Tag: JUSTICE

A Command To Be Just!

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Listen, my brothers and sisters, we have a major problem happening in America as it relates to how we treat others. Most specifically, the passage of arcane laws that prevent our fellow human beings from exercising their rights to judge for themselves what is good and proper. Moreover, this same small minority of our population has taken it upon themselves to restrict our brothers and sisters of color from their fundamental right to vote. More shockingly there are some who have chosen to rebel against the common good through uncouth measures concerning health issues as they continue to spread known lies about life-saving treatments, fighting against the free vaccine, and causing chaos around the issue concerning masks which have been proven to statistically protect our children! If you know me at all you know I will always speak out about issues related to protecting God’s children! But the greatest problem we are now facing is that their rebellion does not uphold the law but yet their own precepts!

Normally, I would not address these political issues here on this forum. But, too many transgressions have been left unanswered about critical issues which directly affect our entire population. Therefore, because of the enormity of these issues, I have targeted the ongoing and upsetting revolving door issue of women’s health in America and how this small minority thinks they have a right to prevent women from exercising their rights on this issue!

Guiding Question:

“Why did God give mankind free will if He didn’t think we could handle it?”

THE BOOK OF WISDOM

Love justice, you that are the judges of the earth. Think of the Lord in goodness, and seek him in simplicity of heart. For He is found by them that tempt Him not: and he sheweth himself to them that have faith in Him. - Book of Wisdom, Chapter 1:1-2 - Douay-Rheims Version, Saint Benedict Press - A.D. 1609

Problem: We have too many radical judges who say they are Christian and thus use their power as a judge and their beliefs to make rulings that do not support the written law and instead legislate from the bench with rulings that can not be supported by law and in some instances frequently ignore legal precedent. In addition, our God-given right of free will is yet again under attack by man’s suffocating law. If you love justice then you are a lover of God who is just! Judges of the earth should make rulings that uphold the law in a bipartisan manner using wisdom and prior legal precedent which the US Supreme Court chose to do neither of those two things and instead seems to support empowering private citizens to anonymously report women who are going to have, or are on the way to have, or prosecute all those involved in helping women to get an abortion and then get paid for reporting it! How is this just? How is this ruling moral? How does this celebrate God’s trust in giving his children free will? What other American rights will this uproot? Nowhere in the Bible does it say, ‘When someone does something you disagree with go rat them out to the authorities?’ No, it says:

In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the law and the Prophets. - St. Matthew 7:12

We call this the golden rule. We teach this rule to our children. But we seemingly forget to apply it when it is convent not to follow its teachings as adults! With that stated plainly, I guess anyone who reports in Texas an abortion would want others to report anonymously some private issue of theirs that would uproot their life as well? I guess the Supreme Court Judges who upheld the TX SB8 Legislation on Abortion are in favor of private citizens anonymously reporting their hidden crimes as well? WE CAN DO THIS ALL DAY!

Pro-life vs. Pro-choice

DE-ESCALATING THE ISSUE?: Abortion is a complex paradox. This is where Matthew 7:12 comes in. It’s all about relationships: meaning as a country we need to work together to solve this moral dilemma not rip each other apart. This could be said about every issue that Republicans and Democrats or even self-professed conservatives and liberals disagree with each other on. Ending the argument and divisiveness and instead, practice active listening to find common ground! It’s all about being just with each other! In being just we build our relationships on firm foundations. The Texas law is wrong on so many levels and was a test case that the Supreme Court failed miserably because it’s all about what is just under the law! This ban simply divides people further driving them deeper into the two camps, (tribal warfare instead of civil discourse), in effect giving a sledgehammer to one side, and leaving the other side defenseless. Then sitting back to watch what happens! The Texas Legislature removes themselves from enforcement and all responsibility from what happens when it was their grand old idea in the first place! Again, this irresponsible attempt in crafting a law and the irresponsible attempt at upholding the previous statutes will create further chaos which is tragic! Why? Because it destroys relationships and pits private citizens at odds with each other in the hope of making a profit! Pro-life and Pro-choice need a time out! They need to rethink their approach. As human beings, we all need to understand more deeply the issues and find ways to accommodate each other’s opinions, and stop trying to impose each other’s will on the other! We can fix this if we stop arguing and trying to undercut each other which is the root cause of hatred and division within our nation! So, I say to you, be lovers of justice! Seek in everything, what is good and just always! No, not just for yourself, but also for your fellow human being.

