tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70694404798765441492024-03-15T20:11:51.385-05:00West Loop UBF - Chicago, IllinoisGOSPEL-CENTERED COMMUNITYAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.comBlogger1167125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-57953501312907388792024-01-16T15:09:00.001-06:002024-01-16T15:09:30.495-06:00When God Seems to Withdraw From You (Psalm 77)<div dir="ltr"><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"I cried out to God for help;</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span>I cried out to God to hear me" (Ps 77:1). </span></span></i><i><span id="m_-4676489728978712432m_-1038974852198611094m_3682873483100554992m_5733651168553131169m_3692919337308924248m_3103298147623972324m_8870392749995284597m_-9144595662358007682m_7607130449614345203en-NIV-15101" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"Will the Lord reject forever?</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span>Will he never show his favor again?</span></span><span id="m_-4676489728978712432m_-1038974852198611094m_3682873483100554992m_5733651168553131169m_3692919337308924248m_3103298147623972324m_8870392749995284597m_-9144595662358007682m_7607130449614345203en-NIV-15102" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span style="line-height:normal;vertical-align:text-top;font-weight:700;display:inline"> </span>Has his unfailing love vanished forever?</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span>Has his promise failed for all time?</span></span><span id="m_-4676489728978712432m_-1038974852198611094m_3682873483100554992m_5733651168553131169m_3692919337308924248m_3103298147623972324m_8870392749995284597m_-9144595662358007682m_7607130449614345203en-NIV-15103" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span style="line-height:normal;vertical-align:text-top;font-weight:700;display:inline"> </span>Has God forgotten to be merciful?</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span>Has he in anger withheld his compassion?" (Ps 77:7-9)</span></span></i><div><ul><li><i><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial">Have you ever faced something so difficult and so heartbreaking that it's caused you to question God's goodness, presence and love (Ps 77:7-9; 22:1)?<br></font></i></li></ul><div><ol><li><i><font face="arial, sans-serif">What was the psalmist's present existential, experiential and emotional state (Ps 77:1; Heb 5:7)? </font></i><i><font face="arial, sans-serif">What did he do in his distress (Ps 77:2)?</font></i></li><li><i><font face="arial, sans-serif">When he remembered God in prayer, did it help him (Ps 77:3; Gen 37:35; Jer 31:15)?</font></i><br></li><li><i><font face="arial, sans-serif">Did recalling personal experiences help (Ps 77:4-6)? </font></i></li><ul><li><i><font face="arial, sans-serif">Was he blaming God for his insomnia and being speechless (Ps 77:4)?</font></i></li><li><i>Is it a sign of a failure in one's faith to despair and to experience deep grief or calamity?</i> </li></ul><li><i><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81)"><font face="arial, sans-serif">Have you asked such questions (Ps 77:7-9)? What arouses and perpetuates God's anger (Ps 77:9; 38:1, 3)? Are such questions faithless (Ps 22:1)? Is expressing doubt about God's love [<em id="m_-4676489728978712432gmail-yui-gen30" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px solid rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,helvetica,"sans serif";color:rgb(10,10,10)">ḥeseḏ</em>] and faithfulness bad?</font></span></i></li><li><i><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81)"><font face="arial, sans-serif">Why does he reflect on and recall God's past deeds (Ps 77:10-12)? How has God expressed his holiness (Ps 77:13), deeds (Ps 77:14) and redemption (Ps 77:15)?</font></span></i></li><ul><li><i>What is the difference between the remembering of Ps 77:3-6 and Ps 77:11-15?</i></li><li><i>How can a meditation on God's past actions help in one's present circumstances?</i></li><li><i>How does his meditation on the past answer his questions (Ps 77:7-9)? What are the answers? </i></li></ul><li><font face="arial, sans-serif"><i><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81)">What imagery and event does he use to describe God's power and control over nature (Ps 77:16-19)? </span></i><i><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81)">What is the conclusion or resolution in his journey of faith/trust in God (Ps 77:20)?</span></i></font></li></ol></div><div><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px">Psalm 77 is an example of God's people asking Him, <i>"Why?" </i></span></div><div><ul><li><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><i>Why do we suffer? </i></span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><i>Why does God not come to help us when we are faced with adversity? </i></span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><i>Why did God allow this terrible thing to happen? </i></span></li><li><i style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px">(Why) Is God disappointed/upset with me?</i><i style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"> Punishing me? Has God forgotten me because of my sins?</i></li></ul></div><div><i>A <b>lament </b>is a <b>cry </b>of <b>desperation </b>to <b>God</b>, a passionate expression of grief and sorrow. </i><i>Psalm 77 may be read as an individual lament psalm. </i><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px">Lament psalms are meant for us to pray them ourselves – to use the words of the psalmist for our own prayer life.</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif">Psalm 77 begins with a felt alienation from God and moves to a place of triumphant praise. In this and other </span><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif">psalm</span><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif">s like it, </span><b style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif"><i>faith is cultivated in the tension between human reality and the divine promises</i></b><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif">. </span>The mood of this psalm changes from <i><b><u>lamentation</u> </b>(1-9) to <b><u>reflection</u></b> (10-12) and ultimately to <b><u>celebration</u></b> (13-20).</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>F</i><b style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif"><i>aith neither downplays the seriousness of the prevailing situation nor does it lower expectations of what we can expect from God</i></b><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif">. </span><i style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif"><u>Rather than seeking to resolve this tension between present reality and divine promise by dialing down either element of the tension, faith is actually dials up both at the same time</u></i><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif">. </span><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif">The turning point comes as the psalmist reflects on the past acts of God. </span><i style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif"><b>This is a classic Hebrew idea of <u>walking into the future facing backwards</u></b>. <u>Reflection on the acts of God in the past</u> (Ps 77:10-12, 13-20) <u>creates faith to face the future</u>.</i></div><div><h2 style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol";color:rgb(0,0,0);margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:10px;line-height:1.1"><span style="font-weight:normal"><font size="2">Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ps 77:1-10. (Read </font></span><font size="2"><a href="https://www.christianity.com/bible/search/?q=Psalm+77:1-10" style="background:0px 0px;font-weight:normal;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0,78,152);text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Psalm 77:1-10</a><span style="font-weight:normal">)</span></font></h2><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 10px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol";font-size:20px">Days of trouble must be days of prayer; <u>when God seems to have withdrawn from us</u>, we must seek him till we find him. In the day of his trouble the psalmist did not seek for the diversion of business or amusement, but he sought God, and his favor and grace. Those that are under trouble of mind, must pray it away.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 10px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol";font-size:20px"><u>He poured upon the trouble; the methods that should have relieved him did but increase his grief</u>. <u>When he remembered God, it was only the Divine justice and wrath</u>. His spirit was overwhelmed, and sank under the load. But let not the remembrance of the comforts we have lost, make us unthankful for those that are left. Particularly he called to remembrance the comforts with which he supported himself in former sorrows.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 10px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol";font-size:20px">Here is the language of a sorrowful, deserted soul, walking in darkness; a common case even among those that fear the Lord (<a href="https://www.christianity.com/bible/search/?q=Isaiah+50:10" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;color:rgb(0,78,152);text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Isaiah 50:10</a>). <u>Nothing wounds and pierces like the thought of God being angry</u> (Ps 77:9). God's own people, in a cloudy and dark day, may be tempted to make wrong conclusions about their spiritual state, and that of God's kingdom in the world. But we must not give way to such fears.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 10px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol";font-size:20px">Let faith answer them from Scripture. The troubled fountain will work itself clear again; and the recollection of former times of joyful experience often raises a hope, tending to relief. <u>Doubts and fears proceed from the want and weakness of faith</u>. <u><i>Despondency and distrust under affliction, are too often the infirmities of believers, and, as such, are to be thought upon by us with sorrow and shame</i></u>. When, unbelief is working in us, we must thus suppress its risings (Ps 42:5, 11; 43:5).</p></div><div><br></div><div><div><div><i>References:</i></div></div><div><ol><li><i>Tremper Longman III & David E Garland. Psalms. The Expositor's Bible Commentary. 2008. Psalm 77: A <b>Remembrance </b>of <b>God</b>'s <b>Greatness</b>. God's Rejection of the Earth.</i></li><ul><li><i>A. <b>Cry </b>for Help (Ps 77:1-2).</i></li><ul><li><i>B. <b>Remembrance </b>of God in Hymns of the Night (Ps 77:3-6).</i></li><ul><li><i>C. <b>Questions </b>(Ps 77:7-9).</i></li></ul><li><i>B'. <b>Remembrance </b>of God's Mighty Deeds (Ps 77:10-12).</i></li></ul><li><i>A'. <b>Confidence </b>in God's Help (Ps 77:13-20).</i></li></ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Tim Keller. The Songs of Jesus. 2015. Psalm 77.</em><br></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>The importance of meditation <em>(Ps 77:</em>1-4).</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Asking questions</em> <em>(Ps 77:5-9).</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Arguing your case</em> <em>(Ps 77:10-15).</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>The supreme exodus</em> <em>(Ps 77:16-20).</em></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Gerald Wilson. Psalms Vol 1. The NIV Application Commentary. 2002.</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>John Goldingay. Psalms for Everyone, Part 1. 2013.</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Derek Kidner. Psalms 1-72, 1973. Psalms 73-150, 1975. Psalm 77: <b>Musings </b>in<b> two moods</b>.</i></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Cries of distress</i> <i>(Ps 77:1-3).</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i><b>Searching </b>of <b>heart</b></i><b> </b><i>(Ps 77:4-9).</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Courage from the past</i> <i>(Ps 77:10-15).</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>"Thunder of thy power"</i> <i>(Ps 77:16-20).</i></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Alec Motyer. Psalms by the Day. A New Devotional Translation. 2016. Psalm 77:</i> <i><b>Memories </b>in a <b>Time </b>of <b>Trouble</b>.</i><br></li><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>A. When prayer, remembering God, does not help (Ps 77:1-3).</i></li><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>B. When recalling personal experiences does not help, only prompt questions</i> <i>(Ps 77:4-9).</i></li><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>C. Memories that bring confident assurance</i> <i>(Ps 77:10-20).</i></li></ul></ul></ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Robert Altar. The Hebrew Bible. A Translation with Commentary. 2019.</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>John Stott. Favorite Psalms. 1988.</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>A troubled heart. The troubled heart remembers God's great work. A cure for hopeless depression. Questions in grief.</i></li></ol><div><span style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Helvetica,Roboto,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18px">Trouble is an inevitability of life, and we tend to reflect on our troubles at night when trying to sleep. We sense our despair and desperation and turn to God for help. But it seems that God is very distant, and our prayers receive no answer (Ps 22:2). What do you do when many hours of prayer and meditation do nothing to comfort the soul?</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Helvetica,Roboto,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18px"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Helvetica,Roboto,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18px">The greatest men face deep discouragements. Elijah, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist fought discouragement and struggled with lapses in faith as they lay in the cave, prison cell, or at the bottom of a deep well in the dark of night. But</span><span style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Helvetica,Roboto,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18px"> </span><span style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Helvetica,Roboto,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18px">their souls received no comfort from </span><span style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Helvetica,Roboto,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18px">their prayers and meditations. The psalmist stretches out his hands for God's comfort and blessing but receives nothing. As his thoughts turn to God, his distress only intensifies. At this point the faithless give up on God and rely on cheap worldly comforts of food, drink, or drugs to make it through their troubles. But Asaph steadfastly continues his meditation and prayer.</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Helvetica,Roboto,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:18px"><br></span></div><div>How would you try to comfort someone who is feeling like the psalmist? Would you point to the past, present, or future? Is there an event in your past that you call to mind in times of trouble? Do you ever catch yourself living in the past? Do you ever long for the "good old days?" Were they really that way, or is your hindsight viewed with rose-colored glasses? Could these days someday seem like "the good old days?" Were there any "good old days" in your relationship with God? How do you keep your relationship with God fresh so that "these days" could be "the good old days?"</div><div> <span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Psalm 77 is one of those remarkable psalms that begins in a place of felt alienation from God and moves to a place of triumphant praise. It may represent the distress of the nation as a whole. In this psalm and others like it, <b><i>faith is cultivated in the tension between human reality and the divine promises</i></b>.</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> In Psalm 77 the reality for the psalmist is that he feels that God has forsaken his people, probably because of external military oppression. The divine promises are implied in the historical precedents of the past. Here we see that <b><i>faith neither downplays the seriousness of the prevailing situation nor does it lower expectations of what we can expect from God</i></b>. <i><u>Rather than seeking to resolve this tension between present reality and divine promise by dialing down either element of the tension, faith is actually dialing up both at the same time</u></i>. It seems that what is happening here is that the Psalmist is seeking to provoke the faithfulness of God by strong appeals to the key covenant precedents. This is faith at work and it is profound and instructive.</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> The turning point of the psalm comes as the psalmist begins to reflect on the past acts of God. <i><b>This is a classic case of the Hebrew idea of walking into the future facing backwards</b>. <u>Reflection on the acts of God in the past creates faith to face the future</u>. The events being referred to here are of course those of the Exodus</i>. The Psalms have been the primary source for the worship traditions of both Judaism and Christianity going back to ancient times. It is often described as the 'heart' of the bible. <i><u>From <b>lamentation </b>to songs of jubilant <b>praise</b>, from <b>battle cry</b> to <b>benediction</b>, from exclamation of <b>awe </b>and <b>wonder </b>to reflections of <b>tranquillity </b>and perfect <b>wisdom</b></u>,</i> Sons of Korah provide a compelling portrait of the world.</span><i><br></i></div></div></div></div><div><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px">Major imprecatory Psalms include </span><span style="background-color:rgba(80,151,255,0.18);color:rgb(4,12,40);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px">Psalm 69 and Psalm 109</span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px">, while Psalms 5, 6, 11, 12, 35, 37, 40, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 79, 83, 94, 137, 139 and 143 are also considered imprecatory.</span><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-size:x-small;color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Helvetica,Roboto,helvetica,sans-serif">[</span><span style="font-size:x-small;color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:Helvetica,Roboto,helvetica,sans-serif">Our minds instinctively reflect upon the mighty works of God in the past. Our attention is drawn away from our present state of trouble to the power, holiness, and love of God for His people. After the third verse, we will completely forget our own condition as we lose ourselves in deep meditation upon the character and work of God.]</span><span style="color:rgb(19,19,19);font-family:Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></span></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-22283486483375727562024-01-07T09:00:00.000-06:002024-01-07T09:01:10.257-06:00God Never Ceases Calling Us to Him<div dir="ltr"><span style="color:rgb(36,44,59);font-family:proxima-nova,sans-serif;font-size:18px"><i>"Yet such are the pity and compassion of this Lord of ours, so desirous is He that we should seek Him and enjoy His company, that in one way or another He never ceases calling us to Him . . . God here speaks to souls through words uttered by pious people, by sermons or good books, and in many other such ways. Sometimes He calls souls by means of sickness or troubles, or by some truth He teaches them during prayer, for tepid as they may be in seeking Him, yet God holds them very dear."</i></span><span style="color:rgb(36,44,59);font-family:proxima-nova,sans-serif;font-size:18px">—St. Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle.