"Treat" Yourself

It seems to me that you must 'treat' yourself spiritually (as a doctor would 'treat' you physically) before you can effectively pray for and help others. Just as in an airplane we are instructed that mothers should put on their own oxygen masks first, and only then help their children, we must each make sure we are getting enough of God's 'oxygen' before we can be really effective in the care and cause of anyone else.

So there is nothing at all wrong with getting yourself firmly integrated into the Spirit of God to the point that you know, feel, and understand the Joy of the Lord for yourself. "For the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). In order to build God's Kingdom we must each become good citizens of that Kingdom so that we recognize God's Spirit in others and begin to work together spiritually for good.

This is what I believe the "power of positive thinking" is really about. It's not about thinking yourself rich and successful. It's about exercising our minds to reach this goal - this perfect Joy in the Lord. Strength to live according to the Holy Spirit and in harmony with all of God's children.

Offering Thanksgiving

Today I just want to thank God for His presence and His tender mercies on us. As I read the paper and watch the news and listen to sad stories of hardship and want, I am humbled by God's faithfulness in my life. I pray in Jesus name that relief and comfort will be given to all in need. I thank you Lord for every time you have lifted us up in the midst of our own sad stories of hardship and need, and for being with us always. I am witness to your trustworthiness. Although you do not always keep us from ever having trouble, you deliver us from the bonds of trouble. I pray for us all. I pray we all come to know You and understand that You are "a very present help in trouble."

In Jesus' name, Amen

Typical Mother

I must have read a hundred times the story of disciples James' and John's mother, and how she managed to take Jesus aside and ask him for places of honor in heaven for her two sons. I shake my head and smile. Typical mother. Even Jesus doesn't rebuke her, he just explains why he can't make such a promise. Maybe he has a little extra patience with her because after all, his own mother pulled a 'typical mom' on him at that wedding in Cana, forcing him into his first miracle. "Oh you ran out of wine? My son can fix that. Go on Honey. Go ahead."

The very words, "my son", just evoke a sense of inordinate pride, don't they? Makes me think of my late mother-in-law. The conversation could be about anything from the price of figs to preserving the rain forest and she'd manage to slip in, "My son is a Holy Cross graduate you know." She just couldn't help herself. So even though part of me is disgusted with James' and John's mother for making such a request, part of me understands it.


But as I was reading another part of the Jesus story yesterday, the scene where he is hanging pitifully from the cross, suffering, bleeding, crying out, and then dying, I noticed that this very same woman is in this scene too. "And many women were watching from a distance....among them were...the mother of James and John." (Matthew 27:55 & 56) I guess I never really noticed that before, or slid past it, but it suddenly occured to me: I wonder what was going through her mind now? As she watched in horror, did she remember her request to him? Did she feel ashamed of herself for it? When she had asked Jesus her favor, she had been thinking only about the glory, not about the gore. She had had no idea what it was going to cost Jesus to take his own place in paradise. Now as she looked with revulsion on this scene, did she wonder if her own two boys would have to suffer the same fate in order to be with Jesus? Did she wish she had kept her mouth shut? How did she feel?

How do we feel? As believers we have been guaranteed a place in heaven with Jesus. Our entrance fee has been paid, but not by us. It was paid by Jesus. And we should never forget how much it cost Him.