Repercussions of Not Following the Law: The clear end-run of the Texas government is to pave the way for abortions to become illegal in Texas and to help other states pass copycat laws which will be upheld in the courts effectually killing Row vs Wade and robbing women the right to choose for themselves what is good and just in their own personal lives in those states. Stop and think: Do you want some stranger melting in your personal life? Some stranger dictating what you can and cannot do? Stopping you from exercising your free will? This goes beyond religion because it strikes at the very heart of law in America, trust in our Judges to follow and uphold laws instead of rewriting them based upon their own personal religious beliefs.  Simply put, there has been a hardening of the heart of those who feel it is their mission given them by God to force millions to live in a world of restrictive, anti-democratic, and dystopian laws which are changed at a whim! Laws that do not meet the test of our Christian values! Is this the America you want to live in? Listen, we are never going to agree completely and in some instances not even partially, so what we all need to do is simple. Stop and listen with compassion and justice will reign. 

For perverse thoughts seperate from God: and his power, when it is tried, reproveth the unwise: for wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body sudject to sins. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful, and will withdraw himself from thoughts that are without understanding, and he shall not abide when inquity cometh in. For the spirit of wisdom is benevolent, and will not acuit the evil speaker from his lips: for God is witness of his reins, and he is a true searcher of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue. - Wisdom 1:3-6, Douay-Rheims Version, Saint Benedict Press - A.D. 1609Douay-Rheims Version, Saint Benedict Press - A.D. 1609

Questions To Ponder

Who gave the five Supreme Court Justices the power to make the pro-life decision for all Texas women within a midnight secret agenda vote? Is this the first step to further develop an acceptable platform where neanderthal-rulings made by radical judges that allow the ultra-right the power to stop women from walking alone on the street without a man being present, or force them to cover their faces and heads at all times, or restrict women in America from the right to equal and fair access to education or to simply prevent women from voting altogether or worse yet prevent women from driving? Are we talking about a complete and utter disembowelment of women’s suffrage as we know it in America: The Land of The Free? Does this mean judges will now side with laws like the one Texas passed which opens the floodgates for other states to empower vigilante justice by allowing regular citizens to profit off of ratting out thier neighbors who seek abortions? Are these judges and lawmakers aware that they are creating a culture of interjecting ourselves into the private personal health issues of a complete stranger for the sake of money? Does any of this sound familiar? To me, it sounds an awful lot like 1933 Nazi Rule or Italian Fascism? Am I being too radical with my questions? Where does oppression stop! How does any of this follow Jesus’s command to love one another? (John 15:12) How do these blatant actions of the court uphold the Book of Wisdom cited above? Can I kindly and lovingly remind my brothers and sisters in government and on the bench that these issues have already been tested and found unworthy of the American citizenry! We need to put away our ancient grievances and move forward together in love and harmony for the benefit of all people.

Let us listen to the voice of God; let us enter into his rest." - Office of Readings - iBreviary

Freely Come To Me!

Consider this: The Second Temptation of Christ

And the devil led him into a high mountain and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, And he said to him: To thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them. If thou, therefore, wilt adore before me, all shall be thine. - St. Luke, Chapter 4:6-7 Douay-Rheims Version, Saint Benedict Press - A.D. 1609

Here Satan wants Jesus to bow down and worship him. What a sight that would have been! Christ bending the knee to a subordinate, jealous, twisted fallen angle! Sorry, but things in the universe do not work like that! See all you Judges, Congressmen, State, and Federal Representatives, and District Leaders you all work for us – the people!  We do not bow the knee, for we elected you to serve, protect, legislate sensibly, and uphold the laws and values of America! – Please Review the United States Constitution.

