2339AFC092923 – DON’T FORGET NEMO
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Ezekiel 18:27-28 – 27 Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. 28 Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die.
Psalm 25:6-7 –
6 Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.*
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!
Philippians 2:3-5 – 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus
Matthew 21:28-31 a – 28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy 
Spirit be with all of you. You remember these guys, right? Nemo and his dad, Marlin and mom, Coral? Coral and her eggs are destroyed near the beginning of the movie, but one egg apparently survives and grows up to become Nemo. We should begin by telling why this post title is so strange. What’s Nemo got to do with anything? Let’s start with his name.
Nemo is a Latin word meaning “nobody.” In Homer’s Odyssey, when Ulysses blinds the Cyclops, the Cyclops asks him: “Who are you?” Ulysses replies (in the Latin translation): “Nemo.” When the Cyclops was later asked by his father Neptune: “Who did this to you?” he answers “Nobody did it.” In Greek, the name Nemo is ανώνυμος → anonymous I or no one. another word with the name connotation is Κανένας ka-‘ne-nas → nobody, no one and in “not any person.” Another odd “co-inkidink” is that Nemo lives in an anemone as in a-NEMO-ne. Get it? So, the movie is about a fish named Nobody who gets lost trying gather knowledge and he gets caught by a human and hustled off to Sydney Australia. His dad teams up with a ditzy Pacific regal blue tang name Dory and together they eventually locate Nemo. In just about 100 minutes we go through all sorts of internal and external conflicts, experience loss and gain, grab a little comedy along the way, and end up dismissing the whole thing as just another kids fable. Why, then, are we going to think about Nemo as we get into this message? Good question, Camper!
Where does Nemo’s adventure happen? In an OCEAN. Where does our adventure of Life happen? In an OCEAN OF GRACE (↔ Click Link). You can follow that link and find some additional insights. The Express Stop Summary for that is this: It is the 9th installment in the Series on Virtue and Sin. There we recount how we can open our hearts to let in Jesus or a demon. We spoke of “Grace upon Grace,” and showed that does not mean Graces piled on top of each other, but rather Great Grace exchanged for Greater Grace. When the inner furnishings of our hearts are in good order and clean, there is no place for the demon to take a place there. To ensure our hearts are ready for Jesus we recall Colossians 1:19-20 – 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 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. Jesus is the Fullness of God’s Immeasurable Grace, so when we open the door of our hearts (remember last week?), we get the WHOLENESS OF God! We live out our lives in an ocean of Grace. You may recall a lovely story by Steve Brown at KeyLife Ministries about a fish who swam in a Great Ocean but was afraid he would fall into the Great Abyss. He chose to try to hold his tail in his mouth so he couldn’t fall, but he wasn’t flexible enough to catch it. He started having a panic attack because of this and then a BIG VOICE (it was The Ocean) said, “What are you doing?”
“Oh,” said the fish, “I’m terrified of falling into the deep dark abyss, and I’m trying to catch hold of my tail in my mouth to hold myself up.”
So the ocean said, “Well, you’ve been trying that for a long time now, and still you have not fallen down. How come?”
“Oh, of course, I haven’t fallen down yet,” said the fish, “because … Well, because I’m swimming!
“Well,” came the reply, “I am the Great Ocean where you swim, and I have given all of myself to you in which to swim, and I support you all the time you swim, but here you are, instead of exploring the length, breath, depth and height of my expanse, you have been wasting your time pursuing you own end.”
We might be tempted to think , “Silly fishy! Do what God created you to do.” Hmmm. Sounds like good advice for us, too, yes? The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but not its end. The Grace of God is the Great Ocean of His Love. He is the source of the Ocean of Grace. When you acknowledge Him, it is as if you are submersed in a vast ocean being fed by a fountain of purest water. You are standing in that fountain in the center of the center of the Crystal Sea drinking from a crystal cup filled to overflowing with God’s Endless Grace and Love, and this is available to every human soul alive today in Heaven and on Earth who chooses to Live in the Grace of God . This is “so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.” ( See 1 Peter 4:7-11 And that’s the TRUTH!
Now, that Great Ocean of Grace is what we might recall is “Prevenient Grace.” It is the Grace of Hope. Godly Hope is the combination of desire (it’s what we want) and expectation – (we believe we will receive it). Prevenient Grace is Grace that’s given to all earthlings without any effort or contribution on their part; it’s like “standard equipment.” It means Salvation cannot be credited to believers’ enterprise because all they did was to accept what God had already provided – a Great Ocean of Grace. A fish gotta swim, and a sea’s the place for it. We can’t pay for the Great Ocean of Grace any more than we can pay for our own Salvation. Both of these are God’s Gifts, the Prevenient Gift of that Ocean of Grace is essentially irresistible if we are still alive. Salvation, on the other hand, is resistible which means that anyone can choose whatever is less than that. We must choose someone or something.
