Crowd Reaction

Jesus and Saint Peter, Gospel of Matthew 4.18-20 Français : Jésus et Saint Pierre, Évangile selon Matthieu 4.18-20 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Matthew 9:36 (NIV)

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,  because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 13:2  (NIV) 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.

When the word spread through the villages and towns that Jesus was coming, they flocked en mass to where ever he was to hear what he had to say.  The words spoken and lessons taught caused people to literally drop what they were doing to hear this man from Galilee speak .  As I watched American Idol last night there were remarks about the audience of 7,000 people packed into the Nokia stadium.  A stadium with comfortable seats, air conditioning and restrooms.   This to hear two gifted young people sing for a title.

Christ packed a shoreline with folks so tight, he had to sit on the water in a boat to teach.  There were no restrooms, no comfortable seats or concession stands.  Physical comfort was not a concern, the desire to hear what the Master was teaching was the objective and sole purpose for being in that place, at that time.  I have witnessed crowds losing their minds over this celebrity or that celebrity whose ultimate goal is merely to entertain and not necessarily uplift.

Give me Jesus!  I would take the discomfort, heat and crowd just to have been able to hear Him speak the words that have on so many occasions provided salve for my soul.  He still speaks today and I yearn to hear and obey each and every word.

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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Checkin the Tude

Stained glass window of the sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in the former Mosque (Cathedral) of Cordoba, Spain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.”        1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 MSG

It seems that several times this week I seriously failed in this challenge.   Even yesterday, I felt the downward tug of my lips and the mantle of cheerfulness sliding slowly like a silk shawl from my right shoulder to the floor.  At that time I acknowledge that I did not have the energy or desire to grab for and pull it back straight.

Oh for the days when being disgustingly cheerful was so easy and effortless.  To again be able to alternate between annoying and brightening the lives of other people.  In these less than star reaching moments I miss being one of those people who was always cheerful.  It is in those times that I find it necessary to constantly call on Jesus.  He, who conquered death has more than enough strength to remove the dark clouds hovering over head, to inject the joy back into my spirit.

When the day seems darkest, I reflect on the goodness of the Lord and the clouds part and the Son is able to shine through.  Praising God again for His faithfulness to me through all storms and difficulties!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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No more ..

Sunrise over the Bristol Channel taken from the shore near the coastal town of Minehead in the county of Somerset,England. Sun rose at 05:30, and peeked above the clouds at 05:37, this photo was taken 05:39 BST on 27/07/2008, by Sean Hattersley. (The image has not been adjusted in any way.) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (CEV)

²⁰ But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. ²¹ Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. ²² Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us.

There was a time not so long ago where life was seemingly devoid of pain and suffering.  Then I woke up, grew up and opened my eyes.  What a joy it is to know that there will come a day when there will truly be no more pain, no more uncertainty and no more fear. Christ paid the full price of my admission to that pain-free, anxiety free future.

Because He lives, we can face buckets full of tomorrows!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

Posted from WordPress for Windows Phone

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Project Status Updates

Matthew 14:29-32 (CEB)

²⁹ And Jesus said, “Come.”

Then Peter got out of the boat and was walking on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when Peter saw the strong wind, he became frightened. As he began to sink, he shouted, “Lord, rescue me!”  ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, saying, “You man of weak faith! Why did you begin to have doubts?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind settled down.

A question was asked on one of the knitting Facebook pages I frequent on yesterday that made me think.  Forgive me, for twisting it but the  gist of the question was “how many WIP’s (work in progress) have turned into UFO’s (unfinished objects) in your house?”.  The responses were varied and I must say surprised and encouraged me.

Currently I have three projects on needles that for various reasons remain incomplete (wip).  There are also one or two complete projects that because of huge mistakes will be frogged (taken apart, stitch by stitch).  The reasons for not finishing range from not knowing a stitch, insecurity about cables and plain old boredom from repeating the same stitches over and over and over.  In truth the most glaring reason is pure intimidation, marinated in a sauce of  misplaced confidence.

When those projects were started I was focused, not paying attention to what I could do, but fully dependent on God to guide the every stitch on the needles.  No matter how challenging the pattern, my ignorance and lack of knowledge were of no import because God was guiding  my hands. Yet, like Peter, I took my eyes off of Jesus and my insecurities fueled the thoughts of inadequate knowledge to do what I was doing, and opened my eyes to every perceived flaw and mistake and the needles went down.

Today I  prayerfully commit to seeking God’s direction as I pick up the needles  and to prayerfully repeat that ”I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13.  Surely, as He can complete a good thing in me those fingerless gloves, cowle and sweater will be finished solely by His grace!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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Thankful Thursday

Acts 24:3 (NIV)

³ Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude

Colossians 3:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

My eyes opened and I saw the sun streaming through the window.  My lungs pumped in air without hesitation or wheeze  and when I rolled over and pushed myself up, I was able to do so.  As my feet touched the floor, I did not hear the usual and customary  snap, crack and pop of my bones realigning.

