Journaling

Coming to Jesus fully armed and without distraction

Posted on by MSFriend
coming to Jesus
Nature’s beauty pulls us toward God!

Come to Jesus fully armed and without distraction! Today I’m splitting the Gospel into parts and sharing thoughts after each part.

luke 14:25-33

Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them. “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

what do you mean?

Do I think Jesus really wants us to hate our family and our life? Absolutely not! What I think he’s getting at is a renunciation of what we identify with. Sometimes we can over-identify with our family, our nationality, our religion, our intelligence and even our career. When we over-identify with any of those things, we view everything outside our group as other. This leaves very little room for Jesus who calls us to oneness.

finish strong

“Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘this one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’“

Jesus sure does have a way with words! I took these words as a warning for us not to take discipleship lightly. Jesus wants us to really think about what it takes to be a disciple. He wants us to work at having the necessary tools to follow Him obediently and whole-heartedly. We make a mockery of discipleship when we don’t practice what we preach.

When it comes to starting new things, we start strong. Conversion and choosing to follow Christ is no different. But familiarity breeds contempt and soon enough our fire fades. Jesus is telling us here that we need to start strong and finish strong!

If someone were watching you at this moment in your life in the hopes of deciding whether or not to become a disciple, would they take the leap? Do you think they would say to themselves, “I want what that person has?”

fully armed

“Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.“

Do we have what it takes to overcome temptation? That’s what I think this verse is about. We must be fully armed. Ephesians 6:10-18 reads, in part:

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

I read something once that said, “be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says ‘Oh crap, she’s up.’ THAT’S what this verse is all about!

last but not least

In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

This is not about giving up all you have. I believe this is about detaching from those things in your life that take your attention away from the one who loves you. Do you find yourself watching hours of television and not having enough time to ponder Scripture? Does your fascination with social media keep you from sitting in silence? Is focusing on your body image more important than focusing on your soul image? I think you get where I’m going.

Being a disciple requires us to be counter-cultural. THAT is the cross Jesus talks about in this Gospel.

So today I ponder what I need to detach from and what I over-identify with. Do I really have what it takes to be an obedient, whole-hearted disciple? Do I exhibit the characteristics necessary to be a true witness? Am I well equipped for spiritual warfare? Do I have what it takes to finish strong? You?

God bless you!

The unknown day and hour – Mt 24:37-44

Posted on by MSFriend
the unknown day and hour
He’s already there, let Him out into the world!

The unknown day and hour is the title of today’s Gospel.

Matthew 24: 37-44

For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this; if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

stay awake

THE SECOND COMING! STAY AWAKE! The unknown day and hour! We’ve all heard it before and as faithful as we are, it’s a bit scary to hear, is it not? Today, as I read this, I thought: could it be that this “second coming” is our realization that He is always present, that He resides in our hearts? Maybe THAT’S how He is released into the world?

Could “stay awake” mean be mindful, aware and present in order to recognize that He is not “out there” somewhere but “in here” in our hearts? By staying awake we get to witness day in and day out how He is working in our lives through the good and bad.

taken/left?

“One will be taken” – could taken mean converted or awakened to the true Source of joy. “One will be left” – could left mean unmoved, unaware of God’s action and presence in their life?

I feel like this Gospel is telling us not to seek Him out there. Remain present and mindful, remain open to His promptings, trust in His timing. I recently read words from Fr. Thomas Keating that have stayed with me and help me trust more: “Let what’s happening, happen.” His plans are way better than our plans. We’ll get it eventually but we have to remain open to His life and love. Surrender and trust.

When will we arrive?

The truth is we never “arrive” in this spiritual journey. Jesus tells us so when He says: “but of that day and hour no one knows.” Two steps forward, one step back – we make some progress but it’s almost as if we’re always beginning. We “arrive” when we pass from this life and of that day and hour no one knows.

God bless you!