Live by a King

Women of Faith:

“Let us give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.  He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God,  ….He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  He is the head of the body, the church. ….  For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven” Col 1: 12-20

Yesterday we celebrated “Christ the King” Sunday. The readings point to what it takes to be a great king, with a great kingdom, and why we should want to seek these same “kingly” characteristics and follow such a king.

The kings examples make us ‘fit to share in their inheritance’ (make us feel like them), they ‘deliver us from darkness’ (give us wisdom), and they ‘are the head of all:’ bringing fulfillment, reconciliation, peace and unity.

Many of the Old and New Testament readings are drawn as parallels—so that we can learn to be better Christians by their contrasts, their examples and the outcomes of each.

“In those days, all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: "Here we are, your bone and your flesh.  In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back.  And the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.'"  When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron, King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD, and they anointed him king of Israel”. 2 Sam 5: 1-3

King David formed a covenant with God. And because of this covenant God protected him and the people, allowing a great military to be built, the tribes to be unified, and the economy to thrive. They were “one nation, under God.”

King David was a great king because he knew WHO to promise his life and livelihood to (covenant), WHO to trust and WHO to obey. And under his reign He did not stray from the important principals of trusting and obeying God, and he was allowed to bring the people under his authority to that same trust and obedience.

Unfortunately, the kings who followed David weren’t as trusting or obedient. They thought they knew better than David so they formed their own gods, made themselves gods by the creation of idols, and created their own sets of rules. They neither fully obeyed, nor fully trusted God. And eventually the holdings of the Promised Land which King David had unified were divided and reduced to fragments of their former greatness.

“The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God."  Even the soldiers jeered at him.  As they approached to offer him wine they called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself."  Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us."  The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Lk 23: 35-43

Because of God’s mercy He then sacrificed His son, Jesus Christ, to save and unify us by forming the Church to guide us.

And Christ showed us a new example of obedience and trust: not by saving himself but by being mocked, ridiculed, and even dying on the cross for our sins. His new way was not like the power and authority of King David, but in the service of self giving love. His death on the cross returned to us not the promised land (physical), but the promise of Paradise (eternal).

Both Kings made their people FEEL like Kings. Both trusted that they had the power of God behind them. Both obeyed God’s laws and did not take the power and control into their own hands as they were tempted. Both gave up their lives in service to God.

And in turn both received back from God: unification of the Promised Land, unification of the people (the Church) and resurrection to the Promised Eternal and unified Paradise.

Am I willing to trust and obey to the same extent? Is the promise to be unified with God as awe inspiring today as it was then? Or am I tempted by the world’s promises of riches and materialism?

Remarkably I see a similar parallel to King David’s time in the formation of the United States which was built into a powerful and great country because of our forefathers (the Kings) who had a desire to trust and obey God’s commandments and protect our faith beliefs ( the freedom of religion.)

We became a country of people UNDER GOD (our Constitution), who trusted and cared for the exiled (formed by the acceptance of immigrants) and who’s economy and wealth was built by serving each other using our talents and treasures wisely and obediently (think of the first Thanksgiving.)

And unfortunately I would say that the division in our country and the world is a repetition of history: dysfunction caused by a similar disobedience and lack of trust in God’s plan. We are either a part of the problem (to become our own law), or a part of the solution (to be UNDER God.) We cannot be both.

Heavenly Father, King of All, You have promised us a share of Your inheritance. Help me to trust in the hope of Your promises and guided by Your examples of Kingship. Give me patience and tolerance in seeking to understand and grow in the knowledge of Your Church. May I find unity with You through obedience of your commandments. And protect and guard me from being led astray by the kings of the principalities and powers who tempt me with the fleeting happiness of worldly righteousness. Amen.

Do I love and serve others as Jesus commanded and am I willing to give up my life without regard to my own comfort, trusting that God will provide for and protect me? Will I courageously stand to protect my freedom to practice my faith under God?

Live by the King’s rule,
Blessings,
Charlotte

Winners

Friends of Faith:

 

We all want to win—at golf, football, volleyball, in teaching a child what’s best for them and in the discussion with our husband as to who is going to do the dishes tonight.

 

But have you ever finished on the “right side” of a conversation and felt like you lost, or maybe that you shouldn’t have been in the conversation at all, or that someone “let” you win just so they didn’t have to continue the discussion?

 

And have you ever “won” the discussion about the dishes and then decided to help your husband do them? Did you realize that the discussion wasn’t about “not doing the dishes” but rather about “sharing the duty” of the dishes?

 

What is it about winning that makes us uncomfortable and makes us feel as if in reality we have lost—even when we win—that even sometimes makes us end up doing what we so wanted to get out of doing?

 

I think it’s because in actuality every time we win, we create a loser—we make someone “feel” less, and intuitively, in our heart and soul, God wants us all to be more, to become greater, not in our own eyes, but in His. He wants us to be His winner and in order to do that we need to be doing what is right by him, not making ourselves be stronger and more powerful—instead of Him.

 

It’s why it feels so good when our husband “volunteers” to do the dishes—because when he does, he makes me feel special—like he did it just to help me. Or way it feels so good when I am the recipient of the thank you for having folded and hung up his clothes so that he could find and wear his favorite shirt (instead of leaving it wrinkled in the laundry basket).

 

Both of us avoided a conflict, both of us were winners because both of us served each other by doing what might be considered “his or her duty” without the conflict, without the argument, and without either of us becoming a winner or a loser.

