Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

This is the fifth and last in the series on "Wholeness in Christ" ... I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly ..."  John 10:7-10 " ... Run in such a way that you may win it [the race].  Atheletes ... do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.."   I Corinthians 9:24-27 What kind of shape would we be in if we only ate and slept once or twice a week?  Or twice a year, we exercised?  We know that physical health requires consistent, healthy habits of adequate rest, good nutritional habits and a daily discipline of physical activity.  Why aren't we investing the same amount of effort in caring for our souls?   Spiritual self-care is important to the health of  our whole being -- mind, body and soul. I have a lot of respect for long-distance atheletes, like the guys who ride the Tour de France, cross country runners, and folks who participate in the Iron Man and marathon events.  Mainly, it's be...

Your word is a lamp before my feet       and a light for my journey.                                   Psalm 119:105 CEB) WWJD -- What would Jesus do? WWJHMD -- What would Jesus have me do? Whichever one is your favorite, neither one does us any good if we don't know what Jesus did or taught.  How can we incorporate the story of God's Word into our lives if we haven't studied it? Oh, a few main ideas here and there, a piece of memorized scripture, an inspirational poster or coffee mug may be somewhat helpful, but having knowledge and understanding of scripture is more important. There reason is that stories give us metaphors to guide us and help us make decisions.  To use them as metaphors rather than just taking them literally requires understanding the context of the story because we aren't the original audience.  Then one must ask oneself two very importan...

This is the fourth in the series, "Living as Whole Persons in Jesus Christ." I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.                                                       Psalm 139:14  (NRSV) I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God -- what is good and acceptable and perfect.                                                    Romans 12:1-2 (NRSV) Or do you not know tha...

This is the third in the series, "Wholeness in Christ."  In the next three sermons, we will  look at the individual aspects of the interconnected human trinity of mind, body and soul.  We talked previously that the health of each these aspects impacts the other two.  We will explore ways of how our wholeness in Christ can be brought back into balance based on God's Word. John 17:9-19 Ephesians 4:20-24, 6:14-17 Experiencing freedom as whole persons in Jesus Christ -- what does that mean to you?  What do we need to be freed from?  John 8:32 tells us that the truth of God that we experience through Christ sets us free.  Today, we're going to find out how the Truth can free the mind and free us for wholeness. Sometimes, it is so annoying when some song gets stuck in my head.  Usually it's a song I don't remember all the words to, and a single phrase, verse or chorus, gets played over and over again. Songs are not the only things that ...

And He was saying to them all, "if anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.   Luke 9:23 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.        Galatians 2:20 - For six days, Harley, my calico cat, has been trying to catch a moth.  Always out of reach, she has been relentless and somewhat obsessive in hunting it down.  This morning, it came to ground (or rather carpet), and I easily caught it and released it back outside.   It amazed me how fixated she was on that moth.  But then again, it is in her predatory nature to stalk, kill and devour.  It is how her species was created to be, and I wouldn't want to change it.  She has an important role to play, a purpose beyond companionship, and that is to keep my home vermin f...

This is the second in the series, "Wholeness in Christ" which looks at holistic self-care (mind, body and soul) as a spiritual discipline. "... By the seventh day, God had finished his work.  On the seventh day, he rested from all his work.  God blessed the seventh day.  He made it a Holy Day because on that day, he rested from his work, all the creating God had done."                                                               Genesis 2:1-4 (The Message) " Then Jesus said, 'The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren't made to serve to Sabbath                                                             Mark 2:23-28 (The Message) I live in a house of playing card...

This is the first in the sermon series, "Wholeness in Christ." Luke 10:25-28 Genesis 1:24-27    God spoke:  "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature..."             Genesis 1:26 (The Message) P art of the purpose statement of the United Methodist Women is to "...know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ.  It's something I think worthy of all Christians to aspire to.  But what does it mean to be a whole person and to live holistically through Jesus Christ?  It speaks to the nature of who we are as human beings and that means to first examine the nature of God whose image we are made in and base the concept of our wholeness in that. Image.  Imagine.  Imagination. God, all loving and all powerful, imagined a creation filled with beauty and wonders, spoke it into existence and smiled.  It was good.  And into this community of stars and...