Ministry in Motion

  A young man named Saul was bent on eliminating Christianity from the face of the earth. He was a Pharisee (well-versed in the Hebrew Scriptures; the Old Testament),a man of knowledge, with hurtful letters, and a destructive spirit. Then Jesus directly intervened in his life. He was shown grace and mercy, which Saul, now Paul, would write: “…But God’s grace has made me what I am, and his grace to me was not wasted…” Philip Yancey explains in his popular book  What’s So Amazing About Grace? , “ Knocked flat on the ground on the way to Damascus, Paul never recovered from the impact of grace: the word appears no later than the second sentence (punctuation matters) in every one of his letters.” Really. Check it out for yourself… Romans: verse 7  to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints; Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and [from] the Lord Jesus Christ! First Corinthians: 3  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ...

  Humans as a species are not attracted to change. We like things the way we like things. And yet early in Jesus’ ministry he tell us that he’s come to give us a philosophy of change: “Repent,”— change your mind —“for the kingdom of heaven has come near” Richard Rohr writes: “We’re much like animals in this regard. Animals are creatures of habit. Those of us with a dog or a cat know their behavior is predictable. If we change some daily routine, they’ll get upset. I’m afraid to say that we’re much the same…”   Jesus tells us to change our minds - the kingdom of God is near, which is what’s good for the whole of me. If we don’t change and grow, we end up the same at age 70 as we were at 17. I’m not willing to go backwards. My Sunday thought… #pkes       #MinM

" Mary and Joseph totally trusted their inner experience of God and followed it to Bethlehem and beyond. —Richard Rohr “…After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child [Jesus] and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return…” Trust #pkes       #MinM

Do you make a New Year’s resolution?    I not very good at keeping resolutions;  I've tried and failed, miserably. Resolutions this time of year tend to “activate hope and expectations for what we hope to achieve going forward. With a new year comes a sense of renewal," says psychologist Mariana Strongin, PsyD. Just last week while singing Christmas carols, I poorly sang:  🎶 O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie; Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight 🎶 As I consider the new year and the faith I profess, I pray: Lord I am prone to be forgetful. May your ever present Spirit remind me, yet once again, that my hope rests in You; that my fears are extinguished by your presence and your unfailing love.  May it be so, I pray… Amen   #pkes      #MinM

The claim—God has become flesh—is so radical that it is virtually unthinkable and illogical. Christianity is the most radical of all world religions because it takes matter seriously as the home of divinity. —Ilia Delio   #pkes       #MinM

The  l yrics of the classic Christmas song  O   Holy   Night , express the joy and gratitude of the birth of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. You can almost hear the angels' voices singing: [Verse 1] O Holy Night The stars are brightly shining It is the night of our dear Savior's birth Long lay the world in sin and error pining 'Til He appears and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born O night, O Holy night, O night divine! [Verse 3] Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His Gospel is Peace Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother And in His name, all oppression shall cease Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we Let all within us Praise His Holy name Christ is the Lord; O praise His name forever! His power and glory evermore proclaim His power and glory evermor...

When we speak of Advent or preparing for Christmas, we’re not just talking about waiting for the little baby Jesus to be born. That already happened two thousand years ago. In fact, we’re welcoming the Universal Christ, the Cosmic Christ, the Christ that is forever being born (incarnating) in the human soul and into history. ~ Richard Rohr #pkes      #MinM

Before we can fully appreciate the joy of Christmas, it’s important we try to remember and enter into the longing, waiting, aching of Israel - starving for a Savior, the Messiah.   Advent, it has a historical significance. It’s also filled with joyful anticipation, for us, today. It’s about waiting for the fulfillment of our heart’s desire. It’s about being ready to be blown away by the beauty and awe of the announcement: “unto us in borne this day … a savior, who is Christ the Lord” “And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called  Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Peace be with you...#pkes

Advent, the four-week season of anticipation that guides us into the celebration of Christmas.   “Advent teaches patience in a white noise, highly charged culture. Patience is not simply the ability to wait - it's how we behave while we're waiting.” ~ J Meyers Waiting during Advent. Waiting is not doing anything. Advent   waiting is slow, deliberate, intentional. Advent waiting is contemplative, reflective enough to discern what God is doing.   Unless we intentionally cultivate some contemplative slowness in our soul, it doesn't matter if God acts, because we'll most likely fail to recognize what God is doing.   We can almost say that God seldom arrives until we wait.   And so we sit. Come long expected Messiah;  come Lord Jesus come…#pkes

#Boo In the USA 25%    of all annual candy sales occur during the Halloween season. Halloween, by some accounts, is a 9 billion dollar affair. What makes Halloween so popular? Perhaps it's the novelty of ‘trick to treat’ or the clever costumes or … maybe it’s just the free candy.   The conversations surrounding the celebration of Halloween continue to be a hot topic in Christian circles.    I’ve heard the debates.  Is Halloween harmless fun or something dark, evil and sinister?  Do the rhythms of Halloween in 2022 fit in a post-pandemic world? How does the day mesh with our understanding of the Christian faith?  Paul’s writing to the Philippines reminds us to focus on those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, etc.  (Philippians 4:8) .  So maybe families of faith should avoid Halloween. There are some dark and creepy things associated with Halloween. Understood. O ther Christians say God is not offended by carving...