Who do you trust?

 a parent? your spouse? a friend? a teacher? a pastor? a priest? 

these may be good choices, but some people, even those closest to us, betray our trust. after all, we're all humans.

that's the point. why not trust God? God is our Father. 

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,

your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread;

and forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors;

and do not subject us to the final test,

but deliver us from the evil one.

Ask God for no more than our daily bread and for God to forgive our sins, as we forgive those who sinned against us. 

Then thank God, and praise, worship and love God. 

God knows best. Trust God implicitly. 

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breaking news

Good evening. We're coming to you from a remote area near Siverek. However, our story begins approximately 720 miles southeast from here in the ancient town of Ur (in what is now southern Iraq). Avraham (Abraham), then 75 years' old, and his wife Sarai, left their large estate in Ur with Abraham's father Terah and nephew Lot and settled near Siverek (in what is now southern Turkey). When asked why he left Ur, Abraham said that he made a covenant with God. 

a covenant with God? Tell us about it.

Abraham said that God came to him in a vision. Abraham told God that he and Sarai were childless. God said that even though he and Sarai were very old, that Sarai would have a son. God told Abraham that his descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky. 

Abraham put his faith in God, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness. God then said to Abraham: I am God who brought you from Ur to this land. God told Abraham to prepare a sacrifice by splitting a heifer, a goat and a ram and placing the halves opposite each other. 

After sunset Abraham fell into a deep sleep. God told Abraham that his descendants will reside as aliens in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed for four hundred years. God said that eventually Abraham's descendants will return to this land and occupy it as their own. Then there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch that passed between the split animals signifying God's covenant with Abraham.

 

For more on Abraham, his remarkable story and his descendants, see the book of Genesis, beginning with chapter 11. 

Good night from Siverek, Turkey.

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faith

• war 
• natural disasters
• poverty
• injustice
• personal tragedies
• etc. 

 
faith is believing that no matter what happens that it is what it is because God wills it. faith is trusting God no matter what happens. 

God's greatest attribute

we christians are taught at an early age that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-merciful, all-just, all-loving, etc. 

God's greatest attribute is the one that separates God from his creatures the most. 

God alone is holy. (Revelation 15:4)  

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baptism

Why are thousands of baptisms deemed invalid? | Crux  

from the catechism of the catholic church:

1239 The essential rite of the sacrament follows: Baptism properly speaking. It signifies and actually brings about death to sin and entry into the life of the Most Holy Trinity through configuration to the Paschal mystery of Christ. Baptism is performed in the most expressive way by triple immersion in the baptismal water. However, from ancient times it has also been able to be conferred by pouring the water three times over the candidate's head.

1240 In the Latin Church this triple infusion is accompanied by the minister's words: "N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In the Eastern liturgies the catechumen turns toward the East and the priest says: "The servant of God, N., is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." At the invocation of each person of the Most Holy Trinity, the priest immerses the candidate in the water and raises him up again.

change from immersion to pouring water over one's head and differences in eastern rites' baptism suggest to me flexibility. 

failure to recognize the validity of thousands of baptisms because of the unfortunate use of the word "we" instead of "I" suggests rigidity.

who determines the validity of baptisms? answer: only God.

to suggest that God would decree the baptisms of the victims of the unfortunate mistake as invalid suggests to me self-righteousness and a lack of understanding of a loving and merciful God.

PS further research on this topic revealed that the problem of priests performing baptisms incorrectly is not new. yet the church seems unable to correct the situation. such is the case with many other seemingly more serious problems, abuses and scandals within the catholic church today. matthew 23. 

JOY = HOPE

"euangelion" translated from Greek to English is "gospel". it means "good news". 

how do you feel when you hear good news? joy? 

how do you feel when you hear the word "hope"? joy? 

do we as Christians project joy and hope? do our leaders? 

without joy, there is no hope. 

without hope, there is no joy. 

JOY = HOPE.

let us rejoice in the Lord!

