Thursday, July 17, 2025
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Sunday, July 13, 2025
Mercy Go and Do Likewise #mercy #justice #socialjustice #goodsamaritan...
Do Likewise
“Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. “ — Luke 10:36–37
We all know the story. It was prompted by a question and occasioned by a teaching in response to a greater question. What we have here is the application: Go and do likewise.
One question led to another, then to a story, and then to the lesson Jesus desired to imprint upon every heart: that everyone is our neighbor and that loving our neighbor is about making a practical and active decision to do so and following through regardless of our feelings.
A legal expert who sought to trap Jesus in His own words asked Him what was necessary to inherit eternal life. He turned the question back to him and to his knowledge and interpretation of the law.
“Love God and love your neighbor” was both the answer he gave and the one that Jesus Himself gave on another occasion when asked what the greatest commandment was. Jesus commended him and told him to go and do likewise.
That wasn’t enough for the lawyer. He needed an escape clause, something that limited his liability and reduced his responsibility.
“Define neighbor,” was his retort. So, Jesus told him the story of the Good Samaritan and put him in a real bind. He made the hero of the story an outcast from the social and religious life of the Jews. He told the story in such a way as to make the answer to the question obvious.
“Who was the neighbor? Was he one of those who left the poor man stranded by the road or the Samaritan who gave of himself and his means to help him?”
The lawyer answered generically, and Jesus responded specifically, “Go and do likewise.”
Go; live like an outcast among outcasts if you must, but practice love as you go. Love is not revealed in the words we speak or the sentiments we feel, but in the actions, we take in being neighbors to our neighbors.
Go forth and live it.
Recap
SUMMARY
We focused on the themes of mercy, justice, and love, particularly in the context of Christian teachings. The discussion centered around the biblical story of the Good Samaritan, emphasizing the importance of showing mercy to those in need, regardless of their background or perceived worthiness. Sims highlighted that justice and mercy are intertwined, with true justice being defined by acts of mercy and compassion. He urged participants to embody the love of God through actions towards their neighbors, stressing that living mercifully is essential for experiencing eternal life and being part of God’s kingdom. The meeting concluded with a call to practice love and mercy actively in daily life, reflecting the core Christian values of empathy and grace.
DISCUSSION
Mercy and Justice in Christian Teachings The speaker emphasizes the intertwined nature of mercy and justice, arguing that true justice involves showing mercy to the oppressed and needy. He references biblical passages, such as Psalm 82 and the story of the Good Samaritan, to illustrate that justice is not about punishment but about doing right by those deprived of fairness. The speaker stresses that mercy is not deserved but needed, and it is a fundamental aspect of Christian life.
The Good Samaritan and Neighborly Love
The speaker discusses the parable of the Good Samaritan to highlight the importance of showing mercy and love to all, regardless of their background. He explains that the Samaritan, despite being an outcast, exemplified true neighborly love by helping a stranger in need. The speaker urges listeners to emulate this behavior, emphasizing that love for God is demonstrated through love for one’s neighbor.
Practical Application of Mercy
The speaker encourages practical application of mercy in daily life, suggesting that love and mercy should be active decisions. He criticizes the lack of mercy in the world, even among Christians, and calls for compassion and empathy towards those who are suffering. The speaker highlights that showing mercy brings joy and a sense of God’s love, and it is essential for experiencing eternal life and being part of God’s kingdom.
Friday, July 11, 2025
Sunday, July 06, 2025
Advance Team 4 Jesus Luke 10 #crisis #kingdomofgod #harvest #disciples...
Tuesday, July 01, 2025
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Monday, June 23, 2025
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Extraordinary Generosity Acts 4 32 #generous #generosity #earlychurch #J...
Extraordinary Generosity
“And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” - Acts4:32
One of the characteristics of the new believers in the Jerusalem church was their generous hearts. They did not consider their time, possessions, or personal gifts their own. Whatever they had, they submitted to God, and it became available for the Kingdom.
The church was not an economic utopia, but a body of Christians, freely associating and freely giving themselves to God through Jesus Christ.
Our lives are more complicated today.
We have financial advisors and career paths, personal assets, and discretionary time.
Our day planners are filled with events that we must juggle to “make time” for ourselves.
