Walk in His Way in 2014

Friends of Faith:

Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways. Ps 128: 1

I often wonder what my life would be like if I could, in my humanity, completely live this one single Psalm, this one line of scripture.

I often wonder what ALL our lives, our community and our world would be like if we ALL could truly, completely, walk in His way—if evil and temptation, society and deception never entered our lives.

And Sunday, this Psalm was followed by the beginning of my favorite “to be” readings, a reading I continually strive to live better. Another reading that makes me wonder if….

Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Col 3:12-21

I know that to live this sacred reading completely seems “idealistic,” difficult and virtually impossible for mere human beings.

But we aren’t “just” human… Through our baptism we are God’s children. And God makes all things possible. Possible to try, possible to hope, possible to forgive, possible to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient, for it is what HE calls us to do.

And then the peace of Christ will control our hearts.

It is possible to hope and to pray that everyone we love will join us in faith, because God makes possible the gift of faith to everyone. And he gives everyone the free will to open their hearts and eyes to be taught by example through the peace and joy surrounding us in our own lives.

So have the courage to mentor, teach, and if necessary admonish and ultimately seek forgiveness for those who sell God and their faith short.

Heavenly Father, In the name of Jesus, I give thanks to You in all that I do. I yearn for and seek patience with those who seem to discount Your goodness. Give me compassion and kindness in abundance for those who are unaware of Your gifts in their lives. May the joy, the peace and the hope I have been given as a gift bring others to seek You, to know You and to Love You. Thank you for the gift of faith which controls my heart and helps me to walk in Your way. Amen.

Be thankful and let the peace of Christ dwell in you richly. And may God grant you an abundance of faith and forgiveness to share with others.

May your lives be blessed by Your resolve to Walk in His Way in 2014.
Happy New Year,
Charlotte

Hope and Peace for the Heartbroken

Women of Faith:

Stan and I often feel the way our daughter, Sara Cross, did when she wrote a poem this week that expresses the heartbreak God feels when a marriage is broken. (And it is not about her own marriage).  I follow it with a prayer which will take away God’s and our heartbreak if we heed the prayer’s message.

Heartbroken by Sara Cross

“I only wish you could see the truth:
God is heartbroken watching you.

... The poking, the prodding,
The hurt, it aches.
To get out is human
Before any more breaks.

Have you forgotten
the Lord’s promise to you?
“It was not you who chose me,
but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name
he may give you.”
(John 15: 15-16)

What God has created,
Man cannot destroy.
Not by chance or by choosing,
“Coincidence” is a ploy.

God united your flesh,
A family begun,
Will always be connected,
Will always be one.

To quit this stare down,
And turn to the Lord together,
To ask Him to give you
Something better,
Is divine (do it with persistence as in Luke 11).

The past is behind,
Details don’t matter.
The pain that resonates,
God’s love can shatter.

Choose to hurt,
Harbor anger in a hardened heart,
Follow the way of our culture,
Which calls for divorce.

Or choose another way,
The more difficult route.
To trust patiently in the Lord
To work things out.

To forgive those who’ve hurt us
And let go of our pride
To admit we can’t do it
Without God on our side.
Marriage takes love that is truly divine.

For the Gospel of Matthew (22: 35-40) says:
“The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments:
You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Bear the pain for a moment,
And remember the cross.
It is bigger than you
If this marriage is lost.

It’s the Lord versus Satan,
We’re pawns in the game.
Let the Savior lead you
To a victory in His name.

For if it is lost,
The only winner is Satan.
Everyone else is
Heartbroken.”

Lord, Make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.  Amen. Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

The road to Christ is not an easy road, but we must rejoice, "although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Don’t be heartbroken. Surrender to God. Give yourself to do what He asks for the praise, glory and honor of Jesus Christ.

And be blessed by peace in Christ,
Charlotte