Everybody can choose a Life in Christ, but, not everyone will. We have an ocean of Grace surrounding and filling us. Oh! And now I know why I got up in the middle of the night a few years ago and wrote down this! “I have immersed my life in His Heart so that my heart can be entirely filled with Him.” Scroll up and look at that passage from Colossians. “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell …” As we’ve said, Jesus is the Fullness of God’s Immeasurable Grace, so when we open the door of our hearts, we get the WHOLENESS OF God! Therefore we are reconciled with him as part of “all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” Now that will change the interiors of our hearts by placing Grace upon Grace!
In the past when I read that phrase, I thought it meant one grace piled on another grace – like a wall made of bricks – a fortress of Grace built with succeeding layers of God’s gifts. Then I actually looked at the language behind that verse and discovered I had the wrong idea. The Greek word meaning “upon” is the preposition ἐπί (epi) {ep-ee’}, but this verse says in Greek χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος. John did not say χάριν ἐπὶ χάριτι; he said χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος. That word in bold letters, ἀντὶ, is another familiar preposition anti – (anti) {an-tee’}. That word means “instead of; for; in place of; corresponding to.” What difference does that make, after all, if grace is given in exchange for grace rather than on top of grace? How about if it signifies Grace that serves is the Grace of God and that Grace is within us? All of us already have Prevenient Grace, so when we take in the Great Graces of God we experience Sanctifying Grace, Grace that makes our souls holy and makes us the Children of God. God Gifts us with additional Graces – called “actual” Graces – actual here meaning a Grace that enables us to act in cooperation with God’s redemptive actions. These are like little nudges, or hints, or stirring events with which God blesses us. We can sure then say, “Your Grace Is Sufficient For Me.” (↔ Music Link)
Perhaps we could think of them as gentle (or heavy!) currents in that Great Ocean of Grace that move us toward Home. (Or maybe like a great migration of really cool sea turtles?) In addition to the terminologies of Prevenient and Actual Grace we also have Justifying Grace which is the forgiveness of our sins through Baptism and brings us into “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” (CCC 1987). Justifying Grace is inextricably intertwined into Sanctifying Grace and together these Graces truly cleanse and free us from our sins. Because of our extraordinary gift of Free Will, these processes are always ongoing in Believers who refuse to coexist with serious sins cluttering up the interiors of their hearts. God’s Amazing Grace (↔ Music Link) takes care of that. I say again, “why would anyone want anything less?” Reflecting on that, one might ask, “Who is the person for whom salvation is not possible?” Wanna know the answer?
NEMO. That’s right! NEMO – NOBODY! Rewritten that says, “Nobody is the person for whom salvation is not possible.” Now, those of you who are grammar geeks like me will know that’s a double-negative which translates to “Everybody is the person for whom salvation is possible.” All of us live in the Great Ocean of God’s Grace because that is how and where he created us to be. Thinking back to the story of the fish trying to hold itself up in the waters, all we need to do to have Life is to Live as God intended us. Wanting anything less than that would be like that little fish deciding it wanted to walk out of the ocean and breathe in God’s Gigantic Ocean of Air. That may be good enough for a mermaid named Ariel, but it’s not good enough for us. DON’T FORGET NEMO. Remember, Nemo is nobody. God has forgotten Nobody in his Absolutely Perfect Plan, so that must mean we’re part of it – surprise! (↔ Click Link) Why would we want anything less?
Ephesians 2:4-9 – 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. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. There’s no point in chasing pursuing our own ends to stay afloat in God’s Infinite Mercy. Otherwise, if we choose unwisely, we might have a misadventure like Nemo and Dory or even like The Three Little Fishies (↔ Music Link).
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Time. There are only eight more weeks in Ordinary Time until we celebrate The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe on November 26th. At the outset today, I want to mention a previous post. In 
translated as “Jesus the son of Sirach of Jerusalem.” Ben Sira wrote in Hebrew, but his grandson later translated the book into Greek. The content of this lovely book is, in many ways, like the familiar Book of Proverbs, and is included in the list of writings called “Wisdom Literature.” Sirach is warning us to be true to the commandments – always a wise thing to do. He cautions us “do not be angry with your neighbor; remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook faults.” Overlook faults? Honestly, compared to thinking about death, that just might be something we think even less about! Again, intellectually or poetically, we know that’s part of the Two Great Commandments – Love God and Love you neighbor. Why would God tie those two things together? Is that just something he threw in to make life more difficult?
