Glorifying His Holy Name

Some of the Sadducees who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put a question to him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, if someone's brother dies, leaving a wife and no child, his brother must take up the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a women and died, leaving no descendants. So the second brother married her and died leaving no descendants, and the third likewise. And the seven left no descendants. Last of all the woman also died. At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her." Jesus said to them, "Are you misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When they rise from the dead, they neither marry or are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven. As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled."

Consideration: One day, we will be freed from the bondage of this earthly tomb, and we shall possess all the promises that the Lord has prepared for us. One of those is, the knowledge of all things. And our earthly thoughts will be no more. God will make all things new, and we will spend all of eternity Glorifying His Holy Name. Amen.

"Repay to Caesar"

Some of the Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensure him in his speech. They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?" Knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at." They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's." So, Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." They were utterly amazed at him. 

Consideration: Jesus, knowing that he was being put to the test gives the correct answer; and they were stunned. 

This is a good lesson for us as well. No matter where we are from and take root, we also must conform to the leaders that are in control. We do not need to agree with their dictates and mandates. God is our Father, and we are to conform and to obey the commandments that he has given to us. This has never been easy in the past, and the same holds true today. Love God, have faith, trust him always, and in doing so we have nothing to fear. Amen.

My Friend John...Fights On

I want to tell you about a friend of mine, in a fight for his life

Went to work as any other day, not knowing what was on the way

The day my friend John, and his friends, the best, became heroes

Racing across a clear blue sky, clear evil impacted a dual bullseye 

Mayhem, chaos, destruction, and murder of innocence on high

The day my friend John, and his friends, the best, became heroes

Panic ensued, a city in ruins, large mountains of rubble piled high

Clouds of debris overwhelmed the air, horror, panic, death...fear

There, before the smoke cleared, were bloodied battered heroes

The magnitude of this horrific event cannot be told viewed on TV

Only those who lived it in real time could describe such a tragedy

Only those who by a miracle lived, many now gone, many now sick

I want to tell you about a friend of mine, now in a fight for his life

Twenty-five years later this act of valor has taken a physical toll

He has always been a fighter, even now, in pain, suffering...misery

My Friend John...Fights On!

Faithful Tenants

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce from the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again, he sent another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, 'They will respect my son. But those tenants said to one another, 'This is his heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So, they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read the Scripture passage: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?"

Consideration: The Father sent his Son, but he was rejected, ridiculed, beaten, abused and put to death. All things that were given freely to the tenants of the land shall be taken away and given to the tenants that are faithful and thankful. Amen.

Loving You

It quickly passes, this speck of time 

How in the world did it come to be, really

Family, friends, run the course of life

We carry on, do our best, all with a smile

Lord, give us the faith we need…to believe  

Joys of having family to share, everything,

With you at our side we'll make it through 

Believing everything...loving you

Watch the kids grow, stories of the old, wisdom of the years

Man, I love those gray hairs 

The little things, live dreams, no regrets when the time is here

Rock solid and steady years

Lord, give us the faith we need…to believe 

To believe, to believe 

Joys of having family to share, everything,

Everything, everything

With you at our side we'll make it through 

Believing everything...loving you

It's all good, we believed everything...loving you!

A Solid Foundation

Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly , 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'
"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like the wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like the fool who built his house on the sand. the rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined."
Consideration: Some things remain constant in life. There are those who claim to follow the teachings of Jesus, but they do not act them out in their lives. And there are those that claim that they are grounded in truth, but when the storms of life come they are devastated. Remember, Jesus called Peter the Rock, and said his Church would be built on it. Jesus knew Peter's weaknesses, but also that he would not buckle because he built his foundation on the teachings of his Master, Jesus. Amen.

Cunning Traps

Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him and said to him, "Buy what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you the authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was John's baptism of heavenly or human origin? Answer me." They discussed this among themselves and said, "if we say, 'Of heavenly origin, 'he will say, 'Then why did you not believe him?' But shall we say, 'Of human origin'?" - they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a prophet. So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know." Then Jesus said to them, "Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Consideration: Jesus recognizes the chief priests, scribes, and elders, were attempting to set him up with a question. So what does he do?, he asks them a question in reply. Understanding that they were out foxed by Jesus, they did not answer his question, and Jesus likewise did not answer their question. 
This is a teaching moment for all of us, especially when the wolves of today come at us and try to devour us by their cunning traps. Let the name of "Jesus" be praised. Amen.