</span><br></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-13185047498379601312024-01-05T04:42:00.001-06:002024-01-05T04:42:47.063-06:00Spiritual Depression (Psalm 42-43)<div dir="ltr"><div><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"As the deer pants for streams of water,</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span>so <b>my soul pants</b> for <b>you</b>, my <b>God</b>" (Ps 42:1). "</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><b>Why</b>, my soul, are you <b>downcast</b>? </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">Why so <b>disturbed </b>within me? </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><b>Put your hope </b>in <b>God</b>,</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span>for I will yet praise him,</span></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span>my <b>Savior </b>and my <b>God</b>" (Ps 42:5, 11; 43:5).</span></i></div><div><ol><li><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">Do you long for God as a deer pants for water (Ps 42:1-2)? Do you long for God more in good times or in hard times? Do you long more for something else or for God? For</span></i><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"> answers or for God Himself? Do you need to reach the end of yourself before repenting and truly seeking God?</span></i></li><li><i>What does it look like to hope in God <i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">(Ps 42:5, 11; 43:5)</span></i>? How can you practically and existentially place your hope in God the next time you face difficulty? Rom 15:14; 8:24-25; Ps 46:2-3; Heb 11:1; Tit 1:1-2; 1 Jn 3:3.</i></li><li><i><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,19,32);font-family:Roboto,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:justify">In Psalm 42-43, the writer felt overwhelmed and discouraged. How do you cope with those kinds of things -- discouragement, despair, depression? What do you long for when you feel overwhelmed? What can you learn from the psalmist about responding to those seasons of difficulty correctly?</span></i><br></i></li></ol></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><u>Refrain</u>: "<b>Self</b>-<b>talk</b>" <i style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">(Ps 42:5, 11; 43:5)</span></i> is to recall the ground for faith and hope. God is my Savior. Thus, the reason for hope and praise. </span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif">But when </span><span style="color:rgb(95,99,104);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif">we listen</span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif"> to </span><span style="color:rgb(95,99,104);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif">ourselves</span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif">, </span><span style="color:rgb(95,99,104);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif">we</span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif"> tend to dwell on bad news. But when </span><span style="color:rgb(95,99,104);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif">we speak to our </span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif">souls, </span><span style="color:rgb(95,99,104);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif">we</span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif"> have an opportunity to dwell on gospel </span><span style="color:rgb(95,99,104);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif">truth</span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif">.</span></i></li><li><i style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"Open Sans",Arial,"sans serif""><u>Quote</u>: "Have you realized that <b>most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself</b> instead of <b>talking to yourself</b>?" Martyn-Lloyd Jones. [Full quote below.]</i></li><li><i><u>Note</u>: 9 times the question "<b>Why</b>" rings out in Psalm 42-43: Ps 42:5, 9, 11; 43:2, 5.</i></li><li><i><u>Warning</u>: There is great danger when you <b>forget </b>God, <b>forget </b>his mighty works, and <b>forget </b>the church--the worshipping community of faith.</i></li><li><i><u>Questions</u>:</i></li><ul><li><i>Do followers of God face tough times? Face troubling times of anguish, agony and anxiety and a sense of defeat and discouragement, despair and drowning, dryness and darkness, dejection and depression? Why (Ps 22:1)?</i></li><li><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px">How do you counter the defeating sense of being abandoned by God in Psalm 42 and 43? </i><i><span style="color:rgb(0,19,32);font-family:Roboto,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:justify">How does the Psalmist balance his feelings of abandonment with his trust in God?</span></i></li><li><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,19,32);font-family:Roboto,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:justify">How do the psalmist's expressions of sorrow reflect your own experiences in times of hardship (Ps 13:1-2, 38:2; 51:3-4; 22:1-2)?</span></i></li><li><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,19,32);font-family:Roboto,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:justify">When it seems like God is silent (Ps 28:1; 83:1; Job 30:20), what truths help you put one foot in front of the other?</span></i></li><ul><li><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,19,32);font-family:Roboto,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:justify">What has God given you to remember His work and presence in your life?</span></i></li><li><i>The psalmist talked about God's song in the night (Ps 42:8). Have songs encouraged you and why?</i></li><li><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px">What is the role of the community of believers in helping someone who is discouraged (Ps 42:4)? Why is the church and community worship such an important part of the life of Christians?</i></li></ul><li><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,19,32);font-family:Roboto,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:justify">Are you more accustomed to listening to yourself, or talking to yourself? What can you learn about self-counseling from Psalm 42? Consider the following: <br></span></i></li><ul><li><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif">Are my circumstances due to any known sin on my part (Psalm 32, 51)?</i></li><li><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px">Does God want me to do anything to change my circumstances or do I need to learn to wait until he acts? [Think about Elijah by the brook Cherith or Joseph in prison in Egypt.] </i></li><li><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px">If I can't change my circumstance, how does God want me to change my stance or perspective? [Think about Paul's reference to being an ambassador in chains instead of a mere prisoner.]</i></li></ul><li><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px">How does knowing God's sovereign control of the situation bring a sense of comfort?<br></i></li></ul></ul><div><ol style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:medium"><li><i><u>Looking back</u>: God in the <b>past </b>(Ps 42:1-5). A remembrance of the past. The <b>drought</b>.</i></li><li><i><u>Looking around</u>: God in the <b>present </b>(Ps 42:6-11). A reflection of the present. The <b>depths</b>.</i></li><li><i><u>Looking ahead</u>: God in the <b>future </b>(Ps 43:1-5). An anticipation of God's presence and deliverance. The <b>release</b>.</i></li></ol></div><ul><li><i style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px"><u>Lessons to Learn</u><b>:</b></span></i></li><ol><li><font color="#000000" face="Rubik, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17px"><i>Even followers of God/Christians face tough times and are not exempt from them.</i></span></font></li><li><font color="#000000" face="Rubik, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17px"><i>Tough times should lead the people of God/Christians to thirst for God.</i></span></font></li><li><font color="#000000" face="Rubik, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17px"><i>Thirst is quenched by faith <i style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><i style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">(Ps 42:5, 11; 43:5)</span></i></span></i>. Faith is being sure of what we hope for (Heb 11:1) in his loneliness, fear, anxiety, depression, feeling of abandonment, when it seems that God is not listening, has forgotten him, or hidden his face from him, or not going to deliver him, etc. <u>His present tense longing is met by God's past tense faithfulness and God's future tense promises</u>.</i></span></font></li><li><font color="#000000" face="Rubik, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:17px"><i>God is still the answer.</i></span></font></li></ol></ul><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px"><div style="font-style:italic"><i style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px"><b>Psalm 42:1</b>. The poignancy of this famous line reflects the distinctive tone of this supplication: instead of emphasizing the speaker's suffering he expresses above all his passionate longing for God. He addresses his words to God but feels distant from God, removed from the Temple and plagued by enemies (Ps 42:3-4). "I" is the intensive form of the 1st-person pronoun, nafshi, abundantly used in this psalm, and translated as "my whole being" (Alter). "pants" (NIV), "yearns" (Alter), "craves" (Motyer) may refer to the sound a thirsty deer makes as it drinks, or to the animal's bending its neck toward water.</span></i></div><div style="font-style:italic"><i style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px"><br></span></i></div><div><b><i>Psalm 42:5</i></b><i>. This "self-talk" is the major refrain of Psalm 42-43. It's an important dialogue between the 2 aspects of the believer. We are called to <u>live in eternity</u>, with a mind </i>stayed<i> on God, <u>but also in time</u>, where mind and body are under pressures that cannot and should not leave us impassive. The refrain teaches us to </i>take seriously both<i> aspects of our </i>existence<i>. There is no hint that his distress was avoidable, or unendurable. Either way it did not shake his faith.</i></div><div style="font-style:italic"> <i style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px"><br></span></i></div><div style="font-style:italic"><i style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px">A <b>sense </b>of <b>abandonment </b>by <b>God </b>is expressed to some degree or another in a</span></i><i style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px">ll lament psalms</span></i><i style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(34,34,34)"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px">: From "Why do you delay when I need you?" as in this psalm to the ultimate abandonment expressed in Psalm 22, or especially Psalm 88.</span> <i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px">The psalmist in trouble consistently senses that <u>God is far away and slow to act</u>. <u>Help never comes quickly enough for the one in pain</u>. But as he pours out his soul in anguish (Ps 42:4) and his soul is downcast (Ps 42:5), he remembers God (Ps 42:6).</span></i></i><br></div></span></div><div><i><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Rubik,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:17px"><br></span></i></i></div><div><i><u><b>Remembrance</b> and <b>forgetting</b></u> (both divine and human). <b>Memory </b>is important in the O.T., appearing <b><u>> 350 times</u></b> {the verbal root <b>zkr</b> [</i><em id="m_-3885225927990648288m_-1027710605647043457m_4101426997964275135m_7078037709705517213m_-5523454206467591741m_-4711089838872356404m_-4332600997688935036m_-8832462614036215126m_8436211627769412166m_661649093510587966m_9061380133619448797m_957818307299018708m_2478645854086049183m_6447563399089686487m_1174865861219763652gmail-yui-gen36" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px solid rgb(0,0,0);font-family:arial,helvetica,"sans serif";color:rgb(10,10,10);font-size:20px">zāḵar</em><i>] and all its related nouns} (Ps 42:4, 6)}. When other idiomatic expressions that do not use <b>zkr </b>are included ("bring to mind," "keep in your heart"), concern with memory is even more pervasive.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>"<b>Remember</b>" in the OT is akin to our "<b>recall</b>." But for Israel it is never as simple as bringing to mind a set of feelings or facts. Almost without exception, <u>a call to remember is at the same time a <b>call </b>to <b>action</b></u>. It's a call to <b>remember God</b>--Yahweh in order to <b>remain faithful</b> to him:</i></div><div><ul><li><i><u>Remember the </u><b><u>commandments</u> </b>and keep them.</i></li><li><i><u>Remember God's wonderful </u><b><u>acts</u> </b>and praise him for them [among the worshipping congregation in the temple].</i></li><li><i><u>Remember God's </u><b><u>deliverance</u> </b>in spite of our lack of righteousness and be humbly dependent on him.</i></li></ul></div><div><i><u>Memory is never passive but requires an <b>active response</b> to what is <b>remembered</b></u>. To remember God is to ground one's life in and on him and so to draw all of one's life decisions and actions out of that foundation.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Why is <b>forgetfulness</b> so <b>tragic </b>and so often <b>condemned </b>in the O.T.? Because it is not a simple passive loss of memory but a <u>willful resistance or rejection of memory</u> and a consequent <u>failure to act appropriately</u>. To forget God is to resist making the connection between <u>who God is and how one is to act in response</u>. It's to act as if God has no claim on me that embodies this forgetfulness. To forget God is not simply to lose memory of God's name, deeds, and commandments, nor even to fail to call him to mind. Forgetting God is a willful act of "unlearning," whereby rebellious humans reject what they have known and--through lack of commitment, disobedience, and refusal to transmit the truth--seek to create a world in which God does not act or even exist. So such people are able to cry, "Where is your God?" (Ps 42:3, 10)</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><b><u>Life together</u></b>: The importance of communal worship as a response to individual suffering. The psalms are replete with <u>communal <b>laments</b></u>, <u>communal <b>praise</b></u>, <u>and communal <b>thanksgiving</b></u>. Worship is more than a few individuals coming together. They came together to lament or celebrate their lives together, while also focusing on the experiences of the individual: laments, praise, thanksgiving, instruction. <u>The individual is not swallowed up in society, but neither is society disbanded in favor of the individual</u>, which places the individual in the midst of the worshiping congregation (Ps 31:1-22, 23-24). This reflects Israel's understanding of the important interweaving of individual and community in worship (Ps 30, 32, 34, 52, 64, 66).</i></div><div><ul><li><i><u>The individual delivered by God</u> from trouble brings sacrifices of thanksgiving to the temple and stands among the congregation proclaiming his faithfulness.</i></li><li><i><u>The one who still suffers</u> does not sing laments in isolation but proclaims his or her need in the congregation and seeks hope there.</i></li></ul></div><div><u><i>Strength in numbers</i></u>. <i>The individual can encourage, challenge or admonish the community toward faithfulness, endurance or repentance. The community can provide a collective memory of the mighty acts of God that exceeds the memory or experience of one and provides the continued context for enduring faith, hope and love.</i></div><div><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto-medium,arial,sans-serif-medium,sans-serif;font-size:28px">I'd Rather Have Jesus </span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Song by Jim Reeves.</span><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><br></span></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">I'd rather be His than have riches untold</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Than to be the king of a vast domain</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">And be held in sin's dread sway</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">I'd rather have Jesus than anything</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">This world affords today</span></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div style="margin-bottom:12px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">I'd rather have Jesus than worldly applause</div><div style="margin-bottom:12px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom:12px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame</div></div><div><div style="margin-bottom:12px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Yes, I'd rather be true to His holy name</div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">Than to be the king of a vast domain</div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">And be held in sin's dread sway</div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">I'd rather have Jesus than anything</div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">This world affords today</div></div></blockquote></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom:0px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><br></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif"><i>'I say that <b>we must talk to ourselves instead of allowing 'ourselves' to talk to us</b>! Do you realise what this means? I suggest that the main trouble in this whole matter of spiritual depression in a sense is this, that <b>we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self</b>. Am I just trying to be deliberately paradoxical? Far from it. This is the very essence of wisdom in this matter. Have you realised that <b>most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself</b>……? The essence of this matter is to understand that this self of ours, <u>this other man within us, has got to be handled. Do not listen to him; turn on him, speak to him, exhort him, encourage him; remind him of what you know, instead of listening placidly to him and allowing him to drag you down and depress you</u>. We must stand up as this man did and say 'Why my soul are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.'</i><span style="font-size:14px"> - D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.</span><br></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;color:rgb(32,33,36);font-family:Roboto,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><br></div><div>It's an honest, human experience, especially when in difficult times, to ask why? Why am I experiencing this hurt, this sadness, sorrow and suffering? Why does God seem unconcerned? Why can't I shake this sense of loneliness? Why do I feel unfulfilled? Why, if I'm doing the things I'm supposed to be doing, does God still feel distant? Psalm 42 expresses such queries. The unfettered emotions present in this psalm invite us into an experience of theology with hands and feet. It reflects the process of <i><u>speaking truth to your heart even as you are enticed by the lies of despair</u></i>. Also, the flow of the joys of experiencing a confident trust in the Lord one day, or one moment, only to feel the ebb, with joy sliding away, as you receive another bit of bad news or some previously unconsidered challenge makes its way to the forefront of your mind. But this is the dance of discipleship as we, partnered with the Spirit, learn the steps of the Christ-life and live them out in our own day-to-day lives. Psalm 42-43 is the invitation of the Lord to bring your doubts, hopes, and disappointments to him, and allow the words of this Psalm to give voice to the cries of your heart. Learn through these words what it means to practice the application of truth as you trust the Lord each moment of each day.