Real Fruit

A beautiful work of God

James: Be doers of the word and not hearers only.
Paul: It is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe.

It is not enough to pay lip service to God. Your faith is proven in your actions. Yes, we are justified by our faith; but faith that doesn't lead to action is only imaginary. Prove your faith in what you do. God will bless you for it.

Gathering cattle

In today's gospel (John 17: 20-26) Jesus prays for all those who will believe in him (in the future) through the word to be spread by his disciples. His prayer is for the believers to have God's glory, to be one, to share in God's love, to be with Jesus, and to be a sign to the world.

In this same gospel he says that God loved him before the foundation of the world. Believing in this concept was the difference between St. Athanasius's orthodox Trinitarian view (see my earlier post on "Hero for today") and Arius's "one God" view. I think that Arius's followers eventually included Mohammad, leading to the Islamic battle cry "There is only one God and Mohammad is is his prophet!". Perhaps today's war on terror, the rise of the Aryan nation in Germany, and all of the Crusades can be traced back to the heated dispute between the two deacons of Alexandria?

Wallowing in Blessings

Praise and joy are in his holy place

"whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you...ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you because you have loved me" John

Get right with God, and he will take care of you.

Just be careful about what you ask for, and make sure that you really love the Son of God.

Ready for Love

These bulls have been up by themselves for 6 weeks now. Today is the day they go to work making babies! They are in good flesh and the first calves will come February 20th, 2008.

God is in your midst, Zephaniah 3

April showers bring...

17.47 inches now since the drought. The pastures are soggy.

Psalm 59: O God, rescue me from those who do evil. I will sing of your strength, the God who shows me love.
1 Cor.: No trial has come to you but what is human.
John: As the Father loves me, so also do I love you. Remain in my love.

Sometimes people that we love shock us by doing something evil. It hurts even more when they do it to us. It is not as much the value of the theft or the damage done by the lie, but the fact that they have returned your love with evil. We are made in God's image. We are designed to give love. We are fulfilled by doing so. We want to trust those that we love. When they do evil to us it hardens our hearts. The more sincere your love, the deeper the cut. Maybe it is God's way of showing us how he feels when we sin. Sin cuts us off from love. The offended party cannot give love while the offense remains. How they yearn for the loved one to come clean, to tell the true reason why they did it, to acknowledge the offense, to apologize. How happy it is to be able to resume our love. How terribly we miss being able to give it. Be right with God. Stay in his love. Ask for his help when you examine your conscience, and be honest when you confess your sins. If you have betrayed another's love you should make it right with them. Admit what you did and why. They want to love you.

The new commandment

In today's gospel the risen Jesus is with his disciples and tells them that he is soon leaving them. Then he goes on to say "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so also should you love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Later in John's gospel Jesus adds "if you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love."

There is a popular Christian song about knowing they are Christians by their love. This sounds wonderful, but it can be a tall order. It doesn't take much to love a saint who keeps all God's commandments. Yet there are many Christians who don't keep very many of them. We are called to love the sinner, but hate the sin. Even those who hurt you personally. Has someone physically assaulted you? Don't put yourself in harm's way, but follow Pope John Paul II's example that he set with the man who shot him. Try to discover the truth, so that you can point out their error and love them in spite of their sin. Has someone lied to you, stolen from you, lied about you? How about all of the above from the same person? Try to point out their errors, but don't subject yourself to any more. If they will not listen, then try to go with an elder to point them out. You should hate the sins, and if they are Christian they will repent. Do all that you can to help the Good Shepherd bring them back to the flock. We are all parts of the Body of Christ. Try to understand the truth behind the behavior. Do not accept sinful behavior, but do try to understand and help the sinner, then pray that you will remain in Christ's love.

Fifteen inches since the drought!

"He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them" Rev.