 

This week’s readings were a reflection on conflict, division and conflict resolution—becoming winners and losers…

"Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division.  From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Lk 12: 49-53

Christ wanted us to be “on fire”—not on fire between us, as we so often are, but on fire for Him—to be a real “forever” winner because we weren’t arguing amongst ourselves, looking to see who has more or less, or looking to do more or less, but rather that we are working and praying to be a winner in His eyes, a speaker of His truths (not ours) and being responsible and charitable enough—serving each other so that we each feel special—like a winner (someone who is loved) in each other’s and most importantly in God’s eyes.
 

 

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. Heb 12: 1-4

 

Heavenly Father, in YOU I have won all things. Thank you for family, friends and for the ability to search for and open my heart to the truth you have set before each of us. Help me to do what is right with all that you have given me. Help me to make everyone around me feel as special as you have made them—in your image. Help me to unite, rather than to conquer and divide; to persevere in running the race and to keep my eyes fixed upon You. Amen.

 

God says we are created in him, by him and for him—to be winners through him. Our purpose is to make everyone around us winners also.

Strive today to help him create a winner in your spouse, in your child or in a stranger that comes your way—by serving them, by making them feel special through that service, and by allowing them an opportunity to do the same for you.

Blessings,

Charlotte

Oneness

Friends of Faith:

I have always had a great desire to be one: to count everyone around me as a friend (by relationship) and to make them a part of our family (I believe we are truly all connected as relatives).

I was struck this weekend by several of those “one”connections—by weddings of two “family” members, family “relatively” and thru “relationship” (although I am positive we must somehow be connected relatively.) Congratulations to Lexie and Chad and Janelle and Justin!

And Sunday, I was again awe struck by what is the desired “oneness”of the universal church community, as we baptized into the Christian family the newest member of our nuclear family, our granddaughter, Avery Lynn Staker.

We profess, in the beginning of our faith, at our Christian baptism: “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, …I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, I believe in one, holy, catholic [universal] and apostolic Church. I confess oneBaptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. (Nicene Creed).

At their weddings it was spoken: “the two shall become one.”And because those vows were fulfilled in a wedding just over two years ago, the two were joined and were given the Godly gift of a child. “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.” Gen 2: 24

We are unified as witnesses when we are baptized into the Christian church given to us through his one son, Christ Jesus. We are unified by marriage (of two persons who become a family) or by a marriage of God and person (at ordination or death). And we have one common goal and that is to be with God in heaven as revealed to us through our faith and by the grace of God.

Whether we know it or not we are constant witnesses of the oneness God intended when he created our human family in the first family, Adam and Eve.

But sometimes this unity seems terribly short lived. It doesn’t seem to be very many years into our lives when differences appear: divisions and distances made through our own choices and the reactions of others to those choices (conflicts and disagreements which ultimately end in some form of divorce or war).

Am I truly striving to remain and to become ONE with Christ, with an entire Christian family, as was professed at my baptism when I was made a child of God and as I confirmed through my own choice at confirmation? Am I striving to become and form a unified family (and the joining of two distinct families as in-laws) as I vowed I would strive to do on our wedding day? Or is my vanity causing me to want to be right, to win, to make my own path, to become my own god, or even to form my own “church”?

“Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must leave property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune. For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest.This also is vanity.” Ecc 1: 2, 2: 21-23

Heavenly Father, You are THE unity and THE oneness I desire. Give me the patience and the perseverance to continue to search and to respond to Your one, holy and apostolic truth. Help me to be Your servant: a servant which heals division, which unites the divided, and which seeks peace amongst our Christian family. Take my vanity and change it into the humbleness needed to surrender my entire being to You. Amen.

May we be ONE in Christ,

Blessings,

Charlotte

 

Staying Focused

Friends of Faith:

With all the division of this world I often have a difficult time staying focused on my goal: God eternally in heaven. Does everything I do and everything I believe in—everyday—direct me towards that goal? (Eph 1:3-23)

I am personally pulled as to where I spend my time and money—how I honor God, serve our family, and accomplish the everyday tasks that seem to take on a life of their own. Am I putting my desires ahead of the plans God has for me? What is my focus?

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, …, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love,  may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Eph 3:14-19

Christians (and non Christian believers) are divided by their personal beliefs, the beliefs of their neighbors, and God’s truths. Do I think I fully understand God’s truths, or do I continue to learn and discern God’s teachings thru the Church even when it is uncomfortable and might mean I have to change something I have professed or have unknowingly done wrong in the past?

"There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Mk 9: 38-42 (Oneness, Eph 2: 11-22) (Unity, Eph 4: 1-4)

This country (and therefore each of us) is pulled between life issues (abortion & redefining marriage) and money/economics. Am I willing to stand up for life first—choosing God over money?

“No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Lk 16:13 &Mt 6: 24

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. James 5:1-6

The world is divided by war and conflict, conflicts of people who want to become God by gaining power over more people. Does my focus rest on using my talents and treasures to serve others (the poor, the broken, the needy), or do I look to gain power because I have these same talents and treasures?

Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. Mk 9: 43

Heavenly Father, You have created us ALL in Your image, therefore we are ONE in You. Help me to act as ONE for you—honoring you each day by my presence in Your house, and by giving You a presence in ours. Help me to focus every minute of my day on reaching Your heavenly height, the common goal. Be a part of every decision and every priority I set throughout my day. Thank you for the many gifts and talents you have created in me, help me to use them wisely for your glory. Amen.

Where has your focus strayed from God’s promise? What choices are you making that meet your needs, not his; that choose money over life; that use talents and treasures to gain power?

Our goal should be that we each help each other get there together. Undivided and Focused!

Stay focused on God, stay focused on heaven,

Charlotte