Leviticus 21-22; Matthew 28

I Love the way Jesus ends the book of Matthew. He doesn’t say:

 ”I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 He says:

 ”And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 SURELY. It’s a Greek word designed to call attention. Jesus says -

“GET THIS! LOOK! LISTEN! REMEMBER! CATCH THIS! DON’T FORGET! …I am with you always.

 When you feel alone – you’re not.

No matter where, no matter when – I’m with you. Bank on it.

Feel better? I do.

 Until Tomorrow!

Leviticus 19-20; Matthew 27:51-66

 My friend ART had a fender-bender with a lady driving a new Mercedes. She came screaming out of her car, “O my God! O my God!”

Art replied, “Don’t worry, lady – your God can be FIXED!”

 Leviticus 19-20 is about who my real God is. And He sums up His role in my life with this phrase, “Be Holy – for I am Holy.” the word “Holy” means separated to God’s agenda.

Translation: “Say ‘NO’ to me, and say ‘YES’ to God.”

Leviticus 17-18; Matthew 27:27-50

Flogged, Stripped, Mocked, Stabbed, Spit on, Beaten, Crucified. Jesus’ RESPONSE? SILENCE.
Then the REAL SUFFERING began. The FATHER turns his back – and Jesus SCREAMS.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
I’ve often wondered how Jesus could suffer the equivalent of eternal suffering for mankind – in 3 short hours. Have you? INFINITE suffering in a FINITE amount of time? But the ANSWER may be right here. The PAIN Jesus suffered the moment His Father forsook Him – was INFINITE pain. The infinite TRINITY itself – torn – ripped apart by the sins of the world – represents infinite suffering.
And infinite suffering – FOR someone – translates into Infinite LOVE.
How much are YOU loved? You may never know.
But – KNOW this: Jesus’ Love – deserves your worship.
Jesus’ Love – empowers you to know Him.
Jesus’ Love – empowers you to love and forgive others.
Jesus’ Love – empowers you to love and forgive yourself.
This is beyond cool. See you tomorrow!

Leviticus 15-16; Matthew 27:1-26

INJUSTICE. When life’s NOT FAIR – how do YOU react? False accusations. Unearned consequences. Undeserved pain. It’s enough to INFURIATE the most gentle soul. Just a LITTLE injustice is usually enough to make ME scream “It’s NOT FAIR!” But here’s JESUS – facing a tsunami of false accusations that would result in His illegal execution – and it says He, “Made NO REPLY, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.” JESUS REFUSED to play ball. No defense, no counter accusations, no shouting match. He simply TRUSTED His FATHER to vindicate Him. Certainly there’s a TIME to speak up for yourself. The Apostle Paul did it when he appealed his case to Caesar. BUT – there’s a TIME to just LET IT GO – and let GOD vindicate you. I must confess this makes me SQUIRM. It feels like I’m letting the ACCUSERS have the LAST WORD. BUT – when I don’t answer, I’m actually handing off the LAST WORD – to GOD. And what HE says – GOES. And that’s cool. What do YOU think? Have a GREAT day!

Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75

Mr. Bowers was only trying to HELP.

I was fishing with my friend Fred off the Huntington Beach Pier – when Mr. Bowers asked if he could show me how to cast underhand – to get my line out where the fish were. I reluctantly handed him my pole – and he immediately snagged my hook on the pier below.

Mr. Bowers then provided a 1/2-hour seminar on how to BREAK your Line, LOSE your Tackle, and LEAVE. Meanwhile, my friend FRED was pulling them in right and left. ARGGG!!!

PETER was only trying to HELP.

He pulls a SWORD to protect Jesus – and whacks off a guy’s ear.

Jesus’ RESPONSE is memorable:

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

 Sometimes I catch MYSELF trying to “help” Jesus, too – and I provide the seminar on “How to MESS things UP.”

 TODAY I think I’ll try a DIFFERENT approach – STOP trying to jump in and FIX God’s plan – and Let my LEADER Lead. I’ll let you know how it goes… 

See you tomorrow!

Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:26-50

ABRAHAM LINCOLN – up for re-election -

was confronted by a member of his cabinet:

“Unless you learn to DESTROY your enemies -

you cannot succeed.”

Lincoln’s response has become Legendary:

“Do I not DESTROY my enemies -

when I make of them my FRIENDS?”

JESUS’ experience was the OPPOSITE of LINCOLN’S -

For three years He poured His life into His FRIENDS -

Only to have them DISOWN Him – and act like ENEMIES -

when it Counted.