We have carefully detailed maps of our futures, and we wonder where the wonder went. There was a freshness and awe in the early church that came from the loose fist. Those believers did not hold things tightly in their hands and God was able to use their flexibility and generosity.
So, God can and will use us today if we will rediscover the wonder.
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Monday, June 16, 2025
Sunday, June 15, 2025
This Is My Father's World
Father’s Day and Trinity Sunday
Let the Fields Rejoice
“Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. “-1 Chronicles 16:32
Seas roar and its more than a metaphor
Fields rejoice and somehow find their voice.
All therein becomes our kin in the symphony of praise.
Nature sings. Each creature brings the offerings of worship.
Mountains and hills shout. Volcanoes erupt. Every living thing and every inanimate object joins the mighty chorus that announces the glory of God.
Fields rejoice.
Imagine that. When the first indicators of spring erupt from the earth, they join in a dance of joy. The colors and the shapes all imitate and reflect the essential nature given to them as a tiny piece of God’s revelation of Himself through creation.
“All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres. This is my Father’s world.” — Maltbie D. Babcock
Sound, color, even thought can be described in the language of frequency, cycles per unit in a period of time. That is physics and when life enters in, it is biology. But when the spirit enters in, it is life and worship.
I am no expert in the sciences and no one is an expert in the things of the spirit.
“The wind bloweth where it listeth …” — John 3:8
Jesus said it is that way with those born of the Spirit.
We are not experts, but we are participants and observers.
We are participants in rejoicing with the fields that are coming to life right now.
We are invited into the chorus and symphony of color, sound, and spirit.
Babcock continues:
“This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.”
As Short to Share
The Guide
“…he will guide you into all truth…” -John 16:13b
There were many things that Jesus could have said, wanted to say, and needed to say to the disciples, but it was not the right time. It was not the right time because they were not ready. They could not hear those things. They could not bear those things. They were not ready.
They would be ready later. They would be eager later. It would be the right time later. Their hearts would be prepared. Their lives would have been transformed later.
We must be ready to receive. We need a guide.
Jesus used more than one term to describe the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of Truth. He is the Counselor, the Comforter, the Paraclete who walks beside us. He is the Spirit of the Living God. He is the wind that blows wherever it will.
Now, in this setting, he is a guide. His role is to guide Jesus’ disciples into truth. Not only is it truth where he guides, but Jesus says that it is all truth.
He transforms the hearts and minds of the disciples and prepares them to receive truth. Then he imparts truth to them. He guides. He directs. He counsels. He coaches. He illuminates. He helps them to apply that truth to their lives.
He answers questions we have never asked before.
Jesus says that he will not speak of himself. He has not come to exalt himself. He hears and he speaks. Furthermore, he shows us what is ahead of us.
The bottom line, Jesus tells the disciples, is that he glorifies God in the Son of God. He glorifies the Christ.
He does this, according to Jesus, by taking what is Jesus’, namely his words and thoughts, and revealing them to us. He shows us the things of God. He discloses God’s wonders. He unveils the riches of God’s Word. He frames God’s wisdom in a way that we can understand it and live it.
There is a partnership between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a partnership of fellowship. It is a partnership of truth. All that belongs to one is shared with the other.
When the Spirit comes, Jesus teaches, we will be ready. That is because the Holy Spirit invites us into the fellowship where we experience the Holy Trinity. In that fellowship, we are prepared, and we are ready to receive the things the Jesus wanted to teach his disciples, but they were not ready to hear.
That is the beauty and the wonder of Pentecost and Trinity Day, and it is why we celebrate.
More Father’s Day Thoughts
A Son About His Father’s Business
“And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,” — Luke 9:51
Every day, for Jesus, was Father’s Day. It was his Father’s Day. He was Son of God and Son of Man, twenty-four hours of every day and every day of the year.
Twice, here, he refers to himself as the Son of Man, a messianic designation in its historic use. The Son of Man is one who has been anointed by the Father in Heaven for a message and a mission on earth.
Because he identifies with humanity, he is not only the Son of God, but the Son of Man. There are two declarations he makes about this role:
First, the Son of Man does not come to destroy lives. He comes to save lives. The disciples think that fire from Heaven might be appropriate for those who reject the message, but Jesus thinks and acts like his Father from whom he has received his mission and message.