sin. A pardon is a sovereign act by a superior authority which grants the lessening or omission of punishment. The Justice of God is his authority to expunge our guilt and retore us to his company. It requires reparation for the remission of our sin, and thus he provides us with justification that is in his capacity as The Just Judge. He grants all of the rewards and blessings of our Salvation. Sin is actually removed from our soul. Now that’s something to think about! Pardon and Justification are Graces for those who belong to the Lord, who present themselves in humility and contrition, and who accept and abide in God’s limitless Grace. As The Apostle Paul has said in our Key Verse from his epistles, 
the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. There is a similar admonition in 
that that means. Here is a sampling of the words’ origins and meanings, starting with the Greek words: Μαρανα θα! Μαραν αθα! 
Gospel Key Verse, in this section of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is giving instructions on “fraternal correction.”
to them by El Elyon (God Most High) to straighten them out. It’s safe to say, it never fully worked because even in the presence of the Messiah, Yeshua, they were still arguing – mostly about things that were of human, not divine, concern. The psalmist is telling us, “Listen for HIS voice (and turn yours off) and don’t try to be quarrelsome. There’s no point in arguing with God.” We know that, don’t’ we? Still, as with Israel, we forget and get hard-headed anyway. That hard head leads to and supports a wagging tongue. Go back and look at 
receive what God knows we need: Him. No longer are we slaves to the flesh, but, in our renewal, we become slaves of the Spirit. Then Jesus himself tells us “I no longer call you slaves, but friends. (See 
just will not stay bottled up! A prophet is anyone who claims to speak God’s words or to teach in his name and is inspired by God to deliver God’s Word and Will to others and what s/he says is Truth. The Old Testament word for prophet is נָבִיא (nabiy’ ) {nah-bee’}. There are some disagreements among scholars about the origin of that word, but one that is well-accepted is that this noun comes from the verb noba` meaning to “bubble up,” “boil over”,” as in “to pour forth an abundance of words,” such as those who speak within divine inspiration. It is by and through the power and inspiration of God that a prophet speaks, and a prophet can’t help but speak when and what God commands any more than a boiling pot can stop bubbling. And that is the key. Those who have Divine Inspiration are True Prophets. The converse is that those whose “inspiration” is self-generated are the False Prophets. Belovéd, let’s stand in agreement with Moses that all may be gifted with prophecy! (See 
just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. This is the Christian equivalent of GI-GO only in this case, the G’s stand for Gospel, not garbage. We see hundreds of people walking around with wireless earbuds, Bluetooth phone thingies, headphones, even ear plugs as they are trying to shut out the noise around them by “controlling” the noise within them. Some listen to podcasts, some to hip-hop, some to rap, perhaps even a few listen to “classical music” (not the same as “classic rock”). Here is another (GNT) version: 8 In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. None of those alternatives for control listed above fit the criteria of The Apostle Paul’s advice. I have one more suggestion before we wrap this up. It’s within the parameters set up by The Apostle Paul. It’s also in the APP for YOLO-F.
need to change up our programming and wise up in the things of God. What the World programs for us is foolishness, but whosoever follows The Way of God is wise. Here’s a clue from the book of Proverbs:
When we think of inspirations, we often think of images like this one. For those of us who have music constantly playing in our heads, we might hear certain tunes going off: Here’s a great tune by Stewart Townend and Keith Getty and performed by Keith & Kristyn Getty, with Alison Krauss: 
Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
The universe is God’s creation. We are part of that creation. There are rules, laws, decrees, and patterns that govern all of creation – including us. When we live by the rules, creation is at our hand to enjoy as a natural consequence of obedience. When we flaunt the rules, all creation is against our hand as a natural consequence of disobedience. What is the state of those who fail to obey God’s commands (remember it’s God in Three Persons)? Well, their YOLO-F is spent in Hell, while those who are obedient eventually experience their YOLO-F in Heaven. The heartbreaking news is that there are so many souls living in complete indifference to God’s Way for us because they don’t believe or don’t care that God exists. Heartbreaking!
