Seek and Find

It’s clear I keep my eyes and ears wide open for God-ideas that give me content for my daily blogs. And, that content comes from various places -- a scripture reading, praying, scrolling my social media platforms, something a friend said and in my walks. And you know what? When I seek, I find Him!

In Jeremiah 29:13, God made it clear that He isn’t playing the Hide and Go Seek game. He said: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." I was on purpose to see Him in my early morning walk yesterday. He wasn’t hiding. I found Him immediately when I hit the streets. Of course, He was in the trees, the cool morning breeze, (thanking God for these cool temperatures), and other people walking. He IS everywhere AND He is HERE in my heart. The more that I sensed Him, the more aware and conscious I was of His love, His mercy, grace, and most of all, His presence. That's when I started noticing the greatest symbol of His love -- the cross. I started seeing crosses on the street, on fences, windows, and objects -- thus my photo collage for this day.

The Cross -- of course, when we seek Him, we'll find Him, and this day I found Him where Jesus paid the ultimate price for us with His life. I loved seeing that reminder everywhere I walked. I paid attention to it. I purposefully looked for it. Holding on to that symbol, assures us that everything’s gonna’ be alright!

And, isn't that what this scripture means? "You will seek Me and find Me.....when you seek me with all your heart." He's just a thought away, a prayer away, a cross away, and a heart-beat away. How I thank Him for the cross and how I thank Him for the reminder of His love for me.

My friend posted this beautiful story a few days ago. It fits in well with this conversation:

THE BRIDEGROOM IS PRESENT, BUT NOT SEEN
A disciple once asked the holy one, "Where shall I look for enlightenment?"
"Here!" the holy one said.
"When will it happen?"
"It is happening right now," the holy one said.
"Then why don't I experience it?"
"Because you do not look," the holy one said.
"What should I look for?"
"Nothing," the holy one said. "Just look!"
"Must I look in a special kind of way?"
"No," the holy one said, "the ordinary way will do."
"But don't I always look in an ordinary way?"
"No," the holy one said. "You don't!"
"Why ever not?" the disciple demanded.
"Because to look, you must be here. You're mostly somewhere else."
(Story shared by Sr. Pascaline Coff O.S.B.)

Right here, HERE, He's just a thought away, a prayer away, a cross away, and a heart-beat away. How I thank Him for the cross and how I thank Him for the reminder of His love for you and me. God is here, there and everywhere! Let’s keep our eyes wide open!

Just Harping About Loving

What are we going to do about the evil in this world? Let it play out, or, as Christians, take the responsibility to demonstrate radical love that people will start to know Jesus by our love. We could reach the world with this radical, Christ-like love.

How do we measure up? Do others know we're a disciple of Christ by the way we talk the "love talk" and walk the "love walk"? Let's take St. Paul's love test to see how we measure up: “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own way, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). That love is the mark of Christ’s disciples.

Yes, I’m harping on loving. We’re in good company if we become a “love-harper”. We’ll be taking after Jesus. Our hearts of love (or not) are being exposed. Here’s a scripture that reveals whose side we’re on: “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy”, but the Jesus way of love says: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) The thief is aka Satan. The Lover and Life-giver is Jesus.

Jesus explained it in an easy-to-understand way. He said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.“ (Matthew 22:37-38) Loving God is the heart of the matter. Without love for God, first and foremost, it's easy to violate all the other commandments, the laws of the land, love and respect for our brothers and sisters, and ourselves. If we stuck to this one -- we'd sail through the other ones!

And, isn’t that why Jesus gave us that first and most important commandment? It was because He loves us too much to see us wander and become isolated from a Father-Child, loving relationship that is about obedience, righteousness and a daily heart-check-up! If we aren’t purposefully loving God with all our hearts, it's easy to slide on keeping any of the others.