He comes to save, and he is on his way to Jerusalem to do just that.
The second is that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
This, he iterated when a man professed that he would follow him anywhere and everywhere.
I am lower than a fox or a bird, he implies, because I have nowhere to sleep. All hope, salvation, and grace rested upon the life, testimony, death, and resurrection of a homeless prophet.
In these statements of intent, Jesus was observing the commandment to honor his Father to whom he taught us to pray as our Father, Dad, Abba, the perfect model for a perfect Father.
Another approaches and uses his father as an excuse to tarry, “And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”
Again, Jesus affirms his Father’s will and call and “said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
“And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
How then, did the Son of God and Son of Man honor his Father? By putting his hand to the plow and setting his face toward his destiny to do his Father’s will and proclaim his Kingdom.
Key of David
Isaiah 22:22 — And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, was about to get a key and that key would unlock the door to a function that would bring men and women into the very presence of God.
The scriptures will often tell us the name of a father when identifying his son. Here, the most important of the fathers was David. The prophetic word is a blessing one who will inherit a priestly responsibility and blessing that has been passed on since the time of David.
Cults have often misappropriated this concept, but they cannot rob it of its biblical significance.
In Revelation 3:7, Jesus holds the key. It returns, through a succession of natural and spiritual fathers to its source, the One to who it belongs with all authority and power.
It is the key of the covenant of God with His people.
God appointed Abram, changed his name to Abraham, and made him the father of many nations including a priestly nation. With that inheritance, the people of God have privileges and responsibilities to share the truth and love of God with all people.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the many sons of Jacob, and their descendants received a tradition and a stewardship. God’s call upon David was a preview of a Messianic Kingdom.
Papa Hilkiah, whose name means “my portion is Yah” (for Yahweh — God’s personal name) was a priest at during the days of King Josiah During his priesthood, he found a lost copy of the Book of the Law at the Temple in Jerusalem.
It can be supposed that his preaching influenced Josiah and a time of revival and renewal. It is a great heritage for a father to pass on to a son. What a profoundly significant key!
What sort of keys are you, fathers, placing in the hands of your sons and daughters that God can use to bring men and women face to face with Himself?
It is an awesome responsibility.
It is an awesome privilege and joy.
It is awesome to think of those who have preceded us and done this so well.
Happy Father’s Day.
“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” — Psalm 20:4
Did you receive a blessing from your father as a child or a young adult? Have you used your role as a father figure to bless a younger person? Have you ever wondered what sort of blessing you might like to receive or that you could give? Psalm 20:4 lays out a strong suggestion.
As astounding as it may sound, God, our Heavenly Father, desires to give us our desires, but only after He has transformed those desires and brought them into sync with His own. He wants our plans to succeed, especially when His Spirit has planted those plans in our hearts. The progression of the blessing is the prerequisite experience of the blanket prayer.
First there is distress, then divine deliverance and protection, followed by help, support, sacrifice, and offering. The transforming power of these events paves the way for success.
Psalm 20:5 says, “We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.”
There have been many along the way that have cheered you on to spiritual success and growth. The have applauded God at your salvation, baptism, and first steps in discipleship.
They have encouraged you and embraced you along your pilgrimage. It is your turn to do this for another. You are called to be an encourager or a mentor or even a cheerleader.
You have the capacity to invest your life and prayers in someone other than yourself and to take great joy in his or her progress. Don’t let the opportunity slip away.
Psalm 20:6 says, “Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.”
It is a serendipitous moment when we realize within ourselves that God does indeed save those upon whom His purposes rest. Jesus Christ is God’s anointed and all who are found in Him are heirs of God’s purposes, promises, and privileges. We suddenly discover that we can reinterpret every event in our lives in the newly discerned light of God’s eternal program in which we are included.
Live each day in the light of His promises and in the confidence of your secure position in His eternal family and take each opportunity God gives you to bless a young man or a young woman who is discovering his or her path in life.
(He) set his face to go to Jerusalem,” — Luke 9:51
Every day, for Jesus, was Father’s Day. It was his Father’s Day. He was Son of God and Son of Man, twenty-four hours of every day and every day of the year.
