Why is this important for Christians to remember? We’ve touched on this before in Mark 10:28-30 – 28 Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.” Jesus told us in John 16:33 – 33 I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! In the Letter of James we read, “2 My brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4 and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. (See James 1:2-4) James follows up in his letter on ethical conduct for Christians with this in James 5:7-11 – 7 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10 As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. 

     Let’s look at the three Key Verses presented above and see what they tell us. Let’s begin with the Gospel selection. That last sentence is kind of a shocker: “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” We earthlings have a bad reputation for giving up hope when our expectations of deliverance are long delayed. It seems in God’s economy that his swift and complete action arrives just when we have foolishly given up hope. Jesus, while in the flesh, told us not even he knew when the day of deliverance or justice would come. Are we still waiting with perseverance? When the relief we seek finally does come, it seems almost too good to be true – after 70 years in Babylon, Israel suddenly learned they were going home! It was like a dream: Psalm 126:1-2 – 1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” We know this is true and trustworthy because we have a record of all that in Scripture. It is Scripture that God uses to teach us, and Scripture is the best Authority because it is inspired by God.

The Apostle Paul clearly told Timothy, “  All Scripture is inspired by God and is [also] useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” If we know the Truth, perseverance is easier to accomplish because we know we can trust it – we can use what we know to give us hope, strength, perseverance, quietness, and – above all – FAITH (Fully Aware I Trust Him). We see this expressed in Lamentations 3:22-26 – 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. And what about Deuteronomy 8:3? 3 He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord [by anything the Lord decrees]. And again in Psalm 119:9 (a memory verse from “long-time-ago”) – 9 How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. And Psalm 119:11 – 11 I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you. All of these Timothy knew in his heart, and that gave him – and his flock – greater perseverance, enough perseverance to overcome evil and publicize the Gospel.

In our Key Verse excerpt from Exodus, we see one of the Heroic Men of the Old Testament, Moses, doing the hard work of persevering – and he accepted the help of his brethren Aaron and Hur. Oh, Belovéd, how often we fail at that small but important commitment to perseverance! So often we tell ourselves, our loved ones, and even or God like a two-year-old child, “NO! I do it myself!” Now there’s a case for God’s perseverance! It is indeed a good thing that “his mercy endures forever,” and that “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.” With that to hold onto, perseverance is basically a matter of remembering, and as Catholics, we’re pretty good at that.

“We Remember How You Loved Us.” (↔ Music Link) “Do this in memory of me.” “Remember your love and your faithfulness O God.” “Remember your Saints …”Remember your servants who have gone before us …” ” … and in communion with those whose memory we venerate, especially the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ” We can choose to remember, to pray, to feed on The Word, to speak to and listen for God. We can recall how the many who have gone before us have cried out, “How long O Lord, how long?” (See for example Psalm 13) When it gets to be too difficult, which others of the earthlings around us will stand with us in prayer, or even at our bedside as we wait?

To persevere is to bring to bear the power of Love. Even the greatest of sinners will find Peace and Perseverance in Christ Jesus. We’ll close with this testimony from the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 1:12-14 – 12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  As well as Psalm 46:10a – 10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”  This we know because we know The Word and the Lord. What we know, we use to enrich our lives and the lives of others by testifying to the Truth no matter what.

 

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —

at your service, Belovéd!

Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer. You already know how, but just in case – How: Romans 8:26-27 – 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Creative Commons License
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

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