Saturday Symphony

 

Sometimes, words are music.  They are their own notes, spilling over into our consciousness.  Before we are fully aware it has happened these words become part of our very selves.  If we let them, God's words - even those written by men inspired of God - can fill us to overflowing.

Let the notes within the words create a melody that is uniquely your own.

Your relationship with God.  He has a song for each of us.  It is as individual as you are.  Because God's love is never duplicated.  

Our Father

The world's most recognizable prayer - The Lord's Prayer (or the Our Father).  It only appears in two of the four Gospels - the longer form in Matthew as part of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. And a shorter version in Mark.  As with everything from the Bible, the debate rages on regarding whose came first and which one is the real one.

Personally, I don't really care.  The prayer is sublime; the perfect gateway to feeling God's love.  It is succinct - acknowledging God's power, asking for forgiveness as we forgive, and never straying from God's love.

Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallow'ed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread 
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.
In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Amen = I Believe.

Yes, I do.

You will see I have bolded a few words in the prayer.  Consider them within the context of the prayer.  Think about them.  Pray on them.  They are quite illuminating. 

Comfort

People of all faiths are called to pray. The act of praying takes on many forms - structured, in large groups, or by yourself. Your prayer can be a planned set of words, you can follow along in a written text, or you can allow a stream-of-consciousness to inform your prayer.  

But what, exactly, is prayer? Sure there are dictionary definitions. Those just skim the surface.

In the Christian faith, prayer - is talking to Jesus, bringing our needs & the needs of others to God thru him.

Let me state that again - bringing our needs & the needs of others to God. 

And allow me to bring that even closer to home for us - Jesus wants to hear from us because he wants to be part of our lives. He wants us to speak with him - to tell him our deepest thoughts, our highest joys, and reveal the depths of our sorrows.

Jesus will come near to us whenever we call out to him; he will take our hands and rejoice with us or comfort us. And thru our conversations with Christ, we will find hope, we will find joy, we will find comfort, and we will find salvation.

this post was inspired by dr. ben akers at formed 

Today's Readings, in the Roman Catholic Missal, can be found here. 

Saturday Symphony

In those moments in life when the darkness seems to consume you. The cognitive dissonance that I mentioned a few days ago threatens to blot out any hope you may hold for clarity of thought. When the world news overwhelms you and you feel like the light has disappeared forever.

Jesus is there - right by your side - in those delicate moments when you may feel isolated, alone, gasping for air.

Take a deep breath. At those times, try to find your way to physically and mentally ... stopping. Just for a second, take that breath. And cry out - 

Jesus help me

In our most desperate moments, when blinking our eyes seems like a task far too difficult, Jesus is there. He is in the silence between the words, the silence between our breaths.

Reach out to him. Call him by name. For he surely knows your name and wants you to turn to him. It is in our suffering that the love of Jesus shines brightest, guiding us.

Distracted by the noise
Just trying to make sense of all your promises.

…

Thy will be done.

Down like a child on my knees

All that comes to me

Thy will be done.

I know you see me.

I know you hear me, Lord.

Your plans are for me.

Goodness you have in store.

 

***Each Saturday will be devoted to the beauty of music - the words that speak deep into our souls in a way that words on a page can't seem to penetrate. The words & notes that can bring us to the heights of love and glory.***

Listen

My friends - lean in and let me tell you a secret...

God talks to us all day long

Indeed. Every day. All Day. God whispers to us in the hopes we will perk up and hear him. His loves flows thru us every second of every minute of every hour and so on...

It's difficult, even on the best of days, to tune out the cacophony that surrounds us 24/7. Cognitive dissonance is the order of each day, isn't it. Social media calls to us. The news calls even louder. Bosses & coworkers clamor for attention. Family has its demands as well.

For the most part, this is called having a blessed life. To be needed - it's a fundamental part of our human-ness. But - do we allow time for God's needs? Do we answer that wee small voice that we hear a thousand times a day? Do we pay attention to it even once?

That voice - needs us to hear it. Because it wants to care for you, to bless YOU.

Yes - YOU.

I promise you, my dear friends. God wants to be heard and he won't stop speaking until you stop and say "Lord, I hear you." After that, it's easy. The messages God wants to send you will flow like a gentle river. And those messages?

Well they are very simple. I heard him, I slowed down and listened; and it changed me. For my Lord said to me, "Be still my dear child."

I've been listening closely ever since. And here's the one thing - the only thing - that matters. God's love for us is beyond anything we can imagine.

So - be still child, and listen to the voice of love that needs to be heard.

 

Transformation

God only wants to be close to us. He wants to dwell in our hearts. It's up to us - to let him in. To open ourselves to hearing the messages he has for us.

Because God has things to say to us. If we only get out of our own way and let him speak. 

If we can do that - God will change our lives in ways we can't even imagine.

 

Calm

We all navigate rough waters everyday.  Professional or personal, they can take their toll on our energy, bringing about anxiety and worry.

The last thing God wants us to do - is worry.  He wants us to kneel at the foot of the Cross and give our burdens to him. Sounds easy...

And for humans it is one of the most difficult things to do. To cede control of the things that bother us to an unseen "being". 

To have...faith.

Be of good faith, my friends. Each night turn your burdens over to God - and rest.

Rest in the love of Jesus.