Virtual hugs...

Virtual hugs....

I awoke from a dream this morning....I just remember patting some one on the arm for encouragement, giving them a slight hand squeeze to acknowledge their concern...and feeling guilty that I had touched them....

Social distancing has even affected my dreams with guilt!!! Now I even have to give virtual touch in my dreams!

What a phenomenon to have moved onto our personal and public life sooooo very quickly...

We read body language; hug to welcome, encourage, love, accept...

Shake hands to meet and greet, start and finish  a business deal, signal acknowledgment, honor one another...we even teach our dogs to shake paws...

Touch is part of our health, our wellbeing, even our wellness...our culture...other cultures even more so...

And virtual hugs...😞 and emojis 😊...but I have to say, I am thankful for that...

How long will we be distrustful to touch after this pandemic has supposedly ended is anyone’s guess...my concern is that will affect us for years to come...it is now part of our history...we are living it...another chapter in our lives just as those who remember the World wars, the holocaust,  the depression, the assassinations and attempted assassinations of presidents and world leaders, 911...

But, if not touching is a ways to a mean, no more spread of a silent and invasive invisible enemy...then it is worth the sacrifice...

an old song, “He touched me” comes to mind...

Shackled by a heavy burden

'Neath a load of guilt and shame

Then the hand of Jesus touched me

And now I am no longer the same

[Chorus]

He touched me, oh He touched me

And oh the joy that floods my soul!

Something happened and now I know

He touched me and made me whole

[Verse 2]

Since I met this blessed Savior

Since He's cleansed and made me whole

Oh I will never cease to praise Him (to praise)

I'll shout it while eternity rolls

A different kind of touch, from the Savior...one we all need for eternal healing, that acceptance, that everlasting love...that salvation...

Jesus touched people as he walked this earth, held children, touched to the unclean, sat with crowds, walked the streets, ate with sinners, wept in sorrow, went to weddings...dwelt among us, his creation in his image...nailed to and died on a wooden cross amongst criminals...

But he did far more, he bore our sins, and the He arose, free from  the burden of those sins...to show us new life in Him...that resurrection power...what a touch....thank YOU...

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

John 11:25-27 

He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Luke 24:46-49 

Different callers...directions...outcomes...

Different callers...directions...outcomes...

As this pandemic grows, moves around the nation and the world there have been abundant warnings of scammers taking advantage of people in their fears, uncertainties, and even their lives...with false claims of instant healing, care, money making schemes, whatever...

I was reading of a group of protestors that burned down a brand new, much needed hospital because of fear...such a waste when it could have helped...or protests about a hospital and staff in New York supplied by a Christian organization ...or even those who scoffed at the seriousness of the rampant spread of the disease which has killed and is continuing to kill so many...

Reading through Proverbs 9 early this morning, there is such a portrayal of our choices...wisdom or folly...

Both sit in high places, claiming authority ....

Both call the simple...”whoever is simple, let him turn in here”...

Then comes the great divide...the difference between the two...therein lies our personal choice...which do we choose to follow...

On one hand, wisdom asks us to leave our simple ways, live and walk in the way of insight...further describing the wise...

-plans and executes plans, organizes

-can handle reproof

-increases wisdom

-righteous

-takes instruction 

-teachable 

-fears the Lord

-gains life

-years added to life

In contrast, folly

-doesn’t take correction

-hatred for reproof

-Seductive

-knows nothing

-sits, waiting

-traps with secrets and stealth

-leads to death 

There are many other references throughout the book of Proverbs that contrast wisdom and folly...eye opening...heart opening...soul searching...

We each have the opportunity to make the choice of who we will follow, which promises we believe...such different outcomes...

Lord, help me choose the best...YOU...in all my ways...lead me down the path of righteousness...wisdom...not diverting to folly...

thank YOU...

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20 

Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. 

She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 

She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, “Let all who are simple come to my house!” 

To those who have no sense she says, “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. 

Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.” Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. 

Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. 

Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 

For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. 

If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer. 

Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing. 

She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, “Let all who are simple come to my house!” 

To those who have no sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious! ” 

But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.

Proverbs 9:1-18

Falling down to get up....

Falling down to get up....

Mark 5 speaks of three distinct people who fell at Jesus’ feet...

All received the a gift of life...the reactions of those around them differed...

First, the man in the tombs...desperate, wild, shackled, bound, strong, crying out, unsubdued, possessed....begging...

Changed to sitted, clothed and in his right mind...proclaiming what Jesus had done to those around him...

Second, Jairus....desperate father, one of the synagogue rulers, pleading that his daughter be made well by the touch of Jesus....

Thirdly, the woman ill for twelve years, just wanting simply to touch Jesus’ garment...desperate, afraid of being seen...afraid of rebuke...tired of rejection...

All desperate for the healing word or touch of Jesus...isn’t this where we are in the world today...pleading, begging, shackled, bound by the world wide  pandemic ... people dying at alarming rates, stocked by an unseen enemy, sheltered or not in our homes, desperately trying to hold onto some kind of “normalcy “...waiting, waiting , waiting for an “all clear sign”...

Jesus shows up in each of our lives...just as he did in these three...healing in someway...changing their lives forever...He is still doing that...

I have two friends who man phone lines for desperate people...they have seen a dramatic increase in calls...but their faces shine, voices sparkle when they can lead a caller to the Savior...away from desperation...bring light to someone’s dark world...with the living Word...

Our pastor read a story finishing his sermon yesterday, “ the ragman”...so appropriate for the ending of this blog...

http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/573/ragman/

Thank YOU Jesus for walking into our lives...you know the beginning to the end...You are the first and the last...our redeemer in desperate times...

Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. 

And all the people were amazed. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” 

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” 

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Mark 5:19-20,34-36 

Mark 4...

Mark 4...

Mark 4 is one parable after another...boom, boom, boom...

It’s like, pay attention to what I am saying, teaching ...learn...

Here, Jesus is sitting by the sea in a very agricultural area talking to these farmers, fishermen, anyone gathered....some skeptical, some hearing with receptive hearts, others wandering through-not caring one way or another...a multitude of attitudes and understanding...exactly the people he describes in the parable of the sower...they are all there...listening, questioning, some soaking in the words like dry parched ground, others scoffing and turning away...

In my notes, a parable is defined as “a short story or saying composed as a kind of metaphor that uses some element of the everyday life to present a moral or spiritual lesson” and “were commonly used in ancient rabbinic literature “...ESV Archaeology Study Bible

The admonition in verses 24 and 25 strike my heart..

24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

Mark 4:24-25 

How I long for more and more understanding, more of Jesus...not just hearing, but heart and soul depth...

And then reaching the verses about the growing seed...

He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

Mark 4:26-29

I just started broccoli seeds for fresh sprouts to include In my salads ...placing them on a wet sheet of webbed coconut fiber... I just made the assumption that they would burst forth out of their hard shells and start growing, which they did...but I really just take for granted that they will grow and don’t know the science of all the miracles of growth...God causes the growth, the miraculous wonder of that seed and the growth of the kingdom...He knows...

Or the mustard seed...

Having been raised in the redwoods of Northern California, redwoods were part of our landscaping...they added their cones and branches to the graveled driveways, added shade to the flower beds...their cones are about the size of my thumb finger nail, the seeds the size of  a large pin head...this is my comparison to the mustard seed parable...

The seed grows and grows, hundreds of years , adding height and breadth, reaching the sky in its majesty and strength...housing animal life both in its branches and its trunk, protected from fires...a kingdom in itself...

Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

Mark 4:30-32 

And the last parable of this chapter...one for today’s headlines...

He calms the sea in the midst of a storm...”Peace! Be still!”...saying that to my heart as well as others around the world...

Jesus the creator, God of the universe really does have it under his control...

“Even the wind and sea obey him!”

Thank YOU....the blessed controller of all....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYy1f6VjDHU

Who are you...who am I....

Who are you....who am I ....

I recently watched a short video about a photographer who takes portraits adding them to the questions each person answers...

1. I am....
2. I regret....
3. Before I die....

Each shows the uniqueness of the soul of the person photographed...these pictures were then added to the photographer’s art collection to be shown...

As believers, we are image bearers...

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27 

Being transformed...changed...

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

But I was intrigued by the questions...

When we introduce ourselves, we say, “ I am.....” giving our name, shaking a hand  ( or now distancing ourselves) so that the new person has a distinct name to call us...

“I regret...” enters a whole new realm...what do we regret in our lives, how can we rectify it...personal...not something we just tell everyone...

Finally, “before I die”...gives us pause to think of goals, dreams, aspirations from our heart of hearts...some lighthearted, others a sense of mission...

As a believer...who are we...Image bearers, children of the King, forgiven, beloved, cherished...known by name, known as we were knitted together in our mother’s womb...and so much more...

What are our regrets...we each may have something we have done or not done, something we carry as a burden, a weight that we need to hand over at the cross of the burden-bearer...

What do we want to do before we die....oh, this opens a huge door...each of us manifests the gifts God as bestowed upon us...how do we use them...what do we dream, strive for, enjoy, carry out for the kingdom?

Thank YOU for the I AM in my life, help me live a life free of regrets-forgiveness, show me the path You have designed that I might finish before I die...help me be transformed, bringing glory only to You...

https://mvotd.com/i-am-i-regret-before-i-die_1fc8d9f8a.html

small things of beauty to brighten

the days...

Let’s get into the story...

Let’s get into the story...

I just started reading the book of Mark in the gospels...

When reading the other gospels, there is much explanation/history before relating about Jesus and his ministry...all needed, of course, making each gospel a unique view of Jesus...

This was personally brought home  to me this past week.  One of my cousins, a retired engineer, has been writing the history of our fathers and grandparents.He has delved into the land, the history of the people who lived here, the land divisions, 250+pages of facts, figures, maps, graphs, with added stories...an amazing dedicated job, done with love and care...

I, on the other hand, wrote down stories, copied my father’s stories...happenings, pieces of time, digitized pictures...

Both important, both different views of the same people....both correct...

This is how I viewed the book of Mark...a different approach to the same ministry of Jesus... Mark gets right into the reporting of Jesus, his path, his travels, his words, his meetings with people...

After having been to Israel this past year, I can visualize some of the places he spoke about...Capernaum, it’s streets, the synagogue, the Sea of Galilee, the house of Simon, the hillside or desolate praying place, the sick waiting in line, the desperate leper begging for a touch/a healing ....we walked and touched those places...as have millions since those days when Jesus was there...not as idols, but reminders that Jesus walked among the people...talked face to face, taught, touched, healed...came, ministered, died for our sins, rose, sits at the right hand of God, sent his Spirt...the Creator of all walked those dusty, people-filled streets because He loves us...

Thank YOU....

All of Mark 1...

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” — “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” 

Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 

So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Mark 1:1-3,15,38-39

The top picture show the viewing area built over “Peters” house...you can walk in but over...

The second one, a street in Capernaum...

The third, the hillside...

Fourth, a typical street...seems like you would always have to watch where you walk...oh, another blog is coming on...