These times call for an immersion in the waters of love. When we fall in love with the Lover of our Souls, then it is a natural by-product of Jesus’ second greatest commandment – to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). In 1st John the connection is explicit: “We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:19-21). Whew! How much clearer could it get?

So, how can we measure up to loving in spite of wrongs done to us? We can't measure up, but there is One who does. Jesus loved us perfectly and gave Himself for us. He saved us when none of us could save ourselves. And now, when we put our trust in Him, we are transformed and can imitate the pattern of His love: In receiving His love, we can, in turn, love others. It’s a win-win – we love God with all our hearts – and then, we live it out by loving others. Let's harp about this kind-of-love!

Disciple, Discipled, Discipling

My daughter completed writing another book that has been sent off to the publisher. I was grateful to be her technical writer, going through the manuscript with a “fine tooth comb” to review it for clarity, punctuation, grammar, and content. With the wisdom she learned from her own life experiences, she wrote as a disciple of Christ to help her readers avoid some of her pitfalls and gain the wisdom she learned. So, in essence, she, as a disciple of Christ is discipling others to become disciples of Christ, also.

In my editing, I wrestled with her using discipled or discipling as an “action verb” because it isn’t described in the dictionary as a verb. I know she used it as the “action of making disciples” and shortened it to “discipling”, but my “Grammarly” app that spellchecks the contents, kept rejecting it as an "unknown" word.

Using “disciple” as a verb indicates the action Jesus commanded when he told us to “make disciples” of all nations. And when Staci used it as “discipling” people, she was describing how we obey Jesus by “making disciples.” Whew! I’m sure you can understand the angst I had to not using it as a verb because even as I type this post, Grammarly has highlighted it as an "incorrect" word eight times. But, for the emphasis Staci desired to make her point, it was necessary. She won the debate by keeping the word as a noun and a verb.

But there is a deeper question underlying the issue of grammar that created my angst. I was resolute against it but now, I find myself asking myself. “Does the way I’m wanting to use the word “disciple” indicate something about my heart? About my preferences? Do I prefer the noun of being a disciple or the verb of “discipling” aka making disciples?

Maybe I’m more comfortable with “disciple” as a noun because it puts the onus on me to be a “daily” disciple of Christ. I just need to “measure up” in my devotion and love for Him in what I say, how I live my life day-to-day, being His good girl, keeping His good rules, maintaining my Christian status, speaking good, not evil of others, and being an example of a follower of Christ.

It’s a whole other thing for “disciple” to become an action verb where there is the activity of discipleship directed toward others by obeying Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19 to "go and make disciples of all nations." It’s obvious in my “age bracket” (35 and up – LOL!) that we engage our own discipleship well, but we are aloof to those younger than us who need encouragement. We are more comfortable with being a disciple than making disciples.

I also contend that if we shift the use of “disciple” from a noun to a verb, we may get more comfortable with the activity of “making disciples” than the state of “being a disciple and literally following Jesus, being in intimate relationship with Him”. We could spend our lives investing in our relationships with others, but neglect the most important relationship of all, the one with Jesus Himself.

So back to my dilemma in using a word in a published book that isn’t in the dictionary. I hear God saying to me what He said in my post yesterday. “You are worried about too many things that matter so little. Say, ‘Oh well’, and embrace “discipled and discipling” as verbs and “disciple” as a noun. Just live out both senses of the word if you desire to do discipleship well. Take your personal discipleship with me seriously as well as the discipleship of others to help them connect to Me and the Body of Christ. You are my “disciple”. Now go into all the world and “disciple” others to follow me, too.” Dear Lord, I sure do hope the next question I have for you DOESN’T involve grammar! Amen."

Trucking for Jesus

I met this beautiful couple at a Holy Spirit Retreat this weekend. Leon and Lorraine, who, by profession, are truck drivers. I learned about the benefits of being a truck driver – especially when you have your spouse with you and she's a driver, too. Though the financial blessing is right at the top, for this couple who have traveled together for over 20 years, it is far beyond the financial rewards. They are on a mission to touch as many lives as they can as God's messengers of "Good News". I heard stories of men and women (some of which are “ladies of the night”) whose lives were turned around by their fearless witness of Christ.