It is written: Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. - St. Luke, Chapter 4:8 - Douay-Rheims Version, Saint Benedict Press - A.D. 1609

Guiding Question – Answer: 

'And why call you me, Lord, Lord; and do not the things which I say? Every one that cometh to me, and heareth my words, and doth them, I will shew you to whom he is like. He is like to a man building a house, who digged deep, and laid the foundation upon a rock. And when a flood came, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and it could not shake it; for it was founded on a rock. - St. Luke 6:46-48 - Douay-Rheims Version, Saint Benedict Press - A.D. 1609

Jesus wants all of humanity to come to him and be saved under a just God! Moreover, He desires that we come to Him of our own free will. God does not want slaves and He most certainly does not want robots! Make no mistake, Lucifer wants your soul just as badly as God but he wants your soul under a much different pretext! It looks a lot like what is happening in Texas, Florida, and all the other states of the union that are hell bend to place the people of this country in a condition of permanent bondage! Again, I implore you to turn away from Satan and the path of your own selfish pride. Again, I ask when, my brothers and sisters, did common sense become so unpopular that spouting blatant lies was your only recourse? It is not too late to come back to God. It is not too late to recapture your true faith as a Christian and to begin rebuilding your house under God if only you would open your eyes to see the rewards that await you.

'For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body.' - 1 Corinthians 6:20 
'Is this such a fast as I have chosen: for a man to afflict his soul for a day? Is this it, to wind his head about like a circle, and to spread sackcloth and ashes? Wilt thou call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? Loose the bands of wickedness , undo the bundles that oppress, let them that are broken go free, and break asunder every burden. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the harbourless into thy house: when thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily arise, and thy justice shall go before thy face, and the glory of the Lord shall gather thee up.' - Isaias 58:5-8 - Douay-Rheims Version, Saint Benedict Press - A.D. 1609

Consider this: Do you really want to gamble with your soul by forcing your will onto others thus denying justice? 

'There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.' - Proverbs 6:16-19 New American Standard Bible 1995

GRACE IS HOW WE ARE SAVED!

In conclusion, remember my brothers and sisters, of what God said about the people who toiled in the wilderness, 

'Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts: As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness: where your fathers tempted me, they proved me, and saw my works. Forty years long was I offended with that generation, and I said: These always err in heart. And these men have not known my ways: so I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest.' - Psalm 95: 8-11

Therefore, it is through God’s loving-kindness and grace that are we saved, not through personal grabs for earthly power. It is through God’s moral teachings and commands can we truly find wisdom and justice! AMEN!

WEEK III SUNDAY PSALM 113

Praise the name of the Lord

He has cast down the mighty and lifted up the lowly (Luke 1:52) 

Ant. From the rising of the sun to its setting, may the name of the Lord be praised.

113 Praise the Name of the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
    praise the name of the Lord!

Ant. From the rising of the sun to its setting, may the name of the Lord be praised.

2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
    from this time forth and for evermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting
    the name of the Lord is to be praised!
4 The Lord is high above all nations,
    and his glory above the heavens!

Ant. From the rising of the sun to its setting, may the name of the Lord be praised.

5 Who is like the Lord our God,
    who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down
    upon the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust,
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
    making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!

Ant. From the rising of the sun to its setting, may the name of the Lord be praised.

THEREFORE, LET US PRAY

Lord God,

Give to your people the joy of continual health in mind and body. With the prayers of the Virgin Mary to help us, guide us through the sorrows of this life to eternal happiness in the life to come. Father, we ask you to give us victory and peace in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and king, we are already seated at your right hand. We look forward to praising you in the fellowship of all your Saints in our heavenly homeland. 

9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’ - Matthew 6:9-13 New American Standard Bible 1995

May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. – Amen

Thus, therefore, shall you pray:
Our Father who art in Heaven, halloed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen

Saint Joseph Pray for us.

Sancte Ioseph, Ora pro nobis

Miracles Are Real!

Miracles Happen!

TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – WK II

Antiphon “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

Warning to Rich Oppressors

5 “Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days.” ~ James 5:1-3

A Modern Day Miracle

Senator Flake listening to a tearful confession of abuse

The morning of Friday, September 28, 2018, I woke up anxious. I was feeling this way because the night before I had watched the entire events of the testimony of Dr. Ford and Brett Kavanaugh who both appeared before the United States Senate Justiciary Committee. Dr. Ford testified about the sexual misconduct of now Federal Judge Brett Kavanaugh when they were in High School. Not surprising Judge Kavanaugh testified that those allegations were false. I watched how both carried themselves, the words they chose, and how they said them. After all, this is a job interview for one of the most powerful positions in our country and the manner to which a person testifies to the truth under penalty of perjury is important. In fact, that is partly what the Committee’s job is, to determine if Mr. Kavanaugh is qualified to sit on the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice, and in addition, this is about character and credibility.  Prior to this Republicans have been quoted as saying they were going to “plow through this…”  their intent was clearly to rush the process and put Kavanaugh on the bench regardless! Thursday night I heard over and over by Democrats who simply wanted the FBI to investigate these allegations, to gather the facts, and seek out the truth. So Friday morning I woke knowing that the Republicans would try and vote to push the Kavanaugh confirmation to the floor of the Senate without seeking out the truth in a way the country could deal with, in a way that showed respect to Dr. Ford and all the other women who had come forward against Mr. Kavanaugh. I turned on the TV to see the proceedings and in my heart, I just felt so sad and upset. From my growing anxiety, I had to just let it out, so I said aloud very firmly as I watched Senator Grassley try as he might too make good on the Republican promise to just push it through moments before I had to leave to go to work, I said, “Brian just have faith. Miracles happen!”, then I turned off the TV and left still feeling defeated and anxious all rolled up into one. I got into my truck and turned on the radio to listen to what was happening but before I could get on the road I felt a deep need arise to say it again, so I did, I told myself, “You just have to have faith!” Then around noon, I received a text from a friend who told me that the Committee had voted the way I had expected, then I was informed about what Republican Senator Flake had done to get the FBI to investigate. ‘It was a miracle I thought.’

Sex assault survivor who confronted Jeff Flake speaks out – 
Maria Gallagher &  Ana Maria Archila

It wasn’t until I got home when I saw with my own eyes the first of the three real miracles that had transpired Friday in Washington D.C.  I saw and heard two women who stopped Senator Flake in the private elevator and poured out their hearts to him. One of them confessed for the first time that she was a survivor of this kind of abuse.  Mr. Flake to his credit stood there listening to them taking it all in. Then the second miracle caught on camera; the speech from Democrat Senator Coons that moved Republican Flake to the point he stood up and walked out to a private meeting room adjacent the committee room calling Coons out to discuss what the right actions should be. Then after 15 minutes, they came back in and Mr. Flake voted to push for an FBI investigation.

Miracle number three caught on TV was the President who ordered the FBI to investigate these allegations of Dr. Ford. His description of Dr. Ford was surprising and elegant. My faith that God would act, that something good would happen, the freight train stopped dead in its tracks was now reality before my very eyes! So my brothers and sisters, in these events we are seeing our God act, for the warning of Saint James is happening in real-time! The games of the rich and powerful are crumbling down as truth makes those who mislead out of a sense of entitlement are now weeping and wailing! Their treasures are rotting away before them and all they hold dear are wasting away! It is their lies and past corruption which now serve as evidence against them and will surely eat their flesh away like a wisp of flame turned into a roaring fire that burns all impurity into ash. Indeed, I tell you this is what we are seeing with this confirmation hearings as God moves to allow truth to prevail!

Divine Majesty and Human Dignity

1 “O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants, you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.” ~ Psalm 8:1-2 New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition (NRSVACE)