<br></div><div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:medium"><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>References:</i></div></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:medium"><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZQQwAActog" target="_blank">Talking to Yourself, Not Listening to Yourself</a> (Tim Keller).</i></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Pour out your soul to God (Ps 42:4). Get in touch with God, with his feelings.</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Self-dialogue (Ps 42:5). He's not talking to God nor to readers but to himself. We must talk to ourselves instead of allowing ourselves to talk to us.</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Reorder your hopes (Ps 42:5; 103:2).</i></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>John Stott. Favorite Psalms. 1988. Psalm 42-43: <b>The Causes </b>and <b>Cure </b>of <b>Spiritual Depression</b>.</i></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>The <b>causes </b>of spiritual depression.</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>The <b>cure </b>for spiritual depression.</i></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Tim Keller. The Songs of Jesus. 2015.</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Gerald Wilson. Psalms Vol 1. The NIV Application Commentary. 2002.</em></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em><b>Longing</b> to <b>Meet God</b> (Ps 42:1-5). Thirsty from drought.</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em><b>Overwhelmed </b>and <b>Forgotten </b>(Ps 42:6-11). Drowning in the depths like Jonah.</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em><b>Plea</b> for <b>Vindication </b>and Joyous Return (Ps 43:1-5)</em><em>.</em></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>John Goldingay. Psalms for Everyone, Part 1. 2013. Psalm 42: <b>Where </b>Is Your<b> God</b>? Psalm 43: When <b>Life Continues </b>to Be <b>Darkness</b>.<b> </b></em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Derek Kidner. Psalms 1-72, 1973. Psalms 73-150, 1975. Psalm 42-43: <b>Far From Home</b>.</i></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>The <b>drought </b>(Ps 42:1-5).</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>The <b>depths </b>(Ps 42:6-11).</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>The <b>release </b>(Ps 43:1-5).</i></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Alec Motyer. Psalms by the Day. A New Devotional Translation. 2016. Psalm 42-43: <b>Downcast Soul</b>:<b> Up-beat God</b>.</i><br></li><ol><li><i>Looking back: God in the past (Ps 42:1-5).</i></li><li><i>Looking around: God in the present (Ps 42:6-11).</i></li><li><i>Looking ahead: God in the future (Ps 43:1-5)</i></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Tremper Longman III & David E Garland. Psalms. The Expositor's Bible Commentary. 2008.</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Robert Altar. The Hebrew Bible. A Translation with Commentary. 2019.</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i><b>Feeling Down</b>, <b>Looking Up</b>. Skip Heitzig.</i></li></ol><div><p style="border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.25em;color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px"><i>"<b>Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure</b>"</i> by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a prominent Christian minister and preacher, addresses the issue of spiritual depression and offers insights into its causes and potential remedies. A brief summary:</p><h3 style="border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-size:1.25em;margin:1rem 0px 0.5rem;line-height:1.6;font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji"">Causes of Spiritual Depression:</h3><ol><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">A Lack of Assurance</span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px"> regarding one's salvation can lead to spiritual depression.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">Failure to Understand Scripture</span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px">: Misinterpretation or a lack of understanding of biblical truths can contribute to feelings of despair and hopelessness.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">Focusing on Feelings Rather Than Truth</span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px">: When individuals place too much emphasis on their feelings rather than grounding their faith in objective truths, it can lead to spiritual instability.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">Physical Factors</span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px">, such as illness or exhaustion, can influence one's emotional and spiritual state.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">Wrong Thinking Patterns</span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px">: Negative thought patterns and distorted thinking can contribute to spiritual depression.</span></li></ol><h3 style="border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-size:1.25em;margin:1rem 0px 0.5rem;line-height:1.6;font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji"">Cure for Spiritual Depression:</h3><ol><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">A<span style="font-weight:400"> deep and accurate u</span>nderstanding of God's Word </span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px">combats spiritual depression.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">Focusing on Truth</span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px"> instead of being swayed by emotions. Anchor one's faith in the unchanging truths of Scripture.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">Seek and embrace the assurance of salvation</span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px"> found in Christ.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">Engage in Spiritual Disciplines</span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px"> such as prayer, worship, and fellowship can help in overcoming spiritual depression.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">Renewing the Mind</span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px">: Transforming negative thought patterns by renewing the mind with biblical truths is crucial for overcoming depression.</span></li><li><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px;border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:600">Relying on the Holy Spirit</span><span style="color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px">: Acknowledging the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding, comforting, and empowering believers is essential for spiritual healing.</span></li></ol><p style="border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.25em 0px 0px;color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px">In summary, "Spiritual Depression" by Martyn Lloyd-Jones provides a comprehensive exploration of the causes of spiritual depression and offers a biblically grounded approach to finding healing and joy in one's spiritual journey. The key lies in a deep understanding of God's Word, reliance on the Holy Spirit, and a shift from feelings to the unchanging truths of Scripture.</p><p style="border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.25em 0px 0px;color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px">Causes of spiritual depression:</p><p style="border:0px solid rgb(217,217,227);box-sizing:border-box;margin:1.25em 0px 0px;color:rgb(55,65,81);font-family:Söhne,ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,"Apple Color Emoji","Segoe UI Emoji","Segoe UI Symbol","Noto Color Emoji";font-size:20px"></p><ol><li>Unfulfilled expectations.</li><li>Taunts of unbelievers.</li><li>Overwhelming struggles of life.</li><li>Wrong use of the past.</li><li>Preoccupation with self.</li></ol><div>Cure for spiritual depression:</div><div><ol><li>Replace your thoughts with his truth.</li><li>Replace yourself with your God.</li><li>Replace your past with your future.</li></ol></div><p></p></div></div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-4168732630187744272024-01-04T08:57:00.001-06:002024-01-04T08:57:55.098-06:00Forsaken (2024 Key Verse)<div dir="ltr"><div><b><u>Found guilty as a criminal</u></b>. 2023 began 2 weeks after 6 armed FBI agents came to my house unannounced at 7 am and hand-cuffed and arrested me. I was indicted and charged with serious offences of defrauding the U.S. government and committing health care fraud for an online job I did for 5 months in 2019. I reviewed charts of patients who had cancer or a family history of cancer to decide whether or not to order a genetic test. Unbeknownst to me, there was a fraud that involved labs and multiple marketing companies that targeted medicare recipients. I knew this only after my defense attorneys informed me. I was paid $26,800 while the lab billed Medicare for 9 million according to my indictment. In Aug, I went to trial. After 3 emotionally exhausting weeks 12 jurors found me guilty on one charge. On Feb 29, 2024, I will be sentenced and will receive prison time of up to 5 years and fines and forfeitures.</div><div><br></div><div><b><u>It was the best of times, it was the worst of times</u></b>. 2023 was the worst year in my almost 7 decades of life. It never crossed my mind that I would ever be arrested, hand-cuffed, put in leg shackles, charged with serious offenses, found guilty as a criminal and sent to jail. It was not only emotionally draining, but in legal fees it financially depleted our savings significantly, which Christy painstakingly saved and invested over 4 decades of our marriage. With my sentencing there will be further costs in fees, fines, forfeitures and restitution. But...</div><div><br></div><div><b><u>2023 was strangely also the best of times</u></b>. Can anything good or positive come from a depressing and devastating year that culminated in my guilty verdict in 2023? Here are some thoughts:</div><div><ul><li>At West Loop, I preached through the entire book of Acts, starting in 2022, that ended in July 2023 with Paul's 5 successive trials and his imprisonment in Rome. Then 2 weeks after finishing Acts my own trial began on Aug 15, which is our 42nd wedding anniversary and ended on the last day of August. Acts 20:24 has always resonated with me: <i>"I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news (gospel) of God's grace."</i> This is Paul's expression of his <a href="https://westloop-church.org/2023/05/28/living-a-full-christian-life-saves-you-acts-20/" target="_blank"><b><i>prodigal profligate life</i></b></a>. More so than before, this must also be my attitude, as my purpose, motivation and trajectory of life does not change one iota when I go to prison.</li><li>After my guilty verdict I read through Job, Ecceliastes and Psalms. I never thought I would cherish these Wisdom books, because of my cerebral, non-emotional disposition and expression. But it has become my primary reading source for prayer, memorization, strength, comfort and inspiration. In Job 1:9 Satan says, "Does Job fear God for nothing?" implying that Job fears God only because God has blessed him. I need to ask myself, "Do I fear God for God alone, or to receive blessings from God?" So far I've been blessed beyond measure in every possible way. Will I continue to fear God in 2024 when my life situation drastically changes?</li><li>After my guilty verdict I preached only on Psalms:</li><ul><li><i>(<b>Psalm 1-2</b>)</i> <a href="https://westloop-church.org/2023/10/15/happiness-psalm-1-2/" target="_blank"><b><i>Happiness</i></b></a> . To be happy and blessed meditate on Scripture day and night (Ps 1:2).<br></li><li><i>(<b>Psalm 73</b>)</i> <a href="https://westloop-church.org/2023/10/29/find-your-faltering-flickering-fading-faith-under-fire-psalm-73/" target="_blank"><b><i>Find Your Faltering Faith</i></b></a> by not envying the rich and famous (Ps 73:2-3).<br></li><li><i><i>(<b>Psalm 38</b>)</i> <a href="https://westloop-church.org/2023/11/06/the-god-who-deals-with-your-sin-is-also-the-god-who-saves-you-psalm-38/" target="_blank"><b>An Unrelenting Undertow of Sorrow</b></a>, mourning (Ps 38:6) and anguish (Ps 38:8). "How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart" (Ps 13:2).</i><br></li><li><i><i>(<b>Psalm 51</b>)</i> <a href="https://westloop-church.org/2023/12/04/psalm-51/" target="_blank"><b>I Know My Sin</b></a>. </i>Live with ongoing confession and repentance (Ps 51:3-4).<br></li><li><i>(<b>Psalm 22</b>)</i> <a href="https://westloop-church.org/2023/12/25/forsaken-psalm-22/" target="_blank"><b><i>Forsaken</i></b></a><i>. </i>Jesus' godforsakeness is able to save anyone, even I.<br></li></ul></ul><div><b><u>Thanksgiving</u></b>:</div><ul><li>Thank God for my 8th grandchild, Elijah Athanasius, born on Aug 12, 3 days before my trial.</li><li>Thank God for Christy suffering in sadness and sorrow with me throughout 2023.</li><li>Thank God for the leadership of our WL elders, who have taken stewardship over the church.</li><li>Thank God for John and Maria who have made our UIC BH a very nice and hospitable place.</li><li>Thank God for all are multiple letters written to the judge on my behalf attesting to my character and requesting leniency during sentencing. This was my biggest unexpected pleasant surprise. Letters were written by: Jenny and signed off by all 10 West Loop elders and their spouses, 2 Chicago UBF elders, and personal letters by Taniesha, Maria Peace, Jennifer Rabchuk, Rhoel, Henry, Sarah Mina of the Philippines, Dr. Mark Yoon, Dr. John Armstrong and 2 long standing friends from Malaysia and Singapore: one medical school classmate and a high court judge whom I've known for 65 years since childhood. These letters touched my heart deeply. I thought to myself, "Wow, I guess people do love me!" and "These would be perfect eulogies for my funeral!" This is surely God's marvelous grace to me.</li><li>Thank God for Christy's cooking because it will be far better than what I'll be eating in my next place of stay.</li><li>Thank God for prompting me to take very seriously the 7 deadly sins as a result of my trial:</li><ol><li>Lust. Seriously? I'm almost 70.</li><li>Gluttony. Thank God that I lost 15 lbs because of the stress of the trial.</li><li>Envy. I don't have to compare myself anymore with the rich and famous.</li><li>Greed. Losing over a million dollars twice in a lifetime is very good for my soul.</li><li>Sloth. I will not be able to waste time binge watching and internet surfing.</li><li>Wrath. Feeling continually sad and sorrowful helps dampen my anger over minor irritations.</li><li>Pride. The shame of a guilty verdict and prison helps to put me in the place I should always be in.</li></ol></ul></div><div><b><u>2024 key verse (KV)</u></b>.</div><div><ul><li>In 2022 my KV was <i>"Be joyful always"</i> (1 Th 5:16) and I was hand-cuffed, arrested and charged as a criminal.</li><li>In 2023 my KV was <i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"Never will I leave you;</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span></i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><i>never will I forsake you"</i> (Heb 13:5; Dt 31:6) and I was found guilty and became a convicted criminal.</span></li><li>Likely, my 2024 KV is <i>"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Ps 22:1). </i>It is strangely a very encouraging and uniquely comforting verse for me. Why?<i> </i>Jesus died alone so that I'll never be alone. Jesus was forsaken so I can be forgiven. Jesus died horribly, so I can live courageously anywhere.</li></ul></div><div>One Word: Because Jesus was forsaken, I will never be forsaken.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The greatest power and strength is not from those who overpower others, but from those who have power and yet refrain and restrain from using it.</div><div><br></div><div>We highlight the flaws and mistakes of those we don't like and disagree with, while we cover them up, minimize them or overlook them for those we like and agree with, or simply ignore them as though they don't exist.</div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-51660168650072594452024-01-02T14:33:00.001-06:002024-01-02T14:33:38.426-06:00Re: Matthew 6:33 (2023)<div><p style="font-size:50px;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">😪</p><p style="margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:0">Benjamin Toh reacted via <a href="https://www.google.com/gmail/about/?utm_source=gmail-in-product&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=emojireactionemail#app">Gmail</a></p></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Jan 8, 2023 at 4:07 PM Benjamin Toh <<a href="mailto:benjamintoh@gmail.com">benjamintoh@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><i><b>I. Joy</b>.</i><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>In 2022 I don't remember why I chose "<b>Be joyful always</b>" (1 Th 5:16) as my KV for the first time in 40 yrs. But I do know that no matter what happens or no matter what does not happen I MUST have joy in my heart and soul. I'll start with joyful events.</i><div><div><i><br>The <b>joy</b> of <b>studying </b>and<b> preaching </b><b>Exodus</b> for the first time in 2022. In brief, all people need only 3 things without which we will still be enslaved by someone or something and are no different from the slaves oppressed by Pharaoh in Egypt:</i></div><div><ol><li><i><b>Deliverance </b>(Exo 19:4; 20:2). We need a Savior (Mt 1:21). No one can save themselves. I need salvation to "be joyful always."</i></li><li><i><b>Obedience </b>(Exo 19:5; 20:3-17). We need to obey the Law (Jn 14:15) to be happy. I need to obey God "be joyful always."</i></li><li><i><b>Tabernacle </b>(Exo 25:8; 29:44-46). We need a tabernacle for God to dwell with us (Jn 1:14). I must build my tabernacle to "be joyful always."</i></li></ol></div><div><i>In 2023, no matter what, the only 3 things I need--</i><i>deliverance/salvation, obedience/Law, tabernacle--</i><i>do not change one iota.</i></div><div><i><b><br></b></i></div><div><i>The most joyest event in 2022 is when </i><i><b>Johnny</b>, my youngest and 7th grandchild, was born on 2/13/2022. Christy and I baby sit him 3 days a week, 6 hours each day. It is the first time in my 6 decades of life that I've spent so much time with a baby, since I hardly spent any time with our own 4 kids and 6 prior grandchildren when they were babies. But by enjoying baby Johnny 3 days a week I realized that I had missed 10 previous opportunities to enjoy lovely babies.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Next, though this was a loss for our Podil members, it was a happy surprise that John and Maria became a part of our WL church community in mid 2022. Dasha tells me that WL stole John and Maria from them. At the end of 2022 we also celebrated the joyous white wedding of Sarah Gutierez. Finally, what is always joyful all year round without exception is knowing your prayer, love and support for me, despite my many shortcomings and sins. But</i><i> things happened in 2022 that I was quite sad and sorry about, yet God wants me to never lose my joy in Him.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><b>Departure </b>of <b>friends</b>. When people leave the church after many years or even decades, I feel that I've lost some friends that I at least see every Sunday at church. And if they left the church because of me, I'm sorry that I said things that caused them to leave. Despite the departure of some long standing older and younger people, I know that God has comforted and helped me to keep my heart and to "be joyful always" only because of Christ.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><b>Indicted </b>for a<b> criminal offense</b>. In mid-December half a dozen FBI agents came to my house unannounced to arrest me in hand-cuffs at 7:15 am for committing health care fraud. Without going into detail about the charges, it completely surprised me. It's the first time I've ever been hand-cuffed as a potentially dangerous criminal. I was in detention with leg chains for a day with 2 other convicted felons in the same jail cell, and I was released on bond to be tried at a later date. If found guilty my maximum sentence is 10 years in prison + a fine of up to $500,000. This waiting</i><i> for a jury trial</i><i> and their verdict is </i><i>uncomfortable and distressful </i><i>with many unknowns. But my key verse says, "<b>be joyful always</b>." I learned practically that joy is a choice which has nothing to do with my situation or circumstances. Even Jesus saw the joy set before him while being tortured, crucified and executed on the cross (Heb 12:2). So "be joyful always" is still a great KV for 2023.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Why did this happen? I've been praying that God would</i><i> sanctify and purify me to be more like Jesus. So, without a doubt</i><i> </i><i>God is faithful to answer my prayer. Would you also pray for yourself for God to truly sanctify and purify you?</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><b>II</b>. Because of the possibility and prospect of being found guilty and sent to jail, a</i><i> few key verses for 2023 are:</i></div><div><ul><li><i>Phil 4:8b--"if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--<b>think about such things</b>."</i></li><li><i>Isa 55:9--"my <b>ways </b>[are] higher than your ways, and my <b>thoughts </b>than your thoughts."</i></li><li><i>Mt 6:33--"But seek <b>first </b>his kingdom and his righteousness..."</i></li><li><i>Heb 13:5--"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you,'" which is from Dt 31:6: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."</i></li></ul><i>With these verses in mind, being in jail is no big deal in the big picture and in the scheme of things. I hope Christy will visit me in jail. But I have to confess that I will miss seeing my 7-8 grandchildren grow up.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>In 2023, God willing, and with your love, prayer and support, John and I will preach. I pray to preach through Acts. Pray for God to bless our outreach and evangelism at UIC. Pray for Ukraine and the end of the war.</i><br></div></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>"Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you," therefore seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.</i></div></div></div> </blockquote></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-40316512442667157642024-01-01T06:23:00.000-06:002024-01-01T06:42:58.010-06:00Collaboration requestHi there