I’m sure you’ve been at a church service where the youth group is going on a mission trip to a foreign country or a young person is going into a seminary or someone else is going into “full-time” ministry. They’ll get applauded for their “full-time” spiritual work. There’s a division between “full time” spiritual work and worldly “secular” work. One sounds like it’s serving Christ and the other sounds like we’re serving ourselves. Unfortunately, we’ve been led to believe that a secular job isn't sacred and it's just impossible to bring glory to God in the marketplace.

Au contraire! My new friends bring glory to God when they drive their truck filled with cargo. They make God famous when they bring the light of Christ wherever they go and oftentimes, that light is so bright that the lost are drawn to them. And, you know what? We, too, bring glory to God when we help a friend move from their home to an apartment; when we roll down the window of our car and give that one standing on the corner with a sign to give them the love of Jesus in words, food or money.

Each of us has been charged to bear fruit in a way that honors God. We do that when we are involved in loving our neighbor. If God has made you a farmer, a lawyer, a nurse, a teacher, then that is a sacred calling in itself. We don’t have to be the pastor to go into "full-time Christian work" just because we think that is what you have to do if you love and serve God.

As I matured in my walk with Christ, I came to realize that when I wake up each day, I AM His disciple, His messenger, and His ambassador and devoted follower as I ensure my words are kind, generous, loving, sincere and caring and my actions are those that do reflect God's love and mercy.

So if we aren't being nudged to go to Africa to serve in an orphanage, it doesn’t mean our reach is any less. It’s not any less spiritual. It’s not any less filled with potential and purpose.

We serve a God who is not boxed in by time, circumstances, or geography. He is everywhere, all the time, with everyone. Every day we have the opportunity to touch someone's heart who will touch their family's hearts who will touch their communities and who will touch the world. All God is asking of us is our willing heart to be His hands extended to a hurting world that needs our words of encouragement and our hands of tender loving care.

We are Christ’s ambassadors. If we don’t represent Him to the marketplace and world and give out the good news, who will?
Mark 16:15 " Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel (the Good News) to all creation."

Preach the Gospel -- WHO Me?

I remember my early years as a Christian how difficult it was for me to share God's "Good News" to those around me. Sure, I did my best to be a reflection of Christ's likeness in my words and deeds in everyday life, but I wasn't what I thought a disciple was -- the one who queried "Are you a Christian? Do you want to go to heaven when you die? Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior?" Those words not only intimidated me, but they frightened me when I thought about what the response would be and how I would respond back to them. I remember my church sending us out door to door to hand out Gospel tracks and how difficult it was to engage in conversation with the people at their front doors.

Then how in the world could I be a true follower of Christ -- especially since He gave those words "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creatures." Mark 16:15

As I matured in my walk with Christ, I came to realize that when I wake up each day, I AM His disciple, His messenger, and His ambassador and devoted follower as I ensure my words are kind, generous, loving, sincere and caring and my actions are those that do reflect God's love and mercy.

"Going into ALL the world" isn't just about across the oceans, but it's about the smile we offer to the cashier that can later be passed along to the weary wife, who’s grabbing lunch, and help give her the strength to hold the hand of her husband we’ll never meet as they battle cancer.

We don’t know how the kind word we speak to a friend will give her the courage she needs when she goes to her workplace and has a chance to answer the question, “What’s so different about you?”

So if we aren't being nudged to go to Africa to serve in an orphanage, it doesn’t mean our reach is any less. It’s not any less spiritual. It’s not any less filled with potential and purpose.

We serve a God who is not boxed in by time, circumstances, or geography. He is everywhere, all the time, with everyone. His work in and through us is spontaneous, thrilling, sometimes crazy, and oftentimes the most joy-filled experience EVER. And in any given moment, if we want to know the best place to start sharing His love, all we need to do is look down at the ordinary, sacred ground right under our feet.