He told His friends of their Disloyalty in advance – but

it’s HOW He told them – that is so ASTOUNDING to me.

“This very night you will all fall away on account of me…

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Jesus’ LOVE was so POWERFUL – that even WHILE predicting

His Friends’ HORRIBLE Betrayal - He AFFIRMS His Forgiveness and Acceptance – ahead of time.

What kind of GOD says -

“OK John – AFTER you throw ME under the BUS –

I’ll be waiting for you – and we’ll pick up where we left off.”

What kind of GOD FORGIVES like that?

My kind of God. Your kind of God.

Merciful. Gracious. Richly Forgiving. WOW.

Special THANKS to Guest Blogger Melody Parker!

Have a GREAT day!

Lev 11-12; Matthew 26: 1-25
Lev 11:47

At the time that Israel received these dietary laws, they knew nothing about germs or food contamination.  Cleanliness was something they would observe because it was Holy not because of any special knowledge of bacteria.  God promised his blessing for their obedience.  When they obeyed dietary law, they remained healthy and thrived.  God provided them with guidelines that were reasonable and with our current knowledge of disease processes, in their best interests even though they could not understand the reasons behind the restrictions.  Since I have a medical background I think about the risk of Trichinosis, which is a parasitic disease spread by raw or undercooked pork and wild game. 

I had to observe the “no pork” rule when I was a young housewife because my husband was Jewish.  I had the knowledge from the OT to guide me in those dietary laws as I tried to keep a “conservative” Kosher home. I did this out of respect for my husband’s culture.
But I learned a deeper lesson in this:  God always protects us; sometimes with language that sounds restrictive but is ALWAYS IN OUR BEST INTEREST.
We just need to Trust Him and obey His Word.

Matthew 25:31-46

   Our awesome God has given me a precious piece of scripture upon which to blog.  This is incredible!  Decades ago, when I was a teen I was feeling the hand of God calling me…but to what?  Then reading Matthew chapter 25 verses 31-46 the Spirit led me to my answer.
…”I was sick”…
   I took a detour before answering my call with “Here I am!”  We are, after all, such stiff necked people.  Finally I began my studies for my nursing degree and have not had any regrets following a call to a nursing ministry.  It was not always sunshine and roses, but I did my best to take care of my patients as for the Lord, as well as I could for as long as I was able to do so.  And now that I am not able to do so, I miss it.
   Let us pray: “Lord, may I always answer your call to help the hungry,
the thirsty, the poor, the homeless, the suffering and the oppressed as unto you!  Amen!”

Matthew 25:14-30

   The parable about the talents can make some of us feel uncomfortable.  At my age, I can expect to be called to account for my talents sooner rather than later.  I may not have to account for all five talents; but it will certainly be more than the two.  Have I used them wisely?  Many years ago I wrote a poem that summarizes my life philosophy. 
 
 ”Fame and fortune are to me meaningless and bland,
   I have no need to ever leave my footprints on the sands
   Of time, or hallowed in a hall my name to be
   A spectacular monument to this world’s history,
   In the hearts of those I love my memory to enshrine
   Instead of crowned in glory, only loving thoughts be mine.

   As earth to earth and dust to dust we all must one day go,
   Grant that on my dying day thy mercy I may show,
   And may my dying lips confess thy love and echo grace,
   As I prepare my heavenly flight to meet thee face to face.
   For every good and perfect gift will be judged on its own,
   As I am called to give accounts and see thee on thy throne.”

   What will the Master say to me?  What will the Master say to you? How are you using your talents?

Leviticus 4-5; Matthew 24:29-51

My 2-year-old daughter was SO FRUSTRATED. She’d tattle on her baby brother – only to hear, “He’s just a baby!” Finally, she tried a NEW tactic – “DADDY – baby Jonathan hit me – and he did it BY PURPOSE!” In her mind – doing something bad “by purpose” – made it WORSE – and baby brother should be KILLED for it. And when SHE did something bad that WASN’T “by purpose” – then it SHOULDN’T be that bad… Later – she REALLY got frustrated when she did something “not by purpose” – only to hear: “IGNORANCE is NO EXCUSE!” Is that TRUE? That used to bug me. If my mess-up wasn’t “by purpose” – then WHY was I responsible? GOD explains why “IGNORANCE is NO EXCUSE” in today’s reading – “If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible.” Translation: Sins of ignorance aren’t about the SINNER – they’re about the person who has been sinned AGAINST. Therefore – it’s a GOOD IDEA to stay HUMBLE – and ready to make amends – whether my mess-up was “by purpose” – or not… Thoughts? Have a wonderful day!