This is yet another day that the Lord has made and blessed me to see and I am filled with gratitude!!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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A Time for Joy

Christ Mormon (Photo credit: More Good Foundation)

Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)

³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

 

Last week,  each day of the Purpose Driven Life Devotional email contained excerpts from Kay Warren’s new book “ Choose Joy, Because Happiness is Not Enough”.

 

By day two as the words sunk in I felt them rooting, growing, burrowing deeper and hitting home.  But wait, it was Holy Week, the week when re-enactments retelling the story about last days of Christ were everywhere. Where was the joy in that? Did they get it wrong talking about joy last week?

 

I think not! Christ is alive, sitting down on the right side of

 

God, our Father advocating on our behalf 24/7/365! The story must be told, understanding divined. The graphic re-enactments and readings fueled my imagination and again broke my heart because my mountain of sins were covered by His precious blood. Because Christ lives, I have buckets and buckets of joy to share with others!

 

Making His praise glorious!

 

Ree
.

 

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Reppin the Family

¹¹ Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.    Hebrews 2:11 (NIV)

Footnotes:

1. Hebrews 2:11 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verse 12; and in 3:1, 12; 10:19; 13:22.

Growing up most of us were taught to be mindful of how we represented the family.  When we stepped out that front or back door, the family reputation good or bad was in our hands.  For many that was a pretty heady and heavy responsibility. One misstep in word or deed could tarnish the family name and credibility with the repercussions affecting generations.

The legacy of zealously guarding and upholding family honor is not new.  People killed or were killed to do so.   Understanding the importance of family affiliation, as I walk out of the door, I understand that I represent more than just the family into which I was born or married.  As God’s daughter and a sister of Christ, I must be ever aware that my words, my actions and even looks reflect upon my family heritage.  have an idea of where I would be without the direction and guidance of my Father and the love He has for me.   As a result, I would not want to do anything to cause anyone to miss out on being woven into the fabric of this family by becoming a cherished brother or sister!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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Blessing in Pieces

 

¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.  1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

With the holidays safely in my rear view mirror I uttered a sigh of relief. For months I knitted, hats, scarves and shawls each piece, while carefully honing my newly minted knitting skills. Finding just the right pattern and in my mind seeing the smile on the faces of the recipients.  Each piece stitch prayerfully knit for the receiver, prayers of piece and covering. For couples prayers of connections done in matching color schemes. I know cheesy but when creating in love cheesy does not enter the equation.  I smiled as I created thinking about how Noah ushered two of every species into the ark there I was doing hats and scarves quirky sets, meant to wrap the wearers in something just for them.  

Our Father, God has provided everyone special gifts of their own.    Most of these gifts are to be shared with others in any number of ways.  The most important gift to all of was Christ and I certainly want to share Him with as many people as I can!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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Seeking Him

²⁷ God wanted them to look for him and perhaps search all around for him and find him, though he is not far from any of us:  Acts 17:27 (NCV)

Miraculously and quite by accident I seem to have stepped into a world of mind-readers. Everyone anticipates my needs, wants and tastes.  Everything that I like and enjoy is ready for me, just when I want it, on time and in just the way I would have prepared them.  This is incredible, I never want to leave here, this is where I want to spend the rest of my life.

Buzz, buzz, ,buzz, what, wait, that was a dream, a fantasy, a distorted view of my reality, a glimpse through my very own distorted looking-glass?  It really would be so nice to live in a world where we are surrounded by never-ending, awe-inspiring, breathtaking beauty, where conversations would always have meat and merit.  Where running off to chat with Jesus never, ever got old.  In my considerations on this day I am thinking about  Heaven and  today I realize that I yearn and welcome the joy and delight of staying in God’s presence.   When life at times confuses and confounds me and lacks warmth, shine and patina of Heaven, but I am able to seek an audience with My Father, the King as a beloved, desired and cherished child,  I must just seek Him.

http://youtu.be/Z8SPwT3nQZ8

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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Voluntary Blood Drive

Image via Wikipedia

¹⁴The blood of Christ, who had no defect, does even more. Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself to God and cleansed our consciences from the useless things we had done. Now we can serve the living God.  Hebrews 9:14 (GW)

 Since participation in my first high school blood drive I have strongly believed in the importance of being a donor. It has not always been easy to donate!  Weight restrictions of not weighing enough, improperly behaving blood droplets, surgery that required a transfusion and a few visits to the tattoo shop hindered my ability to donate regularly. In this current life chapter, weighing a tad more than enough and better diet allow regular donations.  through the years all of these donations have been voluntary and often repeated, yet recently I made a mistake.  I got up, grabbed my t-shirt, water and cookies,  walked back to my office, climbed the steps and sat down before I right before I would have fallen down.

My bad, clear  instructions were not adhered to, rules of donating conduct broken, voluntarily. All night I thought about Christ. He was beaten, paraded through jeering crowds, carrying, a cross, voluntarily to cleanse us of sins that had yet to be committed because of love.  Reviewing and replaying Christ’s sacrifice made the most recent donation more real than it has ever been. What I did was merely a drop in the humanity bucket compared to the cleansing, eternal life saving Blood gift of Jesus.

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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