Everyday we have the opportunity to touch someone's heart who will in turn touch their family's hearts who will touch their communities and who will touch the world. All God is really asking of us is our willing heart to be His hands extended to a hurting world that needs our words of encouragement and our hands of tender loving care.

Anxious and Worried

I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz about the newest game, Pokemon GO. There are many various opinions about whether it is a fun game which endeavors to get people off their couches and out to get some activity in their lives or that’s it’s an evil scheme to bring harm to children and families. I'm not discussing the pros and cons, but I'm amazed at the things that create instantaneous crazes. It's said that Pokémon GO is the most popular mobile game in American history. In one week’s time, there were over 15 million downloads of the game. The app instructs players to use their mobile devices to catch Pokémon characters in the real world. It has sent multitudes of people into streets, parks, malls and even my church parking lot looking for such virtual creatures.


It seems one of the main reasons for the popularity of Pokémon GO is that it provides a distraction from a world that lives in anxiety and worry about the frightening atrocities that have been happening.

Sunday’s scripture reading at my church was from Luke 10:38-42 – the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha’s home. If you’re a server, by nature, like I am, you can only imagine what that meant: clean the house…to spotless, get out the best dishes, and go shopping so you can serve your personal best meal. I’d be busy for days getting my menu perfected. So, yes, I have a tendency to side in with Martha’s angst about her sister who was just sitting at the feet of Jesus while she did all the work. Mary was grasping hold of every word Jesus spoke. He was the royal Guest of Honor and she didn’t want to miss a thing He had to say or even a moment to be with Him.

On the other hand, dear Martha was feverishly getting all the fixin’s ready to serve His her Lord a meal that could satisfy Him beyond description, and give Him the honor He deserved.

Father Bryan V. Brooks gave me a new perspective about that story. He talked about “Discipleship in our active, daily life.” He went on to say, “When Jesus addressed Martha about her busy-ness, He didn’t speak to her about her hospitality. He said 'You’re ANXIOUS and WORRIED about MANY things. There is only the need for one thing.' Anxious and worried. Not only does it fit the description of Martha , but it describes us as well. We live in anxious times – war, violence, terrorism, politics, unemployment. And these don’t include day-to-day worries about family, work, raising children, caring for a home, running a business, caring for elderly parents, balancing family and budgets. No wonder people seek distractions in sports, in games, in looking for Pokemon GO figures in church parking lots (our church was a location where people gathered at 4 am in the morning to find the creature). The anxiety and worry can have a way of throwing things out of balance – like with Martha. Jesus gives Martha and us a gentle correction in wisdom on how to be His disciples. The one thing to be concerned about is to “listen to Jesus”. Welcoming and accepting Jesus – Jesus as the Christ – Jesus as Lord. THIS is "THE ONE THING that is necessary" – to be His disciples. Disciples where busy-ness and duty is replaced with acts of joy and love. If we have our life in the right order – everything else will fall into place. Our relationship with Jesus will bring to completion the Word of God – Christ in us – the hope of glory. In that order, we’ll live and become faithful disciples of Jesus."

Then, no ANXIETY or WORRY will ever DISTRACT us from what’s most important – sitting at the feet of Jesus, being in the presence of Jesus in awe of Him and His holiness. When we are there, peace and comfort abounds.

They're Everywhere!

I went to see "Risen" on Good Friday. I highly recommend it. I enjoy seeing faith-based films and anything related to Jesus up on the big screen. It inspires me to visually see what I know from the Bible and I think it's great for others to have that kind of exposure to the Gospel. Getting that "Good News" message out, however, is key!

