The joy of receiving a handwritten note in the mail is a special treat in today’s world.  Take a moment and drop someone a note.  Maybe a home bound person, maybe a child, maybe a neighbor, maybe a sick friend or just the first name you think of for no reason what-so-ever.

¹Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.²Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.³Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.⁴For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.⁵Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches.  ⁶Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, ⁷to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, ⁸to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron, ⁹to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the Lord!

To pray the Psalms is an old spiritual discipline.  Read it several times, read it out loud, quietly reflect and let the words feed your day.  God is present and you will know the hand that protects.

sorry to be late today...not feeling well.  ALL of us are home today being miserable.

Romans 3:21-4:5

²¹But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets,²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,²³since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;²⁴they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,²⁵whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;²⁶it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.

What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh?  ²For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  ³For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”  ⁴Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due.  ⁵But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

GRACE...it’s a gift from God!  Paul is clear...Grace is not something you earn, you work for or you demand.  It’s God’s gift to us chosen by God to give.  We aren’t called to complicate it, but to live in it.  Live in the knowledge of God’s Grace and let our lives reflect that amazing, loving gift.

We're also called to strive to live offering grace.  It's not an easy thing to do, but it is one that has the potential to change life.  Imagine those moments of frustration and anger being let go out of love and grace.  To love others this deeply and easily would lose those petty little arguments that get under our skin.  Imagine living without the energy drain of petty little things!  Even better, imagine if we could let the big things go as easily as God forgives our big mistakes.

Striving to live in Grace and out Grace.

Sunday is a day of celebration.  In the 40 days of Lent Sundays are not counted.  For the Jews sundown Friday to sundown Saturday is the Sabbath.  The early Christians added a Sunday celebration as it was the day of resurrection.  Jesus rose on Sunday and so Sunday was the day to celebrate the Risen Christ.  So, Sundays do not count in the 40 days of Lent.  Go celebrate and give praise to God!

Psalm 150

¹Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!  ²Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!  ³Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!  ⁴Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!⁵Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!  ⁶Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

To pray the Psalms is an old spiritual discipline.  Read it several times, read it out loud, quietly reflect and let the words feed your day.  God is present!

             ¹²As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.¹³Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.¹⁴Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Bear with each other...Forgive each other.  They seem like simple things, but when you’re hurt by another person’s words or deeds it is not easy to do these things.  But often the only person we’re hurting by not forgiving is ourselves.  The other person doesn’t always know they’ve hurt us.  And have you ever noticed we’re more likely to be hurt when we’re feeling chaos in life or not feeling so good about life?  Our own context of life plays into our own hurt feelings.  It’s way easier to overlook a misspoken word or hurtful action when we’re happy and life is going well.

Just something to think about as we strive to live in community...where are you in the chaos verses calm conversation?

 

ARK DAY!

             Acts of Random Kindness.   Today is a day to do something kind for another person you DON’T live with.  Part of living out our faith is sharing it and one of the best ways to share faith is to be kind to another person.  How many ways can God use you today to be kind to other people?