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<br>ShilpaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-73666148260398399872023-12-26T13:38:00.001-06:002023-12-26T13:38:57.498-06:00Re: Day 22 Advent, 12/25/23: God became a Man (John 1:14)A part of a thoughtful and reflective series. 👍<br><br><div id="ymail_android_signature"><a id="ymail_android_signature_link" href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=Global_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100000604&af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android</a></div> <br> <blockquote style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;"> <div style="font-family:Roboto, sans-serif; color:#6D00F6;"> <div>On Mon, Dec 25, 2023 at 3:14 PM, Benjamin Toh</div><div><benjamintoh@gmail.com> wrote:</div> </div> <div style="padding: 10px 0 0 20px; margin: 10px 0 0 0; border-left: 1px solid #6D00F6;"> <div id="yiv9913488668"><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div class="yiv9913488668gmail_quote"><div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0px;margin:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Merry X'mas. This is the last day of Advent reflection </div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've often thought of God becoming a man to live among them to save them, to a man becoming a cockroach to live among cockroaches to save cockroaches. This analogy is not only gross and crude, but inconceivable. Surely you can come up with a poignant analogy that expresses the mystery and majesty of the incarnation.<div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, Jim Cook shared in his sermon the Message translation of John 1:14: "The Word became flesh, and moved into the neighborhood..." which reminded Christy Toh of Mr. Rogers. Jesus is truly the intimate friend of all sinners without discrimination, or favoritism, or racism, or gender bias.</div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></div><div style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lord, help me to always remember the great cost of the Incarnation and the ultimate cost of the Cross. Help me to live out the truth that Jesus is the Incarnate God who is with me in order to save me.</div></div><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;width:100%;min-height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:top;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td valign="top" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:100%;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;table-layout:fixed!important;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;background-color:transparent;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="left" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td valign="top" align="center" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;background-color:rgb(239,239,239);" bgcolor="#efefef" role="presentation"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-size:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"></td> </tr> <tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-size:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:100%;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;table-layout:fixed!important;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;background-color:transparent;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="left" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" style="margin:0px;padding:25px 30px 30px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><p style="margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;line-height:39px;font-size:26px;color:rgb(51,51,51);">Mon, Dec 25, 2023</p></td></tr><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" style="padding:30px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><p style="margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;line-height:27px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51);">Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)</p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" style="margin:0px;padding:10px 30px 30px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align:center;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><font style="font-size:18px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;color:rgb(189,156,103);">John 1:1–18</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="left" style="margin:0px;padding:10px 30px 30px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><p style="margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;line-height:30px;font-size:20px;color:rgb(51,51,51);">Friends, our Gospel for Christmas day is the prologue to the Gospel of John. In many ways, it is the entire Gospel, indeed the entire Bible, in miniature.<br><br>Let's turn to the central passage: "And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." The word used in Greek here for "made his dwelling" is eskenosen, which means literally, "pitched his tent among us." Don't read that in a folksy way. It is meant to call to mind the tabernacle of the temple.<br><br>The Word becoming flesh is God coming to dwell definitively in his world, undoing the effects of sin and turning it into what it was always meant to be. Notice, too, what we see in the wake of this tabernacling: "And we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth."<br><br>So John is telling us that Jesus is the new Eden, the new Temple, the restored creation, the realization of God's intention for the world. And our purpose is not simply to gaze on this fact with wonder but rather to enter into its power: "From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace."</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:100%;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;table-layout:fixed!important;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;background-color:transparent;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="left" style="padding:20px 20px 0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;width:710px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><p style="margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;line-height:21px;font-size:14px;color:rgb(51,51,51);"><br><br><sub style="font-size:8px;line-height:0;vertical-align:-0.4em;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">.</sub></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="left" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td align="center" style="padding:30px 0px;margin:0px;font-size:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><table border="0" width="100%" height="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tbody style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><tr style="font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><td style="padding:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-bottom-style:solid;background:repeat;min-height:1px;width:100%;margin:0px;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204);"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <img src="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?nl=29&c=10130&m=20969&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&l=open&account=wordonfire.activehosted.com&a=999795128" border="0" width="1" height="1" style="display:block;border:0px;overflow:hidden;font-family:roboto, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;width:1px !important;min-width:1px !important;max-width:1px !important;min-height:1px !important;" id="ymail_ctr_id_-681160-4"><br><br clear="all"></div> </div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-34124175413739236722023-12-25T15:14:00.001-06:002023-12-25T15:14:47.699-06:00Day 22 Advent, 12/25/23: God became a Man (John 1:14)<div><div><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0px;margin:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Merry X'mas. This is the last day of Advent reflection </div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">I've often thought of God becoming a man to live among them to save them, to a man becoming a cockroach to live among cockroaches to save cockroaches. This analogy is not only gross and crude, but inconceivable. Surely you can come up with a poignant analogy that expresses the mystery and majesty of the incarnation.<div dir="auto" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Yesterday, Jim Cook shared in his sermon the Message translation of John 1:14: "The Word became flesh, and moved into the neighborhood..." which reminded Christy Toh of Mr. Rogers. Jesus is truly the intimate friend of all sinners without discrimination, or favoritism, or racism, or gender bias.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><br></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">Lord, help me to always remember the great cost of the Incarnation and the ultimate cost of the Cross. Help me to live out the truth that Jesus is the Incarnate God who is with me in order to save me.</div></div><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;width:100%;height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:top;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td valign="top" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:100%;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;table-layout:fixed!important"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="left" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td valign="top" align="center" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;background-color:rgb(239,239,239)" bgcolor="#efefef" role="presentation"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-size:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"></td> </tr> <tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-size:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:100%;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;table-layout:fixed!important"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="left" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" style="margin:0px;padding:25px 30px 30px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><p style="margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:39px;font-size:26px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Mon, Dec 25, 2023</p></td></tr><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" style="padding:30px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><p style="margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:27px;font-size:18px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)</p> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" style="margin:0px;padding:10px 30px 30px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><div style="text-align:center;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><font style="font-size:18px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(189,156,103)">John 1:1–18</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="left" style="margin:0px;padding:10px 30px 30px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><p style="margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:30px;font-size:20px;color:rgb(51,51,51)">Friends, our Gospel for Christmas day is the prologue to the Gospel of John. In many ways, it is the entire Gospel, indeed the entire Bible, in miniature.<br><br>Let's turn to the central passage: "And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." The word used in Greek here for "made his dwelling" is eskenosen, which means literally, "pitched his tent among us." Don't read that in a folksy way. It is meant to call to mind the tabernacle of the temple.<br><br>The Word becoming flesh is God coming to dwell definitively in his world, undoing the effects of sin and turning it into what it was always meant to be. Notice, too, what we see in the wake of this tabernacling: "And we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth."<br><br>So John is telling us that Jesus is the new Eden, the new Temple, the restored creation, the realization of God's intention for the world. And our purpose is not simply to gaze on this fact with wonder but rather to enter into its power: "From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace."</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:100%;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;table-layout:fixed!important"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="left" style="padding:20px 20px 0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;width:710px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/proc.php?nl=29&c=10130&m=20969&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&act=unsub" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><p style="margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21px;font-size:14px;color:rgb(51,51,51)"><br><br><sub style="font-size:8px;line-height:0;vertical-align:-0.4em;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif">.</sub></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="left" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0px;margin:0px;width:750px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td align="center" style="padding:30px 0px;margin:0px;font-size:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><table border="0" width="100%" height="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tbody style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><tr style="font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><td style="padding:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-bottom-style:solid;background:repeat;height:1px;width:100%;margin:0px;font-family:roboto,"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;border-bottom-color:rgb(204,204,204)"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <img src="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?nl=29&c=10130&m=20969&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&l=open&account=wordonfire.activehosted.com&a=999795128" border="0" width="1" height="1" style="display: block; border: 0px; overflow: hidden; font-family: roboto, "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; width: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; height: 1px !important;"><br><br clear="all"></div> </div></div></div> </div> </div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-79888138506466911652023-12-24T15:11:00.001-06:002023-12-24T15:11:28.931-06:00Day 21 Advent, 12/24/23 🔴: Jesus' Kingdom will Never End<div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="auto"><i>"…his kingdom will never end"</i> (Luke 1:33).</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div>Merry Xmas eve. In this world kingdoms rise and wane. Once a kingdom has been defeated, it never arises again. The kingdom of David was conquered by Babylon and exiled over 500 years ago in 587 B.C. But the angel promised Mary that the child she will bear <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px"><i>"will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.</i></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px"><i> The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David"</i> (Lk 1:32). Though this was inconceivable, God would fulfill his ancient promise made to David (2 Sam 7:16) around 1,000 B.C. as John Peace shared today during the lectionary reading.</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px">Lord, thank you for faithfully keeping your promise despite our unfaithfulness to you. Thank you for sending your Son through whom your kingdom will never end. Help me to live with this glorious hope in my heart in the years to come.</span></div><div><div class="gmail_quote"> <div> <span style="display:none!important;width:0;height:0;opacity:0;color:transparent">Live on YouTube: Bishop Robert Barron - He Will Rule Forever - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon!