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Sunday, June 30, 2013

LUKE Chapter 9 Verses 33-62. "The KING in EVERYMAN."

33. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias; not knowing what he said.
34. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them; and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
35. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son; hear him."
36. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.
37. And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. 
38. And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, "Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son; for he is mine only child.
39. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him, that he foameth again, and bruising, him, hardly departeth from him.
40. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not."
41. And Jesus answering, said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring they son hither."
42.And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
43. And they were all amazed at the mighty Power of God. But while they wondered, every one, at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,
44. "Let these sayings sink down into your ears; for the Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of men."
45. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not; and they feared to ask him of that saying.
46. Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
47. And Jesus, perceiving the thoughts of their heart, took a child, and set him by him.
48. And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name, receiveth me; and whosoever receiveth me receiveth him that sent me; for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
49. And John answered and said, "Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, ; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us."
50. And Jesus said unto him, ":Forbid him not; for he that is not against us, is for us."
51. And it came to pass, when the time was come, that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to Jerusalem.
52. And sent messengers before his face; and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
54. And when his dsciples James, and John saw this, they said, "Lord wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?"
55. But He turned, and rebuked them, and said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 
56. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And they went to another village.
57. And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, "Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest."
58. And Jesus said unto him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."
59. And he said unto another, "Follow me." But he said,  "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father."
60. Jesus said unto him, "Let the dead bury their dead; but go, Thou, and preach the kingdom of God".
61. And another also said, "Lord, I will follow Thee, but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house."
62. And Jesus said unto him, "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
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The word of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God......are YOU looking forward to..................

               The steps, and the challenges, and wonders and successes which lay ahead for you, now that you have begun to "change" how you look at the world, in all of its complexity? ....or are you, in longing for all that you know from your early life, not see them cheering you on to new Wonders?  We take them, and their love, and the past - good and bad - with us wherever we go, and whoever's lives we touch, even but for a Moment....

And, like Ghandi said, we must sometimes BE the change we want to see in the world, when we despair that there are no more examples "quite good enough to sustain us", through "perfect" example, anymore. Life can be difficult, and burdensome, and frustrating, after all.....

.....but when we "Make that Moment Count" for the Glory of God - day after day, painstaking effort after painstaking effort; making the seemingly impossible suddenly seem possible again, in whatever way, and whatever manner, that moment challenges us, without allowing others to dictate who, what, when, where and how we will achieve as ourselves, through our own efforts, then those "ripples and waves" - US - keep time within the Song of the Calm Seas of our hearts and minds which move people, and places, and Quieted Minds to a better, "Possible" life. And, while we keep time with the steady rhythm of the oceans and the Seas of God's Love - which, literally, do so both within and without of our corporeal shell, like one amazingly, fantastically, unbelievably, seemingly discordant, but yet now, beautifully orchestrated BAND, the formerly despairing, come to an instant, and wondering, new realization of What Dreams Still May Come." How wondrous is the Lord!

Like the recycler who sees something, still, in that which was abandoned, discarded, or not deemed "worthy" of anything else, anymore (perhaps to itself, saddest of all) the Lord still sees something in us, takes the Iron, and builds the Ship again. We are his Vessels, and we hoist the Main Sail every day into new worlds, and in new ways which demand more of us, both in our daily lives, and in circumstances and places in which we never dreamed that our voices might well be the very Breath of God.

Steady as she goes.....let's stay the course, keep a steady pace....and, though we may wish to, keep from "jumping overboard" when the way ahead seems fraught with unimaginable impossibility, remembering how the Songs of Solomon, and the Breath of God,  moved - and still move - the "King in Every Man" to action.

What kind of "King" are you - or will you be, starting tomorrow...or this very moment?

..."Till next time!

                                xo.