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faith

faith is beautiful. faith is a gift that allows us to believe what we don't know for sure.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

EMU Professors' Play On Nazi Dissident To Hit Stages in Harrisonburg, Vienna | Features | dnronline.com 

Matthew 5:3

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

"To be 'poor in spirit' means:

1. Humility: It signifies a humble and contrite heart, acknowledging one's spiritual poverty and dependence on God. It is the opposite of arrogance, pride, and self-sufficiency.
2. Recognition of Need: Those who are 'poor in spirit' recognize their need for God's grace, forgiveness, and guidance in their lives. They understand that they cannot achieve righteousness or salvation on their own merits.
3. Openness to God: Being 'poor in spirit' implies a willingness to submit to God's will, to be open to His teachings, and to be receptive to the transformation of one's character by the Holy Spirit."

https://www.christianity.com/jesus/life-of-jesus/teaching-and-messages/who-are-the-poor-in-spirit.html

the Lord's prayer

Our FATHER in heaven, HALLOWED be YOUR NAME, your KINGDOM come, your WILL be done, on earth as in heaven. 

Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;

and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.

Matthew 6: 9-13

File:Brooklyn Museum - The Lord's Prayer (Le Pater Noster) - James Tissot.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

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never been born?

"For the Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born."

Mark 14:21


9 Of others no memory remains,
for when they perished, they perished,
As if they had never lived,
they and their children after them.

10 Yet these also were godly;
their virtues have not been forgotten.

11 Their wealth remains in their families,
their heritage with their descendants.

12 Through God’s covenant their family endures,
and their offspring for their sake.

13 And for all time their progeny will endure,
their glory will never be blotted out;

14 Their bodies are buried in peace,
but their name lives on and on.

15 At gatherings their wisdom is retold,
and the assembly proclaims their praises.

sirach 44: 9-15

heaven. hell. purgatory? (Purgatory - Wikipedia) "never been born"?

I believe that God loves all of His creations as a father loves his children--even when his children fail to do his will. would a human father wish eternal fire and brimstone, weeping and gnashing of teeth for his disobedient child (see Luke 15: 11-32)? while there may be some exceptions, I think not. perhaps "never been born" is the manifestation of God's justice working together with God's love for all of His children. 

"Of others no memory remains,
for when they perished, they perished,
As if they had never lived,
they and their children after them.

... their bodies are buried in peace...".

may all of the souls of the faithfully departed (including disobedient ones) rest in peace. amen.

matthew 8: 5-13

ever since I was a kid, matthew 8: 5-13 has been one of my favorite bible stories.

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”

He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”

The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.

I'm no longer a child. I'm 75 years old and I still love this story. when I was in the army, it was said that company commander (typically a captain) was the best job in the army. a company commander commands about 100 men. as an enlisted man, I could easily see why company commander is the best job in the army. "... For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

after the army, I spent 40+ years in the business world as a civil engineer. during my later years, I managed relatively small groups of engineers and technicians (much less than 100). I knew full well what it meant to be "a person subject to authority, with others subject to me". 

Today I think the things that I most love about this story is the centurion's faith and his begging Jesus to heal his servant. when I think about it, that's the posture with which we should all approach Jesus--as beggars with faith. we are sinners. Jesus is our Savior. why wouldn't we have faith? why wouldn't we beg for His mercy and forgiveness? why wouldn't our faith in Jesus be as strong as the centurion's?  

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I search

I search for peace. 

I find chaos.

I search for love.

I find hate.

I search for generosity.

I find greed.

I search for truth.

I find lies.

I search for God.

I find God.

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faith and our journey: free will and final judgment

 this is what I believe:

• our life/journey is a gift from God.
• each person's life/journey is unique.
• our free will is a gift from God.
• the bible tells us that there will be a final judgment.
• all human beings sin.
• each person's final judgment will be unique.
• Jesus said that more is expected from those who have been given much. (luke 12:48)
• Jesus/God is our Redeemer.
• Jesus tells us that we must love Jesus/God and our neighbor and be sorry for our sins to be saved. 