</span> <table width="680" bgcolor="transparent" align="center" valign="top" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td width="40"></td> <td width="600"> <table width="600" align="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table width="600" align="left" valign="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td width="584" valign="center"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=js_7lWyD_qUL6D4K&u=/" target="_blank"><img alt="Youtube Logo" height="30" src="http://www.gstatic.com/youtube/img/branding/youtubelogo/1x/youtubelogo_60.png" border="0" style="display:block"></a> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table width="600" align="center" valign="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table width="600" align="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="3"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=js_7lWyD_qUL6D4K&u=/watch%3Fv%3D5DaaX3lHz84%26feature%3Dem-lsp" style="text-decoration:none;display:block" class="nonplayable" target="_blank"> <table aria-label="He Will Rule Forever - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon" width="600" align="center" background="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5DaaX3lHz84/sddefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEGCIAFEOgC&rs=AMzJL3lN8jIwGo9AJrBgPuA63BDLoyguoQ&feature=em-lsp" style="background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:cover;background-position:center" height="338" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr><td aria-label="He Will Rule Forever - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon"> <img src="https://www.gstatic.com/youtube/img/email/transparent_pixel.png" alt="He Will Rule Forever - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon" width="600" style="max-height:300px"> </td></tr> <tr aria-label="He Will Rule Forever - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon" scope="row"> <td aria-label="He Will Rule Forever - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon" style="color:#fff;text-align:right;font-size:12px" valign="bottom" width="600"> <div style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-right:8px;border-radius:2px;background-color:#e62117;padding:2px 4px;display:inline-block">PREMIERE</div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </a> </td> </tr> <tr><td> <table height="16" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td height="16"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> <tr> <td> <table width="560" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="table-layout:fixed"> <tbody><tr> <td width="32" style="vertical-align:top"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=js_7lWyD_qUL6D4K&u=/channel/UCcMjLgeWNwqL2LBGS-iPb1A%3Ffeature%3Dhttp://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcMjLgeWNwqL2LBGS-iPb1A%253Ffeature%253Dem-lsp" target="_blank"> <img src="https://yt3.ggpht.com/Abgf9T2UMuimPnTWEo09VFTRCiWmlIFzWVTbP1F-Q8d1aT0b7hcuE3qZPL_016AuiKxteeBXhFY=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj" width="32" style="display:block;border-radius:50%" border="0"> </a> </td> <td width="16"></td> <td> <table width="540" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="table-layout:fixed"> <tbody><tr><td valign="center"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="table-layout:fixed"> <tbody><tr> <td style="padding-bottom:4px"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=js_7lWyD_qUL6D4K&u=/watch%3Fv%3D5DaaX3lHz84%26feature%3Dem-lsp" style="text-decoration:none" target="_blank"> <span valign="center" style="font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:#212121;line-height:20px"> He Will Rule Forever - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon </span> </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr> <td> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td style="color:#757575;font-size:12px;line-height:16px;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;letter-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word"><br></td></tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td width="40"></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"> <table width="600" height="18" align="left" style="background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:100% 100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td width="40"></td> <td width="20" aria-label="YouTube Link"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=js_7lWyD_qUL6D4K&u=/youtube" target="_blank"> <img alt="YouTube" src="https://www.gstatic.com/youtube/img/email/youtube_email_icon_grey.png" height="18" border="0"> </a> </td> <td width="16"></td> <td aria-label="Twitter Link"> <a href="https://twitter.com/YouTube" target="_blank"> <img alt="Twitter" src="https://www.gstatic.com/youtube/img/email/twitter_email_icon_grey.png" height="18" border="0"> </a> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <img src="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=js_7lWyD_qUL6D4K&u=/gen_204%3Fa%3D" width="1" height="1" style="display:none!important;width:0;height:0;opacity:0;color:transparent"> </div></div> </div> </div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-36131137907153556962023-12-23T13:56:00.001-06:002023-12-23T13:56:22.230-06:00Day 20 Advent, 12/23/23: Christ came to set his people free (Luke 1:68)<div><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff" dir="auto"><span>2 more days to Christmas! Merry day before Christmas eve.</span><br><span><br></span></div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff" dir="auto"><span>The Lord's hand was upon Zechariah and upon his son John the Baptist (Lk 1:66) and he sang a song of Christ coming to set his people free (Lk 1:68).</span></div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff" dir="auto"><span><br></span></div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff" dir="auto"><span>Bishop Barron asks, "How are you enslaved to sin? What do you have to do to become free?</span></div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff" dir="auto"><span><br></span></div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff" dir="auto"><span>Struggling through this most eventful and painful year, I go in and out of the 7 deadly sins: lust, sloth, gluttony (oh dear, Xmas!), wrath, envy, greed and pride. Impatience and hypocrisy fits in somewhere as well. David says, "I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me" (Ps 51:3). I can elaborate on each of the 7 or 9 sins. Only because Jesus took the punishment and penalty of my sins upon himself on the Cross, am I able to know </span>God's deliverance and redemption by faith. What helps me is to always remember Scripture. Yesterday I remembered Luke 9:23, which is what Jesus says a disciple needs to do.</div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff" dir="auto"><span><br></span></div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff" dir="auto"><span>Lord, thank you for your mercy and grace to me to deliver me and your people from the power of sin and death. Help me to daily deny myself and take up my cross and follow you.<br></span><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0;Margin:0;width:100%;height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:center top;background-color:#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div lang="und" style="width:100%;padding:0px;margin:0px"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;width:100%;height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:50% 0%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="padding:0px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;width:100%;table-layout:fixed"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0px"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:39px;color:#333333;font-size:26px">Saturday, December 23, 2023</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:30px;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:27px;color:#333333;font-size:18px">Third Week of Advent</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><div style="text-align:center"><font color="#bd9c67" style="font-size:18px">Luke 1:57–66</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:30px;color:#333333;font-size:20px">Friends, today's Gospel tells the story of the birth and naming of John the Baptist. John's father Zechariah had been rendered speechless after his vision in the sanctuary, but we hear that "his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God." What follows this passage is the wonderful Canticle of Zechariah, which puts Jesus and John in the context of the great story of Israel. I would like to explore two lines of that great prayer today.<br><br>The God of Israel, Zechariah prays, "has come to his people and set them free." This is what God always wants to do. He hates the fact that we've become enslaved by sin and fear, and accordingly, he wants to liberate us. The central event of the Old Testament is an event of liberation from slavery. We are, as sinners, enslaved to our pride, our envy, our anger, our appetites, our greed, our lust—all of which wrap us up and keep us from being the people that we want to be.<br><br>Zechariah continues: "He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David." God will effect this liberation through the instrumentation of a mighty Savior. This should be read against the background of Israel's long history of military struggle against its enemies. A great warrior has come, and he is from the house of Israel's greatest soldier, David. God had promised that he would put a descendant of David on the throne of Israel for all eternity, and Zechariah is prophesying that this will take place.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br clear="all"></div> </div></div> </div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-89827838546351127932023-12-22T09:19:00.001-06:002023-12-22T09:19:47.356-06:00Day 19 Advent, 12/22/23: Mary Gave Herself Entirely to God (Luke 1:46-47)<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0;Margin:0;width:100%;height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:center top;background-color:#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:39px;color:#333333;font-size:26px"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;text-align:start"><b>Christmas in 4 days</b>! Only 4 more days of Advent reflection.</span></p><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:start"><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px">"My soul glorifies the Lord</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px"><span id="m_-6419808798639961562m_-7615174929623565594m_-8958511702203406354m_8911507640493507403m_3816165189502934960en-NIV-24941"><span style="font-family:monospace;font-size:0.42em;line-height:0"> </span>and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47).</span></span><br></i></div><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:start"><br></div><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:start"><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif"><b><i>Mary knows what God has done</i></b>. God lays low those who exalt themselves (Lk 1:51-52a). God shows grace to the humble, the weak, the helpless and the vulnerable (Lk 1:52-53). </span>Mary wholeheartedly gives the entirety of her being to God (Lk 1:46-47), because of her gratitude for God's mercy and grace to her (Lk 1:48-49), while her ego desires nothing for itself. <span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif">Her exuberant praise is due to what God has done as she also anticipates what God will do for her, for her people Israel (Lk 1:54-55), and for all generations (Lk 1:50).</span></div><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:start"><br></div><div style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;text-align:start">Lord, help me to deeply reflect and realize God's mercy upon my life, so that somehow it may give all honor and glory to you.</div><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:39px;color:#333333;font-size:26px">Friday, Dec<span style="background-color:transparent">ember 22, 2023</span></p></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="padding:30px;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:27px;color:#333333;font-size:18px">Third Week of Advent</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><div style="text-align:center"><font color="#bd9c67" style="font-size:18px">Luke 1:46–56</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:30px;color:#333333;font-size:20px">Friends, in today's Gospel, we hear the Magnificat—Mary's great hymn of praise to Yahweh.<br><br>The hymn commences with the simple declaration, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." Mary announces here that her whole being is ordered to the glorification of God. Her ego wants nothing for itself; it wants only to be an occasion for giving honor to God. But since God needs nothing, whatever glory Mary gives to him returns to her benefit, so that she is magnified in the very act of magnifying him. In giving herself away fully to God, Mary becomes a superabundant source of life; indeed, she becomes pregnant with God.<br><br>This odd and wonderful rhythm of magnifying and being magnified is the key to understanding everything about Mary, from her divine motherhood to her Immaculate Conception and Assumption to her mission in the life of the Church. </p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-top:20px;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><br></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br></div> </div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-45276197445535596352023-12-21T10:35:00.001-06:002023-12-21T10:35:24.303-06:00Day 18 Advent, 12/21/23: Can you feel the joy in this Gospel passage? (Luke 1:44)<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff">I would not have connected this familiar Christmas passage of Mary visiting Elizabeth with David bringing the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:12). "...in the hill country of Judea" (Lk 1:39) was where Obed-Edom apparently lived between Kireath-Jearim and Jerusalem. This is in the Judean highlands when he housed the ark for 3 months (2 Sam 6:11; 1 Ch 13:13-14; 15:25), which is 9 miles from Jerusalem.<br></div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><br></div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff">I also would not have connected John the Baptist leaping for joy in Elizabeth's womb (Lk 1:44) with David dancing before the ark of the covenant as it was brought to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:14; 1 Ch 15:29).</div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><br></div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff">I do find both connections plausible and reasonable and quite interesting.</div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><br></div><div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff">Lord, regardless of my life circumstances, help me to always have David's joy and gratitude in his dancing in worship before the ark of the covenant.<br><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0;Margin:0;width:100%;height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:center top;background-color:#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:39px;color:#333333;font-size:26px">Thursday, December 21, 2023</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:30px;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:27px;color:#333333;font-size:18px">Third Week of Advent</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><div style="text-align:center"><font color="#bd9c67" style="font-size:18px">Luke 1:39–45</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:30px;color:#333333;font-size:20px">Friends, today's Gospel tells the marvelous story of the Visitation. At the Annunciation, the angel had told Mary that the child to be conceived in her would be the new David. With that magnificent prophecy still ringing in her ears, Mary set out to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was married to Zechariah, a temple priest.<br><br>No first-century Jew would have missed the significance of their residence being "in the hill country of Judah." That was precisely where David found the ark, the bearer of God's presence. To that same hill country now comes Mary, the definitive and final Ark of the Covenant.<br><br>Elizabeth is the first to proclaim the fullness of the Gospel: "How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"—the Lord, which is to say, the God of Israel. Mary brings God into the world, thus making it, at least in principle, a temple.<br><br>And then Elizabeth announces that at the sound of Mary's greeting, "the infant in my womb leaped for joy." This is the unborn John the Baptist doing his version of David's dance before the ark of the covenant, his great act of worship of the King. </p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-top:20px;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:710px"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><br></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br></div> </div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-42936387576582230342023-12-20T09:37:00.000-06:002023-12-20T09:38:11.821-06:00Day 17 Advent (12/20/23): Fall in Love with God (Luke 1:38)<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">It is interesting to me that in this Advent season Luke 1:26-38 appears 4 times in 22 days. Today is the 3rd time, with the 4th time being on Christmas eve, which would be the 4th Sunday of Advent.<br></div></div><div class="gmail_quote"><ul><li>The 1st time on 12/8/23 addressed the <a href="https://bentohwestloop.blogspot.com/2023/12/day-6-of-advent-12823-hail-mary-full-of.html" target="_blank">Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. </a>Despite doctrinal differences, may Protestants and Catholics love each other in Christ.</li><li>The 2nd time on 12/12/23 was the first time I read about <a href="https://bentohwestloop.blogspot.com/2023/12/day-9-of-advent-reflection-121223-hail.html" target="_blank">our Lady of Guadalupe</a>. God can surely choose to reveal Himself through visions and apparitions, though this has not been my own experience.</li><li>Today, the 3rd time, focuses on Mary's submission and obedience. God's favor to her was to conceive the Son of God as a virgin (Lk 1:28-31) while betrothed to Joseph. This would cause endless shame, disgrace, misunderstanding, fear, worry, anxiety, uncertainty, and possible stoning as an adulterous woman. Yet she welcomed it as "the Lord's servant" (Lk 1:38) with overflowing joy and gratitude (Lk 1:46ff).</li></ul>Bishop Barron asks, "Why is surrender such a critical part of falling in love with God?" </div><div class="gmail_quote"><br></div><div class="gmail_quote">Lord, though I love many things in the world, help me to always love you utmost in my heart with joy and gratitude. Thank you for helping me to surrender my life and future into your hands alone.<br><div><u></u> <div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"> <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0;Margin:0;width:100%;height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:center top;background-color:#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:#efefef" bgcolor="#efefef" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:39px;color:#333333;font-size:26px">Wednesday, December 20, 2023</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:30px;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:27px;color:#333333;font-size:18px">Third Week of Advent</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><div style="text-align:center"><font color="#bd9c67" style="font-size:18px">Luke 1:26–38</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:30px;color:#333333;font-size:20px">Friends, in today's Gospel, the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she has been chosen to be the mother of God.<br><br>In the face of this overwhelming word, Mary is confused: "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And she cannot begin to imagine the full consequences of accepting this invitation: shame, exile, violent pursuit, the final agony on Calvary.<br><br>And yet, despite her fear and despite the darkness, she says, "I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." At the crucial moment, Mary of Nazareth allows herself to fall in love with God, and in that moment of ecstasy, the Son of God enters the world for its salvation.<br><br>The human tragedy began with Adam and Eve's grasp; the divine comedy commences with Mary's letting-go. This is why the medieval commentators, with their delicious sense of the co-penetration of all parts of the Bible, observed that the "Ave" of the angel of the Annunciation reverses "Eva," the mother of all the living.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-top:20px;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:710px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/proc.php?nl=29&c=10125&m=20964&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&act=unsub" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21px;color:#333333;font-size:14px"><br><br><sub style="font-size:8px;line-height:0;vertical-align:-0.4em">.