Courage is the key that opens the door to the future that God is seeking to create through God’s people. Sometimes the courage to unleash a movement for God requires only that we take an initial step. But first steps are not always easy. This is particularly true when an element of risk is involved. youtu.be/vgp_FLpEC3k
Jesus taught us that the two greatest commandments were exercising love for God and love for our neighbors. A godly person once said that in doing God’s will there is perfect peace. Perfect peace, then, will surely come to those who love God and others. And to have peace and meaning within is to discover that one is living a quite wonderful life. To love God with one’s whole being and to love others who are also children of God, is to discover life in its fullness. It is indeed an abundant life. youtu.be/mBmkrTigw04 Christianity is a religion of feelings and of ideas and of performance. This last area, which includes trusting God enough to obey him, is something we can all do, even when our feelings fluctuate and we are flooded with doubts. Obedience gets us through to where faith returns. In the end, it is the practice of faith that makes God’s people. As we work to rid ourselves of those aspects of ourselves that would compete with Christ for space within our hearts and minds, we can become more authentic followers of Jesus, who himself experienced a self-emptying that left behind his privileges of divinity so he could show us how to live. youtu.be/1X8LapIfsmY This parable Jesus told describes a vineyard owner who hired workers at different times of the day but paid them all the same. Sometimes when God blesses people in ways that he has not blessed us, it is easy to feel a bit jealous. When this happens, we are admonished to put away childish attitudes, and to rejoice with those who rejoice. We should never lose sight of the many ways God has kept his promises and agreements with us. youtu.be/aK3FMccR4PI Jesus’ answer to Peter’s question about how often to forgive someone is a reversal of the ancient idea of unlimited vengeance. Jesus calls us instead to unlimited forgiveness. This is possible because God’s forgiveness of us is more than an exercise in bookkeeping. It is an act of reconciliation that changes peoples’ lives, so that they can be not only forgiven people but forgiving ones. https://youtu.be/0SvlDYxI0Aw Our passage is about a time when Jesus showed Peter a “course correction” he needed to make. Had he not made that correction, Peter would have continued “setting his mind not on divine things but on human things.” The good news for us is that Jesus is patient and willing to help us make course corrections as we follow him. https://youtu.be/c6cVB0jVK6g The gospel story today may be difficult to hear. It appears at first sight that Jesus is insensitive and even prejudiced. However, if we keep faith as the woman in the story did and listen between the lines, we might hear something about a world that tends to divide itself in ways that God never intended. This woman who never went to church has something important to show the people who do. https://youtu.be/d5MJxC6q_MU Matthew, Mark, and John all tell the story of Jesus walking on the water, but Matthew includes details the other two gospeleers do not. Those details help us to hear the message that rather than attempting to walk away from our problems, we are better to ask Christ to join us in our shaky crafts, trusting him to sail the rest of the journey with us, and to eventually land us safe on heaven’s shore. https://youtu.be/lKrXtRF6kf4 |
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