spouse who decides it is better to murder her/his spouse than to get a divorce – usually because they want to keep the financial security, life insurance, or to make sure they have custody of the kids. Even though you may be sick of hearing it from me, “the universe” cannot do a thing for you. It won’t answer your prayers, won’t guide you using the stars, won’t realign itself to make your life better or worse. STOP PRAYING TO THE UNIVERSE! (See 
pray for one another. Pray for faith, discernment, patience, and perseverance, and especially humility for yourself, for the MBN, for world leaders, and most especially for every living soul that refuses God’s irrevocable call and gifts. That’s not just about Maui; it’s about the entire World. We are not far from the point where God may say this: 
followed by the feeding of the 5,000. After that event, Jesus dismissed the crowds and went to a deserted place to pray until evening came. He had sent the Disciples ahead by boat to another destination. We all know the story – 
find this instructive because it contains all we need to know about God’s expectations and the results of accepting or rejecting him. This weekend when you hear about The Apostle Peter and his misadventure on the Sea of Galilee, remember that it is OK to step out in faith, but if we do, we have to keep going like Elijah did – and often with little preparation other than what God provides for us. We cannot forget that it is always enough to finish whatever he asks of us and all that happens to us. “My Grace is sufficient for you.” Sometimes his Grace includes a sponsor, a friend, a pastor, a confessor, or just a good, long talk with the Holy Spirit. Set aside a specific time to – as in make an appointment for – meet with God for a 
Daniel 7:14 –
there are two locations which fit the description in the Gospels. The location with the oldest tradition is Mount Tabor. It’s a fairly low mountain – only about 1,800 ft – but it stands alone on the plain of Esdraelon near Nazareth. It was an important landmark on a trade route called The Way of the Sea at the western edge of the Jezreel Valley. Though not very tall, it provided a panoramic view of the surrounding lands. Another location frequently cited by scholars is Mount Hermon. In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, we read “he took them (Peter, James, and John) up a high mountain.” Mount Hermon is around 9,232 feet in elevation, so that certainly qualifies as higher than Mount Tabor. Ultimately we’re not sure where the event actually took place; what is important is that it did happen and it has many lessons to teach us.
be martyred for the Kingdom. Jesus shared this essential moment in his life to help strengthen them for what was just days away. But there were other persons there, too. Moses and Elijah appeared alongside him and they, too, were radiating the Glory of Eternity. They represent the Law and the Prophets, and with Jesus in the center, all met together, in, and with him. Can you recall who else was there? Yes! The Holy Trinity! St. Thomas Aquinas has said, “The whole Trinity appeared: the Father in the voice; the Son in the man; the Spirit in the shining cloud.” All of this was a bit much for The Apostle Peter. He and his comrades fell to the ground and hid their faces.
Curious,” whatever your particular persuasion, you have been called to hear, and by hearing you are called to faith, and by faith you are called to accept the Gift of Love in Christ Jesus. Did you know you can be the voice through which The Word is heard? It is often said, “Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read.” Beloved, consider making your life an audio-book as well as a pop-up action book. Whatever your calling in Christ, honor the Giver by accepting – and sharing – the Gift of The Living Word. “Now hear ye the Word of the Lord.” He is calling! If you listen, you will hear; if you hear, Faith is just a “yes” away. With The Apostle Peter, I also say, “as long as I am in this body” I will continue to shine a little light on the Word so as to call out in encouragement to all of us on our departure (
– when he began his reign. This is why it makes sense that he would ask God for help in ruling “so vast a people.” (See 
wives were seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. As Solomon brought more outside influences into the Kingdom, his attention to God drifted. He began “going along to get along” with his wives – and probably their families – by worshipping their gods with them. He worshipped at the shrines of gods Adonai had specifically warned against including Ashtoreth, Molech, and Chemosh. He married women from Ammon, Moab, Sidon, Edom, and Hittite women, too. All of these were countries God had specifically forbidden to Israel for intermarriage. Solomon collected them all. When I present this to other people, there is usually at least one comment, “What are you going to do with 700 wives and 300 concubines?”
NOW! How? 1 
of the guiding principles was that we can’t improve what we don’t measure and we can’t measure what we don’t observe. Looking at the two passages from Psalms, we see that we must know the decrees, and then live by them. As we unfold the words of God’s decrees, they become a light that shows us where our feet are standing and where our feet can go. Trying to move around without that light is surely no smart move. God sent prophets, judges, seers, even enemies to try to straighten out Israel, but they persisted in ignoring him.
four-year-old inside of me takes over and says, “NO! I do it myself!” There’s nothing smart about that, folks. God is going to let me get away with that for a while. He’ll send me some disciplinary measures to blunt my obstinance. He’ll invite me to confess and repent. If I play it smart, all I have do is “Repent and believe the Gospel” and then live like that.
– like broken bones, the worse the break, the longer the healing. The thing is, there are endless, and I mean endless, opportunities to “settle with your accuser” (i.e., kick Satan in the butt 😊) before that last moment of Earthly life. After that moment, there are no do-overs. What’s done is done, and what we’ve won, we’ve won. God gives us the biggest and best opportunities to get it right and make a final smart move when he calls us by name, points to his son and says, “