</sub></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px;font-size:0"><table border="0" width="100%" height="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0;Margin:0;border-bottom:0px solid #cccccc;background:none;height:1px;width:100%;margin:0px"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <img src="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?nl=29&c=10125&m=20964&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&l=open&account=wordonfire.activehosted.com&a=999795128" border="0" width="1" height="1" style="display:block;width:1px!important;min-width:1px!important;max-width:1px!important;height:1px!important;border:0;overflow:hidden"><br><br clear="all"></div> </div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-29967277020812591542023-12-19T13:24:00.001-06:002023-12-19T13:24:16.285-06:00One Thing I Ask (Psalm 27:1-14)<div dir="ltr"><div><div><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"The <span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-caps:small-caps;font-variant-alternates:normal">Lord</span> is my light and my salvation—</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span>whom shall I fear? </span></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">The <span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-caps:small-caps;font-variant-alternates:normal">Lord</span> is the stronghold of my life—</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span>of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps 27:1) </span></span><span style="font-size:large;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"<b>One thing</b></span><span style="font-size:large;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><b> </b></span><span style="font-size:large;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><b>I ask</b> from the</span><span style="font-size:large;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"> </span><span class="gmail-small-caps" style="font-size:large;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-caps:small-caps;font-variant-alternates:normal">Lord</span><span style="font-size:large;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">,</span><span class="gmail-indent-1" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span class="gmail-indent-1-breaks" style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-27-4" style="">this only do I seek: </span></span><span class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-27-4" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">that I may dwell in the house of the <span class="gmail-small-caps" style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-caps:small-caps;font-variant-alternates:normal">Lord</span></span><span class="gmail-indent-1" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span class="gmail-indent-1-breaks" style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-27-4">all the days of my life, </span></span><span class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-27-4" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">to gaze on the beauty of the <span class="gmail-small-caps" style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-caps:small-caps;font-variant-alternates:normal">Lord</span></span><span class="gmail-indent-1" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span class="gmail-indent-1-breaks" style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-27-4" style="">and to seek him in his temple" (Ps 27:4).</span></span></i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>References:</i></div></div><div><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>John Stott. Favorite Psalms. 1988. Psalm 27: <b>The Soul</b>'s<b> Changing Moods</b>.</i></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Confidence in God (1-7).</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Crying to God (8-14).</i></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Tim Keller. The Songs of Jesus. 2015.</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Gerald Wilson. Psalms Vol 1. The NIV Application Commentary. 2002.</em></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Confidence in Yahweh (Ps 27:1-3).</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em><b>Desire </b>to<b> dwell </b>in the<b> house </b>of<b> Yahweh </b>(Ps 27:4-6).</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Plea for deliverance from enemies (Ps 27:7-12).</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Confidence and encouragement (Ps 27:13-14).</em></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>John Goldingay. Psalms for Everyone, Part 1. 2013. Psalm 27: <b>One Thing</b>.</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Derek Kidner. Psalms 1-72, 1973. Psalms 73-150, 1975. Psalm 27: <b>My Light </b>and<b> my salvation</b>.</i></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Whom shall I fear (1-3)?</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Sanctuary (4-6).</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Thy face..., Thy way (7-12).</i></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Alec Motyer. Psalms by the Day. A New Devotional Translation. 2016. Psalm 27: <b>The Confident Life</b>.</i><br></li><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>A1. Confidence (1-3).</i></li><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>B1. God's house, my security in his shelter (4-6).</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>B2. God's face, my security in his favor (7-12).</i></li></ul><li><i>A2. Confidence (13-14).</i></li></ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Tremper Longman III & David E Garland. Psalms. The Expositor's Bible Commentary. 2008.</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Robert Altar. The Hebrew Bible. A Translation with Commentary. 2019.</i></li></ol><div><i><b>One thing I ask of the Lord</b>. Having confidence to wait on the Lord. The seeking, waiting life rewarded. <b>God will not forsake you</b>.</i></div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-86832464447662985262023-12-19T08:01:00.001-06:002023-12-19T08:01:32.686-06:00Day 16, Advent, 12/19/23: Take Away My Disgrace (Luke 1:25)<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days <i><u>he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace</u></i></span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><i><u> among the people</u></i>" (Luke 1:25).</span><div><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><span style="font-size:16px"><br></span></font><div><span style="color:rgb(0,29,53);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif;font-size:18px">Luke 1:5-25 </span>describes how Elizabeth, the childless wife of a priest, learns that she will give birth to a prophet named John the Baptist<span style="color:rgb(0,29,53);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif;font-size:18px">, thus taking away her disgrace as a barren woman which was considered to be a curse from God (cf. Gen 1:28).</span><span style="color:rgb(0,29,53);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif"> </span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif">God's passion is to take away our disgrace (Lk 1:25) — the disgrace of our failure, our misfortune, our sin, and even of our circumstances. </span><span style="background-color:rgba(80,151,255,0.18);color:rgb(4,12,40);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif">Elizabeth being childless was a circumstance beyond her control but still considered a disgrace by many people in her time and her culture</span><span style="color:rgb(4,12,40);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif">.</span></div></div><div><span style="color:rgb(4,12,40);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><i><span style="color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:Georgia,"Droid Serif","Times New Roman",sans-serif;font-size:20px;letter-spacing:-0.2px">What disgrace, disappointment, or disaster do you have that is holding upi back? Will you openly confess it and the feelings that it fosters within you, and ask God to take it away?</span><span style="color:rgb(4,12,40);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif"><br></span></i></div><div><span style="color:rgb(4,12,40);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(4,12,40);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif">In the past I felt a sense of pride for becoming a medical doctor, coming to the U.S. against all odds, having kids and grandkids, discipling Christians in the U.S., Malaysia and the Philippines, and planting a small church community at WL. But I've never really felt any significant public shame or disgrace until my recent indictment, arrest, trial, conviction and guilty verdict this year. The daily feeling of shame, disgrace and uneasiness follow the incessant accusatory thoughts that God is punishing me for my sin, and that God is not pleased with me after blessing me beyond measure (2 Sam 12:7-8).</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(4,12,40);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(4,12,40);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif">Lord, I know my sin that is always before me and that my sin is always against you (Ps 51:3-4). Lord, help me know, as Elizabeth did, that through Jesus, you have already shown me your favor and taken away my disgrace.</span></div></div><div class="msg3968862427570464996"><u></u> <div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"> <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0;Margin:0;width:100%;height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:center top;background-color:#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table class="m_3968862427570464996es-content" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table class="m_3968862427570464996es-content-body" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:#efefef" bgcolor="#efefef" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_3968862427570464996es-content" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" class="m_3968862427570464996es-content-body" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:39px;color:#333333;font-size:26px">Tuesday, December 19, 2023</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:30px;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:27px;color:#333333;font-size:18px">Third Week of Advent</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><div style="text-align:center"><font color="#bd9c67" style="font-size:18px">Luke 1:5–25</font><br><font color="#bd9c67" style="font-size:18px"></font></div> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:30px;color:#333333;font-size:20px">Friends, our Gospel today is from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, which is thoroughly drenched in Davidic themes from the Old Testament.<br><br>The first thing we hear about Zechariah is that he serves as priest in the Jerusalem temple; and David's dream was to build the temple in which Zechariah serves. While in the sanctuary, Zechariah is visited by the angel Gabriel; and the temple locale and the announcement of the birth of a child against all expectations brings us back to Hannah's pregnancy, which resulted in the birth of the forerunner to David. Indeed, Elizabeth's words upon conceiving—"So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others"—powerfully evoke Hannah's frame of mind when she, after many tears and much prayer, finally became pregnant.<br><br>What does this have to do with the life of Jesus? From beginning to end of his preaching career, Jesus' central theme was the arrival of the kingdom of God, which was understood to mean the ingathering of the scattered tribes of Israel. And what becomes eminently clear in all of the Gospels is that this coming together would happen in and through Jesus himself, much as the knitting together of ancient Israel happened in the person of David. Jesus definitively fulfills what David himself left incomplete and unfinished.</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"><br></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_3968862427570464996es-content" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" class="m_3968862427570464996es-content-body" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-top:20px;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:710px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/proc.php?nl=29&c=10124&m=20963&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&act=unsub" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21px;color:#333333;font-size:14px"><br><br><sub style="font-size:8px;line-height:0;vertical-align:-0.4em">.</sub></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px;font-size:0"><table border="0" width="100%" height="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0;Margin:0;border-bottom:0px solid #cccccc;background:none;height:1px;width:100%;margin:0px"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <img src="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?nl=29&c=10124&m=20963&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&l=open&account=wordonfire.activehosted.com&a=999795128" border="0" width="1" height="1" style="display:block;width:1px!important;min-width:1px!important;max-width:1px!important;height:1px!important;border:0;overflow:hidden"><br><br clear="all"></div> </div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-14861374354445297112023-12-18T18:46:00.001-06:002023-12-18T18:46:46.526-06:00Clean Hands and a Pure Heart (Psalm 24:1-10)<div dir="ltr"><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"The earth is the <span style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-caps:small-caps;font-variant-alternates:normal">Lord</span>'s, and everything in it,</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span>the world, and all who live in it" (Ps 24:1).</span></span> "<span id="en-NIV-14245" class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-24-3" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">Who may ascend the mountain of the <span class="gmail-small-caps" style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-caps:small-caps;font-variant-alternates:normal">Lord</span>? </span><span class="gmail-indent-1" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-24-3" style="">Who may stand in his holy place?</span></span><span id="en-NIV-14246" class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-24-4" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span class="gmail-versenum" style="line-height:normal;vertical-align:text-top;font-weight:700;display:inline"> </span>The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,</span><span class="gmail-indent-1" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span class="gmail-indent-1-breaks" style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-24-4" style="">who does not trust in an idol</span></span><span class="gmail-indent-1" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span class="gmail-indent-1-breaks" style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-24-4" style="">or swear by a false god" (Ps 24:3-4).</span></span><br></i><div><br></div><div>Snapshots of God in Psalm 24 (There is no prayer; it is all declarative):</div><div><ol><li><i>The Creator (1-2). The all-creating. God's creative authority. <font size="1">Everything/everyone belongs to God (1 Cor 6:19-20).</font></i></li><li><i>The Holy God (3-6). The all-holy. Preparation to enter the Presence of God. <font size="1">Holy in deed (outward actions) and thought (inward motives). Holy relationship with God (no idolatry) and neighbor (no deceit) </font>(Ps 24:4; 1 Sam 16:7).</i></li><li><i>The Glorious King (7-10). The all-victorious. <font size="1">The King of Glory comes.</font></i></li></ol></div><div><div><div><i>The most powerful Psalm prayer to start your day. Who can enter God's presence? Hymn to the King of Glory. The King of Glory and His Kingdom.</i></div></div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-57527686182963382342023-12-18T15:48:00.000-06:002023-12-18T15:49:04.698-06:00God Will Not Abandon You (Psalm 16:1-11)<div dir="ltr"><i>"<b>Keep me safe</b>, my God, for <b>in you I take refuge</b>" (Ps 16:1). "<span id="en-NIV-14101" class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-16-8" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">I keep my eyes always on the <span class="gmail-small-caps" style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-caps:small-caps;font-variant-alternates:normal">Lord</span>.</span><span class="gmail-indent-1" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><span class="gmail-indent-1-breaks" style="font-family:monospace;line-height:0"> </span><span class="gmail-text gmail-Ps-16-8" style="">With him at my right hand, <b>I will not be shaken</b>" (Ps 16:8).</span></span></i><br><div><br></div><div>Although it begins with a brief petition (Ps 16:1), Psalm 16 primarily expresses confident resting in God, a believer's testimony regarding both his present faith and his future hope. Having taken refuge in God (Ps 16:1), he finds in Him his greatest good (Ps 16:2, 6, 7) and is convinced that even death cannot rob him of that true life which consists of fellowship with God (Ps 16:10-11). Peter on the day of Pentecost and Paul in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (Ac 2:24-31; 13:34-37) apply the final verses to the resurrection of Christ.</div><div><ol><li><i><b>Present faith</b> (1-6). Faithful servant.</i></li><li><i><b>Future hope</b> (7-11). Faithful Lord.</i></li></ol></div><div><div><div><i>References:</i></div></div><div><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>John Stott. Favorite Psalms. 1988. Psalm 16: Present faith and future hope.</i></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Present faith (1-6).</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Future hope (7-11).</i></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Tim Keller. The Songs of Jesus. 2015.</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Gerald Wilson. Psalms Vol 1. The NIV Application Commentary. 2002.</em></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>The initial plea (Ps 16:1).</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Profession of faith (Ps 16:2).</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Refusal to worship other gods (Ps 16:3-4).</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Commitment to Yahweh (Ps 16:5-8).</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>Confidence and joy in Yahweh (Ps 16:9-11).</em></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><em>John Goldingay. Psalms for Everyone, Part 1. 2013. Psalm 16: The secret of life.</em></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Derek Kidner. Psalms 1-72, 1973. Psalms 73-150, 1975. Psalm 16: All my delight.</i></li><ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Faithful servant (1-6).</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Faithful Lord (7-11).</i></li></ol><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Alec Motyer. Psalms by the Day. A New Devotional Translation. 2016. Psalm 16: Security in God.</i><br></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Tremper Longman III & David E Garland. Psalms. The Expositor's Bible Commentary. 2008.</i></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><i>Robert Altar. The Hebrew Bible. A Translation with Commentary. 2019.</i></li></ol></div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-86967835896061432982023-12-18T12:53:00.001-06:002023-12-18T12:53:55.916-06:00Three Voices in Harmony (Psalm 19:1-14)<div dir="ltr"><b><i>The self-revelation of God</i></b>. C.S. Lewis says that Psalm 19 is "the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world." It contains the clearest summary of the doctrine of revelation in the OT, namely that God has made himself known to all people as:<div><ol><li><i><b>Creator </b>(1-6): <b>General </b>revelation.</i></li><li><i><b>Lawgiver </b>(7-10): <b>Special </b>revelation.</i></li><li><i><b>Redeemer </b>(11-14): <b>Personal </b>revelation.</i></li></ol><div><i>References:</i></div></div><div><ol><li><i>John Stott. Favorite Psalms. 1988. Psalm 19: The self-revelation of God.</i></li><li><em>Tim Keller. The Songs of Jesus. 2015.</em></li><li><em>Gerald Wilson. Psalms Vol 1. The NIV Application Commentary. 2002.</em></li><li><em>John Goldingay. Psalms for Everyone, Part 1. 2013. Psalm 19: The mystery of sin.</em></li><li><i>Derek Kidner. Psalms 1-72, 1973. Psalms 73-150, 1975. Psalm 19: The Skies, the Scriptures.</i></li><li><i>Alec Motyer. Psalms by the Day. A New Devotional Translation. 2016. Psalm 19: Three voices in harmony.</i><br></li><li><i>Tremper Longman III & David E Garland. Psalms. The Expositor's Bible Commentary. 2008.</i></li><li><i>Robert Altar. The Hebrew Bible. A Translation with Commentary. 2019.