Twice, here, he refers to himself as the Son of Man, a messianic designation in its historic use. The Son of Man is one who has been anointed by the Father in Heaven for a message and a mission on earth.
Because he identifies with humanity, he is not only the Son of God, but the Son of Man. There are two declarations he makes about this role:
First, the Son of Man does not come to destroy lives. He comes to save lives. The disciples think that fire from Heaven might be appropriate for those who reject the message, but Jesus thinks and acts like his Father from whom he has received his mission and message.
He comes to save, and he is on his way to Jerusalem to do just that.
The second is that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
This, he iterated when a man professed that he would follow him anywhere and everywhere.
I am lower than a fox or a bird, he implies, because I have nowhere to sleep. All hope, salvation, and grace rested upon the life, testimony, death, and resurrection of a homeless prophet.
In these statements of intent, Jesus was observing the commandment to honor his Father to whom he taught us to pray as our Father, Dad, Abba, the perfect model for a perfect Father.
Another approaches and uses his father as an excuse to tarry, “And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”
Again, Jesus affirms his Father’s will and call and “said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
“And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
How then, did the Son of God and Son of Man honor his Father? By putting his hand to the plow and setting his face toward his destiny to do his Father’s will and proclaim his Kingdom.
Your Father’s Good Pleasure
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.“ -Luke 12:32
After warning the listeners about losing everything by seeking to gain riches at all costs, Jesus speaks these words, Fear not.”
Fear not because your Father loves to give and wants to give you his entire Kingdom.
He gives this advice: Divest.
“Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
As we view a retrospective of the early church, we find that there were many who took this quite literally and threw off the shackles of possessions to follow Jesus.
Others took it more symbolically and dedicated all their possessions to God and lived as if God were the owner of all they had once considered their own.
In both cases, there was a conversion of their thinking about how they viewed wealth and ownership.
He taught his disciples to travel light when he said,
“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.”
Be ready to respond and ready to move quickly, not overloaded with stuff that ties you down.
“Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching…”
Things can happen quickly when we live, move, and breathe in the realm of the Spirit.
We need to be ready. To be ready, we must be unencumbered.
We lose nothing by giving it all to God and to others. It is a lesson I learned early in life from a godly grandmother. She told me two things:
You cannot outgive God and you only save, in this life, what you give away.
God’s desire is to give you far more than you could ever wish for, hope for, or accumulate on your own. It is God’s good pleasure to give you the entire Kingdom. Nothing can compete with that. Fear not, little flock!
“Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
Friday, June 13, 2025
Up to My Neck Ps 69 #prayer #distress #persecution #hope #kind #gosiskin...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdzB3AIqh9Q&pp=0gcJCd4JAYcqIYzv
Reflections on Psalm 69
A prayer of a man sinking in the mud.
"You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you." - Psalm 69:5, NIV
I do not know your folly. I am not absolutely certain that I know my own.
God knows.
Some may consider this bad news.
I consider it liberating and the ground upon which grace can build a house of witness in my life and an altar of honest exchange between me and my Maker.
Only secrets can feed a dysfunctional system. None exist between God and me - none of mine and He is revealing Himself to me daily and as much as I can bear. No secrets, no pretense, no enabling of my wrongs.
God knows me and God loves me.
It passes through the filter of a knowledge of God's mercy:
"Your love is kind."
From Psalm 69
This has always been one of my favorite bible prayers. It has always provided me words to express my own heart in times when I could not find the right words myself.
It says what so many of us, so often, feel.
Even as it empowers us to reach into the darkness within our hearts, it encourages us to find hope and resolve.
Pray it. Don't just read it.
Pray it slowly, pausing over the phrases that will become your prayers for this day.
It is a thoroughly, reusable psalm that will give you new meaning and new expression each time you pray it.
At times, you will only need the first few words, "Save me, O God." And you may stop there.
Sometimes, it has been for me, "O God, you know my foolishness."
There have been moments when I have only mustered the strength to pray, "I have grown weary with my crying."
Often, I have prayed, “In your great mercy, O God, answer me with your unfailing help."
I never enjoy admitting that "shame has covered my face," but God knows, hears, and welcomes me though "my faults are not hidden from God."
The writer-singer-psalmist-petitioner has sought help and comfort from others, but only finds acceptance, assistance, and compassion in God.