Bottom line, I believe there is nothing that can replace God's Word. Yet, I can enjoy a movie and how a director and producer team up to interpret what they know, and depict how they feel will make a good movie. I can distinguish the truth through the filter of God’s Word. Movies should be seen first as entertainment, and whether or not every detail in a movie is Biblically accurate, we can be inspired by a piece of artwork like this, just like we can a song or a painting or statute.

In this film, it was so thrilling to have a visual of what it must have been like after Jesus came back to life -- especially in the mindset of a non-believer (Clavius, a Roman soldier). The producers of the film took their artistic liberties in giving us some things to think about, particularly from the point of view of Clavius.

Here's one of my favorite lines in the whole movie, and it still resonates big in me. Bartholomew (one of the disciples) was a joy and faith-filled, disciple -- especially having seen the risen Christ. He had been found and was being interrogated by Clavius, with the intention of Bartholomew leading him to where the disciples were hiding out. Clavius said, "I'll kill you now if you don't tell me where His disciples are. Tell me now!" Bartholomew broke into the biggest smile ever as he joyfully answered, “THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"

I loved that....and, yes, WE ARE EVERYWHERE and, like the disciples who went on to change their world, I have recounted Bartholomew's words countless times to others since I saw the movie. That's you and me. Now, we continue to manifest the words of Christ to "Go into all the world and preach the good news!" And if we're EVERYWHERE, then what are we doing to change our world? The more we realize the responsibility and mandate of our Lord, to be His devoted followers -- living out His ministry in words, actions and deeds, the more His message of love will be perpetuated. Isn't that what our world needs so abundantly?

Though the masses have continued to try to stamp out His message, it will continue to live on. It's unstoppable. Shouldn't we be living that mission with all our hearts? We're in quite an elite army. Our Captain is unfailing and relentless and we know HE WINS! When it's so easy to get wrapped up in matters that are so trivial.....instead, shouldn't we be the lights that carry His message on to CHANGE OUR WORLD and literally, BE EVERYWHERE....in our schools, politics, workplaces, government offices, churches, marketplaces, homes....yes, EVERYWHERE!

#Risen #GoodNews

We Will Change the World

What a Motley Crew the disciples were. There's Peter -- one minute he was walking on water by faith, and the next, he was sinking in doubts. He was impulsive, emotional, and, then His worst failure was denying Jesus. And, then there’s Matthew, a dishonest tax collector. And, you gotta’ love Thomas who, to this date, is known as “doubting Thomas". But, then....old things passed away. Peter became a bold evangelist/missionary and one of the greatest leaders of the early church. Matthew heard Jesus words, “Follow me”, and he left everything and obeyed. His eyewitness account, is the first Gospel of the New Testament. And, I love that Thomas, though he initially doubted the resurrection, became a man of great faith. He found the truth and also became a great evangelist and missionary. Yes, they changed the world.

And here we are 2,000+ years later -- do you see in this photo how Jesus is pointing His finger at you and me? Though this is a photo and script from "The Bible Series", the message is clear….God is calling US to change our world, also. Though we may have hang-ups, fears, doubts, and other character flaws, and even, like Peter, deny our Lord by our actions, the transforming power of Christ can change US from being a member of the Motley Crew to dynamic and devoted followers of Christ. Like Peter, Matthew, Thomas, and the millions of others throughout the ages.....let's heed the call, and do our part. Could it be that's why God put us here, at this time, to carry on the message, and be a WORLD CHANGER, too?

Improve Your "Serve"

It’s Holy Thursday – and we recount the Last Supper when Jesus, the greatest of ALL, was servant of ALL, as He washed His disciples’ feet. He, with the towel and basin, is the KING of the universe. The same hands that shaped the earth, the stars and the moon, washed away grime and filth. He wanted his disciples to know how much He loved them. Jesus knew they were about to betray and deny Him, yet He loved and SERVED them. Such extravagant love – such excessive SERVICE. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34

Christ certainly talked the TALK as He walked the WALK. He led by example. Such love -- such service! It sure inspires me to improve my “SERVE”!