</i></li></ol></div><div><br></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-47812140737707042482023-12-18T08:44:00.001-06:002023-12-18T08:44:56.565-06:00Day 15 Advent, 12/18/23: Some questions<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div><i>Some random questions for myself from today's Advent reflection on God's purpose for Joseph's life (Mt 1:18-25):</i></div><div><i><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"><b>Fear</b>: <u>Does fear rule in your heart</u>? <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife..."</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px"> </span>(Mt 1:20). Maybe not so much fear, but sadness and sorrow.</i></div><i><br></i><div><i><b>Salvation</b>: <u>Can you save yourself</u>? <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"> because he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21). Fortunately no, despite the constant default to do so.</span></i></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><i><br></i></span></div><div><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><b>Presence</b>: <u>Who do you depend on to help you</u>? </span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"> (which means "God with us")</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"> (Mt 1:23). Thank God who "abandoned" his Son (Ps 22:1), so that he would not abandon us!</span></i></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><i><br></i></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><i><u>Bishop Barron's question</u> (<b>disaster</b>): What, in your own life, appeared to be a disaster but was meaningful from God's perspective when you viewed it in hindsight and with the eyes of faith? Even now looking back over my life, what is happening currently is the best thing and God's perfect love and plan for my life and future.</i></span></div><br><div class="msg-6284197257998613589"><u></u> <div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"> <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0;Margin:0;width:100%;height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:center top;background-color:#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table class="m_-6284197257998613589es-content" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table class="m_-6284197257998613589es-content-body" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:#efefef" bgcolor="#efefef" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"><br></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"><a href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cud29yZG9uZmlyZS5vcmclMkZyZWZsZWN0aW9ucyUyRg==&sig=ADDCjrza3nM8uiPzH279DdDuCXY3nfQohpuEXbuJQdYU&iat=1702883598&a=%7C%7C999795128%7C%7C&account=wordonfire%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=J8e0UJcBFgjVnQD83wCMArg9KsSNrm%2FBU4d1%2B3IZxiKJpszbeA%3D%3D%3A339h72pOzm3T%2BTBQw2U3P1CBzlCXf%2Bom&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&i=10123A20962A29A1493633" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#0000ee;font-size:14px" target="_blank"><br></a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-6284197257998613589es-content" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" class="m_-6284197257998613589es-content-body" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:39px;color:#333333;font-size:26px">Monday, December 18, 2023</p></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="padding:30px;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:27px;color:#333333;font-size:18px">Third Week of Advent</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><div style="text-align:center"><font color="#bd9c67" style="font-size:18px">Matthew 1:18–25</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:30px;color:#333333;font-size:20px">Friends, today's Gospel centers on one of the most beloved figures in Christian history: Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. He's featured in countless works of art and is prominent in the devotional lives of many. Yet we know almost nothing about him. The scant verses here in Matthew offer the most extensive description, yet even they reveal some powerful spiritual themes.<br><br>First, we discover Mary was betrothed to Joseph and this union had been blessed by God. But then Joseph finds his betrothed is pregnant. Can you imagine the distress? This must have been an emotional maelstrom for him. And at a deeper level, it was a spiritual crisis. What did God want him to do?<br><br>But then an angel appears to him in a dream and tells him, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home." He realizes at that moment that these puzzling events are part of God's much greater plan. What appears to be a disaster from his perspective is meaningful from God's perspective.<br><br>Joseph was willing to cooperate with the divine plan, though he in no way knew its contours or deepest purpose. Like his wife, Mary, at the Annunciation, he trusted and let himself be led.</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"><a href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZib29rcy53b3Jkb25maXJlLm9yZyUyRmEtZ3JhbmQtc2xhbS1mb3ItZ29k&sig=C333V69112j85aHUkN3NWdcsjtWyNRuncBsYF2v62ZSF&iat=1702883598&a=%7C%7C999795128%7C%7C&account=wordonfire%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=J8e0UJcBFgjVnQD83wCMArg9KsSNrm%2FBU4d1%2B3IZxiKJpszbeA%3D%3D%3A339h72pOzm3T%2BTBQw2U3P1CBzlCXf%2Bom&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&i=10123A20962A29A1493877" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#0000ee;font-size:14px" target="_blank"><img class="m_-6284197257998613589adapt-img" src="https://content.app-us1.com/cdn-cgi/image/dpr=2,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=650/D9VDX/2023/12/11/4e186061-3326-4760-8032-339a25100793.png" alt="" style="display:block;border:0;outline:none;text-decoration:none" width="750"></a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-6284197257998613589es-content" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" class="m_-6284197257998613589es-content-body" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-top:20px;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:710px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/proc.php?nl=29&c=10123&m=20962&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&act=unsub" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21px;color:#333333;font-size:14px"><br><br><sub style="font-size:8px;line-height:0;vertical-align:-0.4em">.</sub></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px;font-size:0"><table border="0" width="100%" height="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0;Margin:0;border-bottom:0px solid #cccccc;background:none;height:1px;width:100%;margin:0px"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <img src="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?nl=29&c=10123&m=20962&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&l=open&account=wordonfire.activehosted.com&a=999795128" border="0" width="1" height="1" style="display:block;width:1px!important;min-width:1px!important;max-width:1px!important;height:1px!important;border:0;overflow:hidden"><br><br clear="all"></div> </div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-54275001996079920272023-12-17T14:36:00.001-06:002023-12-17T14:36:45.793-06:00Advent Questions, 12/17/23<div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-family:proxima-nova,sans-serif">These questions for Advent reflection are from Billy Graham's website:</span></div><div><span style="font-family:proxima-nova,sans-serif"><br></span></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><span style="font-family:proxima-nova,sans-serif">Learn from Herod, who wanted to take control as "king" by taking matters into his own hands (Mt 2:1-3, 16).</span></div></blockquote><div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.25em;padding:0px;direction:ltr;font-family:proxima-nova,sans-serif;line-height:1.8"></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:proxima-nova,sans-serif"><i>Do you recognize that Christ is King? Do you surrender all control of your life over to Him?</i></span></li><li><span><i>What is sitting on the throne of your heart?</i></span></li><li><span><i>What things are you elevating above Jesus in your life? Your job, your relationships, your hobbies, your vices?</i></span></li><li><span><i>Are you living in a way that you know is not pleasing to God?</i></span></li><li><span><i>In your daily life, what do you elevate above your faith?</i></span></li><li><span><i>How can you reorder your priorities this Advent season?</i></span></li><li><i>Whether intentionally or accidentally, do you prioritize the material celebration of Christmas (family, gifts, parties, decorations) or the spiritual celebration of Xmas (focusing on Jesus' birth)?</i></li></ul>Prayer: Dear Jesus, forgive me for not giving You complete control of my life. Help me to turn from the things that hinder my faith and walk fully surrendered in Your light.<br><p></p></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-63776768219073603282023-12-17T00:11:00.000-06:002023-12-17T00:12:09.563-06:00Davy 14 Advent, 12/17/23: 🔴 Just How Great John the Baptist was (John 1:27)<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr"><i><span id="m_5492759391574527057m_6947449876610272431m_4194487650263887420m_5870978153665588916m_3492167391162839189m_-5659739801007406783m_5704739354906934935m_6966608879171628475m_-8380715918119730423en-NIV-26071" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px">"...among you stands one you do not know.</span><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px"> </span><span id="m_5492759391574527057m_6947449876610272431m_4194487650263887420m_5870978153665588916m_3492167391162839189m_-5659739801007406783m_5704739354906934935m_6966608879171628475m_-8380715918119730423en-NIV-26072" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px">He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." (John 1:26-27).</span><br></i></div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px"><br></span></div><div class="gmail_attr"><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><span style="font-size:16px"><i><b><u>I forgot how great John the Baptist is</u></b> while l</i></span></font><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px">istening to Bishop Barron's sermon. </i><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><span style="font-size:16px"><i>He was so popular and influencial that he captured the imagination of the nation, so that they went out of their way to see him in the desert wilderness (Mark 1:5). People were so enthralled by him that they wondered if he was possibly the Messiah (John 1:20; Luke 3:15). Jesus even says that among those born of women there is no one greater than John (Luke 7:28). John had both appeal and charisma like the top Hollywood celebrities, as well as depth of </i></span></font><i style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial;font-size:16px">character and</i><i style="font-size:16px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"> substance like <b>Gandhi </b>or <b>Mandela</b>. In our age of social media and celebrity frenzy he could have marketed himself to become very rich, and more popular that<b> Taylor Swift </b>or <b>Beyonce</b>. It's as though people wanted to crown him the king of the world.</i></div><div class="gmail_attr"><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><span style="font-size:16px"><i><br></i></span></font></div><div class="gmail_attr"><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><span style="font-size:16px"><i>So what is truly remarkable is <b>how John saw himself</b>. He did not allow the masses of people thronging to him to swell his head. He was not in the least affected by fame, popularity, celebrity or his power of influence. He lived simply in the desert eating very simply (Mark 1:6), which convicts me. He dressed meagerly and was not caught up by the latest fad or trend. He does not suffer from FOMO. He does not feel entitled. <u>He knew his place</u> and <u>he knew who he was</u>: (1) He was just a "voice" (John 1:23), not the main event. (2) He was just a servant who is not even worthy of being Christ's servant (John 1:27).</i></span></font></div><div class="gmail_attr"><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><span style="font-size:16px"><i><br></i></span></font></div><div class="gmail_attr"><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><span style="font-size:16px"><i>John's life convicts me on too many levels. I enjoy and plan to eat what I like. FOMO gets to me, regarding new things--restaurants, movies, allocated spirits, special events. I am so used to comfort and convenience, and to being lax and loose. I get attached to people and things. But John was free to loose all things and to be who God wanted him to be.</i></span></font></div><div class="gmail_attr"><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><span style="font-size:16px"><i><br></i></span></font></div><div class="gmail_attr"><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><span style="font-size:16px"><i>Lord, help me to learn and practice detachment from people and things. Help me to learn and embrace simplicity of life. Help me to know that I am just a servant so that I can be free to be who you want me to be.</i></span></font></div><div class="gmail_attr"><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><span style="font-size:16px"><i><br></i></span></font></div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">🔴: The Voice of One Crying Out in the Desert - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon<br></div><div><div><table width="680" bgcolor="transparent" align="center" valign="top" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td width="40"></td> <td width="600"> <table width="600" align="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table width="600" align="left" valign="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td width="584" valign="center"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=fusL_sm7fc2BPncm&u=/" target="_blank"><img alt="Youtube Logo" height="30" src="http://www.gstatic.com/youtube/img/branding/youtubelogo/1x/youtubelogo_60.png" border="0" style="display:block"></a> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr><td style="max-height:0px;font-size:0;display:none"><hr width="600" style="height:0px;border:none;border-color:transparent;padding:0px;margin:0px"></td></tr> <tr><td height="20"></td></tr> <tr> <td> <table width="600" align="center" valign="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table width="600" align="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="3"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=fusL_sm7fc2BPncm&u=/watch%3Fv%3DAIyp7R1zwJM%26feature%3Dem-lsp" style="text-decoration:none;display:block" class="nonplayable" target="_blank"> <table aria-label="The Voice of One Crying Out in the Desert - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon" width="600" align="center" background="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/AIyp7R1zwJM/sddefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEGCIAFEOgC&rs=AMzJL3lZLxzrCoNmxV0GraYBiGti9O88ZA&feature=em-lsp" style="background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:cover;background-position:center" height="338" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr><td aria-label="The Voice of One Crying Out in the Desert - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon"> <img src="https://www.gstatic.com/youtube/img/email/transparent_pixel.png" alt="The Voice of One Crying Out in the Desert - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon" width="600" style="max-height:300px"> </td></tr> <tr aria-label="The Voice of One Crying Out in the Desert - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon" scope="row"> <td aria-label="The Voice of One Crying Out in the Desert - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon" style="color:#fff;text-align:right;font-size:12px" valign="bottom" width="600"> <div style="margin-bottom:8px;margin-right:8px;border-radius:2px;background-color:#e62117;padding:2px 4px;display:inline-block">PREMIERE</div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </a> </td> </tr> <tr><td> <table height="16" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td height="16"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> <tr> <td> <table width="560" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="table-layout:fixed"> <tbody><tr> <td width="32" style="vertical-align:top"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=fusL_sm7fc2BPncm&u=/channel/UCcMjLgeWNwqL2LBGS-iPb1A%3Ffeature%3Dhttp://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcMjLgeWNwqL2LBGS-iPb1A%253Ffeature%253Dem-lsp" target="_blank"> <img src="https://yt3.ggpht.com/Abgf9T2UMuimPnTWEo09VFTRCiWmlIFzWVTbP1F-Q8d1aT0b7hcuE3qZPL_016AuiKxteeBXhFY=s88-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj" width="32" style="display:block;border-radius:50%" border="0"> </a> </td> <td width="16"></td> <td> <table width="540" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="table-layout:fixed"> <tbody><tr><td valign="center"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="table-layout:fixed"> <tbody><tr> <td style="padding-bottom:4px"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=fusL_sm7fc2BPncm&u=/watch%3Fv%3DAIyp7R1zwJM%26feature%3Dem-lsp" style="text-decoration:none" target="_blank"> <span valign="center" style="font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;font-size:14px;color:#212121;line-height:20px"> The Voice of One Crying Out in the Desert - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon </span> </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=fusL_sm7fc2BPncm&u=/channel/UCcMjLgeWNwqL2LBGS-iPb1A%3Ffeature%3Dhttp://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcMjLgeWNwqL2LBGS-iPb1A%253Ffeature%253Dem-lsp" style="font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;font-size:12px;color:#757575;line-height:16px;letter-spacing:0px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank"> Bishop Robert Barron </a> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr></tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr><td> <table height="16" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td height="16"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr><td><hr style="display:block;height:1px;border:0;border-top:1px solid #eaeaea;margin-bottom:16px;padding:0"> </td></tr><tr> <td><br> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td width="40"></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"> <table width="600" height="18" align="left" style="background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:100% 100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td width="40"></td> <td width="20" aria-label="YouTube Link"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=fusL_sm7fc2BPncm&u=/youtube" target="_blank"> <img alt="YouTube" src="https://www.gstatic.com/youtube/img/email/youtube_email_icon_grey.png" height="18" border="0"> </a> </td> <td width="16"></td> <td aria-label="Twitter Link"> <a href="https://twitter.com/YouTube" target="_blank"> <img alt="Twitter" src="https://www.gstatic.com/youtube/img/email/twitter_email_icon_grey.png" height="18" border="0"> </a> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <img src="https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=fusL_sm7fc2BPncm&u=/gen_204%3Fa%3D" width="1" height="1" style="display:none!important;width:0;height:0;opacity:0;color:transparent"> </div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-60160957378904210552023-12-16T09:43:00.001-06:002023-12-16T09:43:32.414-06:00Day 12 Advent, 12/15/23: A Friend of the Socially Unacceptable (Mt 11:19)<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">"The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners'" (Mt 11:19).</span><br></i></div><div class="gmail_quote"><br></div><div class="gmail_quote">The flute symbolizes joy, and the dirge symbolizes mourning. By complaining that their playmates did not participate in their games (Mt 11:16-17), the children were saying that they were not happy or sad but unresponsive or indifferent. Jesus uses this parable as a rebuke to the Bible teachers and Pharisees. They complained about both John the Baptist and Jesus. John's fasting was too strict (Mt 11:18) and Jesus' dining habits were too lenient, liberal and socially unacceptable (Mt 11:19). But in reality, they judged and rejected the teachings of both John and Jesus based on their own criteria, biases, expectations and preferences.