Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

Ezekiel 33:10-16 Psalm 51:6-17 R & P -- Repentance and Penance As a Protestant, when I hear the word "penance," I get this image of Bart Simpson writing on a blackboard 500 times, "I will not do anything bad ever again."  For all the time Bart has spent at that blackboard over the years, it hasn't changed his behavior one bit.  He still keeps on doing the same things that drive his teacher, Mrs. Krabappel, and Principal Skinner nuts. Of course, Bart is a cartoon character, but we in the real world sometimes try to "get right" with God by doing good works or some other self-imposed action and then turn around and keep doing the same things, over and over again.  In fact, that's the very issue God is talking to the people of Israel about In Ezkiel 33:10-16.  They thought that if they went through the motions of offering sacrifices for their sin, that was enough for God.  It wasn't: "A nd even if I have pronounced a death sente...

    And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the  Lord  of hosts!”     Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.  The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out."    Isaiah 6:5-7 Isaiah was having what I would call a "bathroom mirror" experience.  We all have them.  It's that moment under the glare of the bathroom lights that we look in the mirror and realize we're not the person we thought we were.  In my mind's eye, I'm still twenty-five and forty pounds lighter, but when I look in the mirror, I see all the signs of aging -- the wrinkles, the bags under my eyes, the sagging skin.  It's a reality check reminding me that I'm not the person I thought i wa...

2 Corinthians 9:7-14 Whenever I'm down or stressed out, I like to make soup.  It becomes meditation in motion as I chop vegetables, brown meat and stir the pot.  It is, many times, an experience of the divine, and, in response to grace, it many times becomes an act of generosity. I always make more than I can eat or my freezer can hold, so I give some of it away.  Sometimes, it is an affirmation of my love and friendship.  Other times, its a gift of comfort and assurance, and there are times when it helps a busy person have a hot meal. I am blessed in the making of the soup, and blessed in the giving of it.  Touching people's lives is what gives us a sense of meaning and purpose.  I'm not smart enough to win a Nobel Prize in nuclear physics or write the great American novel.  I'm not rich enough to set up a charitable foundation like Bill Gates, but I do know what I am.  I am blessed beyond measure with more than enough to be the person God ...

I ve heard "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" used in the context of dealing with times of tragedy, loss and grief.  I've been wondering lately if this was really in the Bible or if it's just one of those quotes people incorrectly attribute as scripture.  After doing a little research, I found that it's a misquote from Job 1:21.  The correct quote from the King James Version is:  "And [Job] said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."                                                                      March 28, 2011, Jesus and Me and the Cats blog post When  I was looking for something to use as a devotion for a mid-week service, I  looked at the above post. ...

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Luke 12:22-34 Luke 12:31 tells us that our Heavenly Father knows our needs and will provide everything we need for everyday living.  I can honestly say I believe in this, but do I trust in it?  I wish I could say I do, 100%, but there have been times I have to admit I haven't. A lack of trust prevents us from receiving God's extravagant love.  We all have something that we find hard to let go of and let God provide or take care of.  We have to do it ourselves, because we think we have to or that we can do it better than God.  So, we're hanging on to whatever it is so tightly that we approach God with clenched fists instead of open hands ready to receive.  Also, a lack of trust also focuses on our deficiencies and impossible situationsso that we don't see the God possibilities that surround us. I've struggled in the past with control and trust issues concerning money.  I can trust God in the smallest of things like lost keys t...

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Luke 7:34-43 The latest trend in my part of the world is for grandmothers-to-be to proudly display ultra-sound pictures of their new grandchildren on their smart phones.  I think it's really cool, but since I don't have a smart phone, let alone children, I'm stuck with telling cat stories.  So here's one. Harley, my calico, hates (hissing, growling and screeching) traveling in her pet carrier, especially when the destination is the vet.  For two or more days after her yearly check-up, she prowls around hissing and growling at Blondie and me.  On those occasions when Blondie goes to the vet without Harley, it may take as long as two weeks before Harley stops treating her like the enemy.  Blondie smells wrong.  She doesn't smell like herself -- she smells like (horrors!)  the vet's office! Wednesday, Blondie went to the vet to get her teeth cleaned, and while it was amusing watching her try to walk across the kitche...

Wayward children.  Maybe you have one in your life – a friend, a family member, your own child.  That someone whom you love who keeps making the same mistakes over and over and over again:  making a mess of their lives, hurting themselves, breaking our hearts. Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 and you hear the longing of God’s heart for the wayward people of Israel .  God had kept all of God’s promises to them.  He had delivered them out of captivity in Egypt , lead them into the land God had promised to Abraham, loved them and protected them.  But time after time, they broke their promises, following their own selfish desires and made a mess of things, ending up back in captivity and exile in Babylon . Are we any different?  I don’t think I am.  I’ve done and said things that would have made my parents cringe.  I’ve made the same mistakes, the same selfish choices over and over again, making a mess of things and finding myself captive to my ow...