All Family Here

•June 4, 2015 • 1 Comment

Divided,
questioning,
challenging,
wanting to reject
what is said,
control what is done,
infighting.

Loving,
sharing,
caring,
working together
following God’s way.

I know which is your way Lord,
yet so often,
we your people fail.

Forgive me
when I choose disunity
over love and care,
give me your strength
and will
to do it
your way.
That we may be part of your family
together.

Mark 3:20-35 (CEV)

Jesus and the Ruler of Demons

20 Jesus went back home, and once again such a large crowd gathered that there was no chance even to eat. 21 When Jesus’ family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.

22 Some teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem and said, “This man is under the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons! He is even forcing out demons with the help of Beelzebul.”

23 Jesus told the people to gather around him. Then he spoke to them in riddles and said:

How can Satan force himself out? 24 A nation whose people fight each other won’t last very long. 25 And a family that fights won’t last long either. 26 So if Satan fights against himself, that will be the end of him.

27 How can anyone break into the house of a strong man and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.

28 I promise you that any of the sinful things you say or do can be forgiven, no matter how terrible those things are. 29 But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven. That sin will be held against you forever.

30 Jesus said this because the people were saying that he had an evil spirit in him.

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

31 Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. Then they sent someone with a message for him to come out to them. 32 The crowd that was sitting around Jesus told him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside and want to see you.”

33 Jesus asked, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 34 Then he looked at the people sitting around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 35 Anyone who obeys God is my brother or sister or mother.”

Let there be Love

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We Want Our Way

•June 2, 2015 • Leave a Comment

We want
what they’ve got.
We want to live
the way they do.
We don’t want God’s ways
we want the way others live.
God is not our King,
we want a human king,
one we can see.
We like the way
others do things.

Are you sure
you want to go that way?
The grass isn’t always greener,
there will be consequences
and a cost.
A human King
is not looking out for you
the way God does.

We know what we want,
we want things our way,
I want my way.
I want to be like them.

Lord,
be king
in me.
May I allow you to rule,
and not my desires.
May my worship be for you,
and I may see your hand,
your presence,
your goodness
and long for that.

1 Samuel 8:4-20 (GNT)

4 Then all the leaders of Israel met together, went to Samuel in Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Look, you are getting old and your sons don’t follow your example. So then, appoint a king to rule over us, so that we will have a king, as other countries have.” 6 Samuel was displeased with their request for a king; so he prayed to the Lord, 7 and the Lord said, “Listen to everything the people say to you. You are not the one they have rejected; I am the one they have rejected as their king. 8 Ever since I brought them out of Egypt, they have turned away from me and worshiped other gods; and now they are doing to you what they have always done to me. 9 So then, listen to them, but give them strict warnings and explain how their kings will treat them.”

10 Samuel told the people who were asking him for a king everything that the Lord had said to him. 11 “This is how your king will treat you,” Samuel explained. “He will make soldiers of your sons; some of them will serve in his war chariots, others in his cavalry, and others will run before his chariots. 12 He will make some of them officers in charge of a thousand men, and others in charge of fifty men. Your sons will have to plow his fields, harvest his crops, and make his weapons and the equipment for his chariots. 13 Your daughters will have to make perfumes for him and work as his cooks and his bakers. 14 He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his officials. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your grapes for his court officers and other officials. 16 He will take your servants and your best cattle and donkeys, and make them work for him. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks. And you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that time comes, you will complain bitterly because of your king, whom you yourselves chose, but the Lord will not listen to your complaints.”

19 The people paid no attention to Samuel, but said, “No! We want a king, 20 so that we will be like other nations, with our own king to rule us and to lead us out to war and to fight our battles.”

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Second Born

•May 28, 2015 • Leave a Comment

I must be born Again?

Born a new way,
come to life God’s way.

Not a magic formula,
but letting God
create and form me.
As my parents genes
once dictated my make up,
how I look,
those family traits
– now I must allow God
to shape my life.

Lord,
may I allow myself
to become a product of your love
for me.
May I allow you to create,
mold,
form
and guide me.

May I become
all that you have planned for me,
may your breath
breathe in me,
your love
beat through me.

May I be born again,

this time in and through you.

Sculpture “Born again” Artist: Michael Printschler

John 3:1-17 (CEV)

Jesus and Nicodemus

3 There was a man named Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a Jewish leader. 2 One night he went to Jesus and said, “Sir, we know that God has sent you to teach us. You could not work these miracles, unless God were with you.”

3 Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God’s kingdom!”

4 Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?”

5 Jesus answered:

I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. 6 Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God. 7 Don’t be surprised when I say that you must be born from above. 8 Only God’s Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 Jesus replied:

How can you be a teacher of Israel and not know these things? 11 I tell you for certain that we know what we are talking about because we have seen it ourselves. But none of you will accept what we say. 12 If you don’t believe when I talk to you about things on earth, how can you possibly believe if I talk to you about things in heaven?

13 No one has gone up to heaven except the Son of Man, who came down from there. 14 And the Son of Man must be lifted up, just as that metal snake was lifted up by Moses in the desert. 15 Then everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.

16 God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them!

Born Again – Newsboys

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