<br><br>Am I indifferent, nonchalant or not entirely responsive to God's Word? Even if I'm far from him, Paul's description of his struggle comes to mind:<i> "<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do" (Rom 7:15).</span></i></div><div class="gmail_quote"><br><div>Do I judge or criticize others? In the past I judged and rejected charismatics for being emotional, Catholics for worshipping Mary, and nominal Christians for not studying the Bible seriously. I had to leave my judgmental tribal mindset in order not to judge those who are unlike me and my tribe.<br><br></div><div>Jesus was indeed the true friend of sinners. The greatness of Jesus is that regardless of the severity of his suffering, even on the cross, his heart and mind was always directed toward the welfare and benefit of others ... even for us and for me as the Hound of Heaven.<br></div><div><br></div><div><span style="color:rgb(5,5,5);font-family:"Segoe UI Historic","Segoe UI",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:18.75px"><i>I am <b>frail</b>, <b>flawed</b>, <b>fallible </b>and <b>fallen</b>, yet <b>supported </b>and <b>strengthened supernaturally </b>by the <b>sufferings </b>of my <b>Savior</b>.</i></span></div><div><u></u> <div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"> <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0;Margin:0;width:100%;height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:center top;background-color:#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:39px;color:#333333;font-size:26px">Friday, December 15, 2023</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"><a href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZiaWJsZS51c2NjYi5vcmclMkZiaWJsZSUyRnJlYWRpbmdzJTJGMTIxNTIzLmNmbQ==&sig=4biNHZDb4muRFu2Jx4FfM63y2SRhMVA2Y3EiFQS2Ziiv&iat=1702624561&a=%7C%7C999795128%7C%7C&account=wordonfire%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=AzBbZZSdM7Ibc6AhLpBM%2BuDwF8n7dTWD%2BlJxJ%2BlG6Q9TTH91RQ%3D%3D%3ACJkfofA1ztjyIm8d8F98uQVl8N2CPrZP&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&i=10079A20870A29A1492968" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#0000ee;font-size:14px" target="_blank"><img src="https://content.app-us1.com/cdn-cgi/image/dpr=2,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=750/D9VDX/2023/05/22/5a351316-7f24-4d68-8873-7d73af1e306f.png" alt="" style="display:block;border:0;outline:none;text-decoration:none" width="300"></a></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"><a href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZoYWxsb3cuYXBwLmxpbmslMkYzNTFHUnhGMkluYg==&sig=5wmt2fNEsgAxQT4KKmVKs8S8vkzmU4DzDy2AyhKfqKB1&iat=1702624561&a=%7C%7C999795128%7C%7C&account=wordonfire%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=AzBbZZSdM7Ibc6AhLpBM%2BuDwF8n7dTWD%2BlJxJ%2BlG6Q9TTH91RQ%3D%3D%3ACJkfofA1ztjyIm8d8F98uQVl8N2CPrZP&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&i=10079A20870A29A1492963" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#0000ee;font-size:14px" target="_blank"><img src="https://content.app-us1.com/cdn-cgi/image/dpr=2,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=750/D9VDX/2023/05/22/ef9bb9f2-b27a-438b-b589-06f14c7f6ab8.png" alt="" style="display:block;border:0;outline:none;text-decoration:none" width="300"></a></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:30px;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:27px;color:#333333;font-size:18px">Second Week of Advent</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><div style="text-align:center"><font color="#bd9c67" style="font-size:18px">Matthew 11:16–19</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:30px;color:#333333;font-size:20px">Friends, in today's Gospel, the Pharisees compare the eating habits of John the Baptist, who fasted, and Jesus, who dined with sinners.<br><br>In the carefully stratified society of Jesus' time, a righteous person would never associate with the unrighteous, for fear of becoming unclean. But here is Jesus, scandalizing everyone because he does indeed break down these barriers. How would you feel if you saw me socializing with prostitutes and drug dealers? Would it shock you, dismay you, disappoint you? But this is what Jesus did, precisely because he was the Incarnation of the God who aggressively seeks out the lost.<br><br>God looks for us, comes running after us, never lets go, never relents, never gives up. The more we run, the more he runs after us; the more we hide, the more he looks; the more we resist, the more he persists. God loves sinners and associates with them. </p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"><a href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZib29rc3RvcmUud29yZG9uZmlyZS5vcmclMkY=&sig=7o2rR85MYYU2tSm6Lvbrg3ADzmP85ioHUsrm4BvDmraM&iat=1702624561&a=%7C%7C999795128%7C%7C&account=wordonfire%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=AzBbZZSdM7Ibc6AhLpBM%2BuDwF8n7dTWD%2BlJxJ%2BlG6Q9TTH91RQ%3D%3D%3ACJkfofA1ztjyIm8d8F98uQVl8N2CPrZP&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&i=10079A20870A29A1493769" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#0000ee;font-size:14px" target="_blank"><img src="https://content.app-us1.com/cdn-cgi/image/dpr=2,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=650/D9VDX/2023/12/08/7dd43243-c534-4911-be60-204bca44aaec.png" alt="" style="display:block;border:0;outline:none;text-decoration:none" width="750"></a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table 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</tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <img src="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?nl=29&c=10079&m=20870&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&l=open&account=wordonfire.activehosted.com&a=999795128" border="0" width="1" height="1" style="display:block;width:1px!important;min-width:1px!important;max-width:1px!important;height:1px!important;border:0;overflow:hidden"><br><br clear="all"></div> </div></div></div> </div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-75707155260835156492023-12-16T01:03:00.001-06:002023-12-16T01:03:51.788-06:00Day 13, 12/16/23: The Son of Man is Going to Suffer<div dir="ltr"><i>"...the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands" (Matthew 17:13).</i><div><i><br></i></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,29,53);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif;font-size:18px">Jesus tells his disciples that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah's return as Jesus' forerunner (Mt 17:10-13; Mal 4:5-6). And as they did unjustly to John [beheading], they would do to him (Mt 17:12; 16:21). The reason John was executed was because he proclaimed repentance (Mt 3:1-2), the message of "turning your life over to a higher power."</span><i><br></i></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,29,53);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif;font-size:18px"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,29,53);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:18px">Aleister Crowley, an English occultist, says, </span>"</span><span style="color:rgb(77,81,86);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,arial,sans-serif">Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." </span><span style="color:rgb(0,29,53);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif;font-size:18px">But John the Baptist and Christ call for repentance (Mt 3:2, 8; 4:17).</span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,29,53);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif;font-size:18px"><br></span></div><div><span style="color:rgb(0,29,53);font-family:"Google Sans",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif;font-size:18px">Lord, help me to surrender my life over to a higher power, to the rock that is higher than I (Ps 61:2).</span></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-32796603270717854642023-12-15T12:27:00.001-06:002023-12-15T12:27:36.130-06:00Praise the Lord (Psalm 150)<div dir="ltr"><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">Praise the </span><span class="gmail-small-caps" style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-caps:small-caps;font-variant-alternates:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">Lord. H</span></i><i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial">allelu Yah (Hebrew).</span></i><div><font color="#000000" face="system-ui, -apple-system, Segoe UI, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Noto Sans, sans-serif, Arial"><i><br></i></font><div>As a summons to worship, the final doxology of Psalm 150 is unsurpassed in grandeur. In common with the Hallel (113-118) and the 4 preceding psalms (146-149), it begins and ends with the word Hallelujah or <i><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><b>Praise </b>the </span><span class="gmail-small-caps" style="font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-caps:small-caps;font-variant-alternates:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Noto Sans",sans-serif,Arial"><b>Lord</b>.</span></i></div><div><ol><li><i>Where and why (Ps 150:1, 2). The subject of praise (Ps 150:1). The reason for praise (Ps 150:2).</i></li><li><i>How and by whom (Ps 150:3-6). The manner of praise (Ps 150:3-5): loud music and dancing. </i></li></ol><br></div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7069440479876544149.post-23790476403802002862023-12-14T08:32:00.000-06:002023-12-14T08:33:06.988-06:00Day 11 of Advent, 12/14/23: A Gentle Forcefulness (Mt 11:12)<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div id="m_-5562644508000356967gmail-:1po"><div id="m_-5562644508000356967gmail-:1pk" aria-label="Message Body" role="textbox" aria-multiline="true" style="direction:ltr;min-height:326px" aria-controls=":1ry" aria-expanded="false"><i style=""><b>Violent men forcefully take hold </b>of<b> the Kingdom </b>of <b>Heaven</b></i>. My preferred translation of the ambiguous Matthew 11:12 is from the 1984 NIV (which differs from the current 2011 NIV): <i>"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been <b>forcefully advancing</b>, and <b>forceful </b>[<b>violent</b>] men <b>lay hold of it</b>." ["...the <b>enforcers snatch it</b>" (Scot McKnight's translation)]</i><div><br></div><div>I've shared often that I have a Type A personality, which is <b><i>ABCD</i></b>: aggressive / aggravating, brutal / blunt, confrontational / confounding and doggedly determined (i.e. stubbornly stone headed, as my pastor had told me decades ago!). Last week a friend said that he prefers a Type C (Christ) personality, which I interpret as "consecrated and conformed to the character of Christ." Yes, I desire Type C, but unfortunately my Type A within me dies hard, or even refuses to die as it resurfaces time and again.</div><div><br></div><div>Jesus, my Lord, was clearly subjected to the most horrific violence for the sake of the kingdom of God (Ps 22:1; Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34). Jesus is the most forceful person, but he is also the most gentle person who ever lived. His gentleness drew many to him. His "forcefulness" got him killed. I like Jesus' forcefulness for the kingdom, but lag far far behind in his gentle and humble heart (Mt 11:29). I know and realize more and more that my forcefulness is often the result of my own pride and ego that is not tempered by the Holy Spirit. Yet I can't change the evil inclination of my own heart (Gen 6:5).</div><div><br></div><div>Lord, I pray to learn your gentle forcefulness. I pray for your Spirit to subdue my human forcefulness, which arises from me and not from God. May your kingdom come and your will be done through men and women of Spirit driven gentle forcefulness.</div></div></div><br><div><u></u> <div lang="und" style="font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;width:100%;padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"> <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;padding:0;Margin:0;width:100%;height:100%;background-repeat:repeat;background-position:center top;background-color:#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:#efefef" bgcolor="#efefef" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"><a href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cud29yZG9uZmlyZS5vcmclMkZyZWZsZWN0aW9ucyUyRg==&sig=CN9v5wXGbrDkDAQK6mAwcW2YodVM3MywUfJowawEfTmc&iat=1702538043&a=%7C%7C999795128%7C%7C&account=wordonfire%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=5qICafR5fG1CGgUwTcCwgHFuD3D3M7oP6hmLy1sDdp9yHixdpQ%3D%3D%3Ami7Or9k6%2FOS1%2Fx2EiI5wJDPgWkMXPfq0&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&i=10078A20869A29A1492953" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#0000ee;font-size:14px" target="_blank"><img 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align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:39px;color:#333333;font-size:26px">Thursday, December 14, 2023</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"><a href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZiaWJsZS51c2NjYi5vcmclMkZiaWJsZSUyRnJlYWRpbmdzJTJGMTIxNDIzLmNmbQ==&sig=K8WWjaYq8bXFoQQL29rxCcc7hznCTZ5msvQ4yKAJFuw&iat=1702538043&a=%7C%7C999795128%7C%7C&account=wordonfire%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=5qICafR5fG1CGgUwTcCwgHFuD3D3M7oP6hmLy1sDdp9yHixdpQ%3D%3D%3Ami7Or9k6%2FOS1%2Fx2EiI5wJDPgWkMXPfq0&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&i=10078A20869A29A1492960" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#0000ee;font-size:14px" target="_blank"><img src="https://content.app-us1.com/cdn-cgi/image/dpr=2,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=750/D9VDX/2023/05/22/5a351316-7f24-4d68-8873-7d73af1e306f.png" alt="" style="display:block;border:0;outline:none;text-decoration:none" width="300"></a></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-bottom:20px;font-size:0px"><a href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZoYWxsb3cuYXBwLmxpbmslMkYzNTFHUnhGMkluYg==&sig=3chuUwLv4UWRcvovSUj1vLZ1jCipbZZ1mUGPMMPqHSHa&iat=1702538043&a=%7C%7C999795128%7C%7C&account=wordonfire%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=5qICafR5fG1CGgUwTcCwgHFuD3D3M7oP6hmLy1sDdp9yHixdpQ%3D%3D%3Ami7Or9k6%2FOS1%2Fx2EiI5wJDPgWkMXPfq0&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&i=10078A20869A29A1492955" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#0000ee;font-size:14px" target="_blank"><img src="https://content.app-us1.com/cdn-cgi/image/dpr=2,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=750/D9VDX/2023/05/22/ef9bb9f2-b27a-438b-b589-06f14c7f6ab8.png" alt="" style="display:block;border:0;outline:none;text-decoration:none" width="300"></a></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:30px;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:27px;color:#333333;font-size:18px">Memorial of Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church</p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><div style="text-align:center"><font color="#bd9c67" style="font-size:18px">Matthew 11:11–15</font></div> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="Margin:0;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:30px"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:30px;color:#333333;font-size:20px">Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus says to the crowds, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force." The title for Flannery O'Connor's irresistibly powerful second and final novel, <em>The Violent Bear It Away</em>, is taken from the Douay-Rheims translation of this last phrase.<br><br>This famously ambiguous passage has given rise to a variety of interpretations over the centuries. Many have taken it to mean that the kingdom of God is attacked by violent people (such as those who killed John the Baptist) and that they threaten to take it away. But others have interpreted it in the opposite direction, as a word of praise to the spiritually violent who manage to get into the kingdom. Flannery O'Connor herself sides with this latter group.<br><br>The "violent," on this reading, are those spiritually heroic types who resist the promptings and tendencies of our fallen nature and seek to discipline it in various ways in order to enter into the kingdom of God. </p> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;font-size:0px"><a href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cud29yZG9uZmlyZS5vcmclMkYyMDIzLWluLXJldmlldyUyRiUyM2RvbmF0ZQ==&sig=5hWQRDxFpuhGYe1WdokioJZF6Q2gLZbPcr85YrADwSSD&iat=1702538043&a=%7C%7C999795128%7C%7C&account=wordonfire%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=5qICafR5fG1CGgUwTcCwgHFuD3D3M7oP6hmLy1sDdp9yHixdpQ%3D%3D%3Ami7Or9k6%2FOS1%2Fx2EiI5wJDPgWkMXPfq0&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&i=10078A20869A29A1493767" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#0000ee;font-size:14px" target="_blank"><img src="https://content.app-us1.com/cdn-cgi/image/dpr=2,fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=650/D9VDX/2023/12/05/5d35f606-de53-4eb1-8576-6fc9e0ef3191.png" alt="" style="display:block;border:0;outline:none;text-decoration:none" width="750"></a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;table-layout:fixed!important;width:100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="padding:0;Margin:0;background-color:#ffffff"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px;background-color:transparent;width:750px"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-top:20px;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:710px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/proc.php?nl=29&c=10078&m=20869&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&act=unsub" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><p style="Margin:0;font-family:roboto,'helvetica neue',helvetica,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21px;color:#333333;font-size:14px"><span style="font-size:10px">Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, PO Box 97330, Washington, DC 20090-7330, United States<br><a href="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cud29yZG9uZmlyZS5vcmclMkZtYW5hZ2UteW91ci1lbWFpbC1wcmVmZXJlbmNlcyUyRiUzRmVtYWlsJTNEYmVuamFtaW50b2glNDBnbWFpbC5jb20lMjZER1IlM0RFTkdMSVNIJTI2Y29udGVudCUzRE9GRiUyNm5ld3MlM0RPTg==&sig=GpEFcxAyCiQoCw6QGqVYuCcSUvieSei7FLv4cfzURMKY&iat=1702538043&a=%7C%7C999795128%7C%7C&account=wordonfire%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=5qICafR5fG1CGgUwTcCwgHFuD3D3M7oP6hmLy1sDdp9yHixdpQ%3D%3D%3Ami7Or9k6%2FOS1%2Fx2EiI5wJDPgWkMXPfq0&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&i=10078A20869A29A1492957" style="text-decoration:underline;color:#333333;font-size:10px" target="_blank">Manage Your Email Preferences</a></span><br><br><sub style="font-size:8px;line-height:0;vertical-align:-0.4em">.</sub></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="left" style="padding:0;Margin:0"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="none" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding:0;Margin:0;width:750px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:0;Margin:0;padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px;font-size:0"><table border="0" width="100%" height="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" style="border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:0;Margin:0;border-bottom:0px solid #cccccc;background:none;height:1px;width:100%;margin:0px"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <img src="https://ac.wordonfire.org/Prod/link-tracker?nl=29&c=10078&m=20869&s=9514380708f13e2436104381f4ffb600&l=open&account=wordonfire.activehosted.com&a=999795128" border="0" width="1" height="1" style="display:block;width:1px!important;min-width:1px!important;max-width:1px!important;height:1px!important;border:0;overflow:hidden"><br><br clear="all"></div> </div></div></div> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13464375346846250957noreply@blogger.com0