God is swift to help in our distress.
One of my favorite prayers within this prayer has always been, "let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me."
It has been a prayer of mine in times of pain, suffering, discouragement, temptation, and trial. It has taken my mind away from an inward focus on my problems to the implication of my life and witness and its effect on others'. It has given purpose and meaning to my own struggles.
"I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving," is the cry of praise and the promise of hope for "the Lord listens to the needy...and his prisoners he does not despise."
Enjoy your prayer time.
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Psalm 69 (NRSV)
Salvum me fac
Save me, O God,
for the waters have risen up to my neck.
I am sinking in deep mire,
and there is no firm ground for my feet.
I have come into deep waters,
and the torrent washes over me.
I have grown weary with my crying;
my throat is inflamed;
my eyes have failed from looking for my God.
Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
my lying foes who would destroy me are mighty.
Must I then give back what I never stole?
O God, you know my foolishness,
and my faults are not hidden from you.
Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord GOD of hosts;
let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel.
Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach,
and shame has covered my face.
I have become a stranger to my own kindred,
an alien to my mother’s children.
Zeal for your house has eaten me up;
the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
I humbled myself with fasting,
but that was turned to my reproach.
I put on sack-cloth also,
and became a byword among them.
Those who sit at the gate murmur against me,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
But as for me, this is my prayer to you,
at the time you have set, O LORD:
“In your great mercy, O God,
answer me with your unfailing help.
Save me from the mire; do not let me sink;
let me be rescued from those who hate me
and out of the deep waters.
Let not the torrent of waters wash over me,
neither let the deep swallow me up;
do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
Answer me, O LORD, for your love is kind;
in your great compassion, turn to me.”
“Hide not your face from your servant;
be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
Draw near to me and redeem me;
because of my enemies deliver me.
You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
my adversaries are all in your sight.”
Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I could find no one.
They gave me gall to eat,
and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.
[Let the table before them be a trap
and their sacred feasts a snare.
Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see,
and give them continual trembling in their loins.
Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let the fierceness of your anger overtake them.
Let their camp be desolate,
and let there be none to dwell in their tents.
For they persecute him whom you have stricken
and add to the pain of those whom you have pierced.
Lay to their charge guilt upon guilt,
and let them not receive your vindication.
Let them be wiped out of the book of the living
and not be written among the righteous.]
As for me, I am afflicted and in pain;
your help, O God, will lift me up on high.
I will praise the Name of God in song;
I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD more than an offering of oxen,
more than bullocks with horns and hoofs.
The afflicted shall see and be glad;
you who seek God, your heart shall live.
For the LORD listens to the needy,
and his prisoners he does not despise.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and all that moves in them;
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah;
they shall live there and have it in possession.
The children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his Name will dwell therein.
It culminates in praise:
Even the Seas Praise Him
"Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth therein." - Psalm 69:34
To borrow from a different season, my heart sings,
Joy to the world! The Lord has come!
Let earth receive her king.
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing!
(Isaac Watts)
Heaven and nature sing the glories and praise of God.
Look at the sky. It is praising God. The multitude and magnitude of the heavens form a symphony of adoration for the One who thought it all out, spoke it into existence, and maintains its order through the strength of His own resolve.
Earth praises God. Down to the atom, every mineral, every mountain, every blade of grass or leaf that falls from a tree sings the honor of His intricate design. Plant, animal, and human life testify to His genius and meticulous design.
The seas praise Him.
From surface to depth, the oceans are mysterious and possess overwhelming power. They have not been nor, can they be conquered, harnessed, nor tamed. We have yet to explore a fraction of what they possess. They form more of the surface area of this planet than all the land masses combined.
No human can survive at their deepest places. In their secret places, there is darkness and even that darkness praises God.
When the sea is quiet, He is praised.
When the storms rock the surface and the mighty ships are in peril, He is praised.
When we rest upon the shore and look out over the waves crashing on the beach, God is praised.
God of the seas! Thy thundering voice
Makes all the roaring waves rejoice,
And one soft word of Thy command
Can sink them silent in the sand.
(Isaac Watts)
If the heavens, earth, and sea praise God, let us also join them in praise.
#folly #Psalm69 #mercy #compassion #prayers #precatory #sinking #helpme