I believe in God. God has given me great gifts. I have willfully sinned against God and against men and women. I am sorry for my sins. I believe that Jesus is our Redeemer. How will Jesus/God judge me? I don't know. I do know that, while there are many self-proclaimed experts, there is only one true expert--God.

come Holy Ghost

Come, Holy Ghost - YouTube

is belief in God the same as faith in God?

no. 

to me belief in God is intellectual. observe. think. where did we come from? where did the universe come from? can something come from nothing? I observe that humans can't create something from nothing. not to mention something of the size, beauty and complexity of the human body and the observable universe. only a Supreme being could be responsible for creating the universe and all that's in it. 

faith, on the other hand, is turning your whole life over to the providence of God. 

I believe in God. my faith is weak. 

faith, hope, love 

F

so, how did I do? 

an "F" may seem harsh, but that's the way that I see it. 

I won't go into the particulars. what's the point? I know what I did and didn't do and so does God. besides, that's between me and God.

however, I will say that another "F" word is a big part of my failure--faith. 

do I really believe that Jesus was tortured and suffered a horrible death to redeem me from my sins? intellectually it's not so much that I don't believe as it is that I know my failures to live the life that I should have. the scale of justice is way out of balance--not in my favor. 

but then, I'm not the Judge--God is. 

years ago I heard it put this way... 

Joe and Bob were buddies. they grew up together. Joe made good choices. he was a respected judge in criminal court. Bob made bad choices. he was a criminal--a repeat offender. now Bob was in court on a murder charge. 

when Bob was led into court for his murder charge, he saw Joe on the bench. Bob thought "O boy! my buddy Joe is the judge! I've got it made!" 

when the verdict was read, Bob faced Joe--guilty. Bob thought "no! how could Joe do this to me?"

at that point Joe stood up from behind the bench, took off his judge's robe and stood next to Bob. "Bailiff" Joe called "remove Bob's handcuffs and put them on me. I'll serve Bob's sentence." 

the best explanation of John 3:16 that I've ever heard.

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I should rejoice and be glad that I have a loving Redeemer. 

God have mercy on me for my weak faith.

biden and the pope

biden says that personally he's against abortion, but he doesn't believe that he has the right to ban abortion. the pope says that biden is "a good catholic". some catholics, including clergy and higher-ups, believe otherwise.

biden has it right--so does the pope. those who think otherwise are wrong. 

you know the story. God created man. God gave man free will. It's our choice to choose good or evil. Each of us makes good choices and bad choices. How we choose is between each of us and God alone. No person should interfere with our sacred God-given right to choose. 

furthermore, think about it. have laws banning murder, including God's laws (e.g. the ten commandments), stopped murders? all of the condemnations by lawmakers, activists, do-gooders, clergy and even God's laws haven't stopped murders. evil will exist for as long as God wills for it to exist. 

God have mercy on us. Thank you for sending Your Son to save us. Amen. 

the seed of the sower

The Parable of the Sower is a parable of Jesus found in Matthew 13:1–23, Mark 4:1–20, Luke 8:4–15 and the extra-canonical Gospel of Thomas.

The Seed of the Sower - Plain Bible Teaching

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“He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8).

can we hear the presider when people talk out loud during a church service? at other times when people are silently praying, can they hear God speaking to them when others are talking out loud? 

1 Kings 19:12 says that God whispered to Elijah. Neither Elijah nor anyone else can hear God in the din that occurs in many church sanctuaries today. 

what has happened to our churches? where has reverence for God gone? respect for others? 

why has this desecration been allowed to continue?  

“O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary I beg the conversion of poor sinners.”

Lily's 11:15 prayer

Blessed are you, Father of Life, source of goodness and peace, in whom all creation has its origin and by whom every person is loved.

In Father Bill Atkinson your mercy and compassion were made manifest as he brought solace to the suffering and hope to the needy.

By carrying the cross of life faithfully he proclaimed confidence in your love and conformity to your will, and so drew others to you and to the generous gift of your grace.

Hear our prayers which we offer through his intercession so that as your work continues to unfold among us it may bring honor to you, comfort to your people, and, according to your will, glory to your servant. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

https://www.alilyfortheworld.com/11-15