“…already had in mind…”
…what do you already have in mind? what do you accept is commonplace, for granted, impossible to be otherwise? Jesus said, “Do not work for the food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you…”
Yet you come to me today like the crowd, trusting him in measures that boil down to satisfying our monetary concerns. I know the amounts of cash that flow in and out, just as I know the count of your headhairs.
[But what I thought would be is not. Please give the food that endures. Please give eternal life fruits for my soul is weak, and feeling pangs of hunger. Give me faith to realize that you will bless what I give, the small loaves, the few fish. This is not like Cain's offering, fruit of a cursed ground. This is, I hope, the bread and fish of a poor boy. They are meager and lacking much. My assets, my talents--to be placed in your hands.]
I will bless them; giving thanks for them, I will break them, and I will multiply them.
When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad,
he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,
for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
…And a great many people were added to the Lord.’
Acts 11.23-24
Even before this, in verse 22, the report came to the ears of the church. It was on hearing a report of good news, that they sought to see. At this point they could have gone with critical eyes and a faithless heart, but it was not so with Barnabas.
Barnabas saw with good eyes, lived from a heart of faith, and his mouth was a fountain of fresh water.
There is a connection here of 1. beholding, 2. believing, and 3. blessing / proclaiming. If our eyes are good then the whole being is filled with light, and out of the abundance of the center-most heart the mouth speaks. But it is the Holy Spirit working in us to weave this organic system into a whole: the eyes-mouth relationship via the heart; the words of life and truth bearing the fruits of faith and gladness in other lives because of its perfect operation.
[Examine me--has my heart left after money, riches, and man's praise?
Has my hunger for life been clouded and mixed? Does my path seek to
gain my own kingdom, or seek yours first?]
Continue reading ‘thoughts on returning to the Lord’
OK, the site is redesigned. I’m not sure I really like it, but to have something working is better than not… Hopefully more content will be coming soon…
Is the war of advertising and television not on the mind? Are we not
defiled now as everything we see becomes an idol?
“I made the world by the power of my word. As a man I died for the
sin of the world, and by my word the world will be destroyed by fire.
But it is not to late to turn away and do what is right. You have the
ability to do so. One path will lead you to death, but one will lead
you to life.”
Continue reading ‘beauty and the kingdom’