Dear brothers and sisters, I truly say to you, what price do we pay when we ignore the truth? What price do we pay before God when we ignore civility, love, and dignity? In the words of Daniel; ‘Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are His.’ (Daniel 2:20)  So it is within this truth – for many years I have written here on Listening Faithfully what to look out for, I have talked about the pitfalls of our weak and earthly desires. But I think we now have a newer gospel, a newer truth for our more modern age, but make no mistake – current events are still linked to our ancient history with a deep common thread which is even more relevant today as history unfolds. That common thread is our faith – blind faith in the Lord, Our God which reigns in heaven forever and ever! Make no mistake my brothers and sisters, God is surely unchanged, remains pure, and forever loyal! Our God is a seeker of truth in all men and who holds us up to the standards of salvation and everlasting life with Him! In the words of Paul the Apostle ‘Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them.’ (Ephesians 5:6-7)  So it is I say all these things to remind you all that God is a destroyer of lies, a punisher of the malcontented, troublemaker, sewer of mischief, agitator, dissident, and rebel who seeks to mislead, sell half-truths, sew heartache, and those who seek personal gain through others misfortune!  Please, I beg you, my brothers and sisters, to always remember that we are never victorious without God, we receive nothing in this life without first being given the blessing of God to have whatever it is or achievement that which we have sought out. We are not an entitled race, rather just the opposite – we are given forgiveness after first asking God to forgive us, it is God who makes the decision always, and it is God who decides to grant us His perfect grace! Despite the rich and powerful family you may have been born into, despite the riches your family may have gathered here on earth, and despite the elite school your privileged life allowed you to attend, we all are first subject to God and His moral and just truth! Again, let the words of Apostle
Paul speak loudly to your heart, ‘And do not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; instead, expose them.’ (Ephesians 5: 11). So it is my brothers and sisters that truth binds us to God, holds us accountable in all that we do for the entire length of our lives, which by no mistake is also governed by our loving, loyal, and perfect God. It is these truths which King Nebuchadnezzar tested when he threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the flames. It was Jesus who came to save them as a shadow in the midst of that inferno which kept the three men safe. Through that event, it was the miracle we know as the Son of Man which made the powerful King bow down and praise God! (Daniel 3:8-30).  So it is the same God today – in our own time which softened the heart of Senator Flake, the same God that provoked the two women in the elevator to pronounce their truths, it is the same God in heaven that will surely guide all the FBI Agents to seek the truth of Dr. Ford! Yes… the mighty and powerful now tremble as the flames of a disastrous plan are blown against them by yes… the same God in heaven. Our divine God who plows through the sins of man to make way for all His children to come home with dignity and truth on our side and loud praise for God on our lips!  So I proudly proclaim today that miracles are real, they do happen, and if you look hard enough and open your eyes, heart, and mind you also will see the Son of Man working in the shadows. 

LET US PRAY!

The Song of the Three Jews

‘Let All Creatures Praise the Lord’ 
Daniel 3:57-88 (NRSVACE)

Ant: “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

57 ‘Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

64 ‘Bless the Lord, all rain and dew;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

66 Bless the Lord, fire, and heat;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

67 Bless the Lord, winter cold and summer heat;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

68 Bless the Lord, dews and falling snow;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

69 Bless the Lord, ice, and cold;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant: “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

70 Bless the Lord, frosts, and snows;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

71 Bless the Lord, nights and days;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

72 Bless the Lord, light, and darkness;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

73 Bless the Lord, lightning, and clouds;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

74 ‘Let the earth bless the Lord;
    let it sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

75 Bless the Lord, mountains, and hills;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

76 Bless the Lord, all that grows in the ground;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

77 Bless the Lord, you springs;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

78 Bless the Lord, seas, and rivers;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

79 Bless the Lord, you whales and all that swim in the waters;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

80 Bless the Lord, all birds of the air;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

81 Bless the Lord, all wild animals, and cattle;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

82 ‘Bless the Lord, all people on earth;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

83 Bless the Lord, O Israel;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

84 Bless the Lord, you priests of the Lord;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

85 Bless the Lord, you servants of the Lord;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

86 Bless the Lord, spirits, and souls of the righteous;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

87 Bless the Lord, you who are holy and humble in heart;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

88 ‘Bless the Lord, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 

Ant:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

For he has rescued us from Hades and saved us from the power of death, and delivered us from the midst of the burning fiery furnace; from the midst of the fire, he has delivered us.

Anti:  “Come, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds,  alleluia.”

Special Prayer for Mrs. Elan LeDay – My Good Friend, Fellow Teacher, and Sister in Christ

Prayer for Health & Healing:

Dear Lord, grace is yours alone, it is grace you bestow upon those who ask, and it is your grace which is at the heart of your perfect agape love. Today, I pray a special prayer for a woman who has spent a lifetime listening to you, clinging on every word, and who has spread your light throughout this world bringing joy to all she meets. Today, O’ Lord, I come before you with a host of friends and relatives of Mrs. Elan LeDay who currently suffers from asthma which steals away her breath. We humbly ask you to give her breath back and also ask for you to heal her ailing body of 81 years young and increase her joy, extending your grace, and infusing into her heart the power of your presence so as to allow her to move without pain as she had in years past.

Dear Father in heaven, Mrs. Elan LaDay has been a good and loyal friend, (too many),  she has been a good teacher and support, (too many), and most of all a wonderful Sister in Christ who has lead thousands of your children to your light. Mrs. Elan LaDay has been a marvelous doer of you word urging others to not just be hearers only; filling them with the truth and morality which only comes from your love and wisdom. We all ask for your hand to touch her heart Lord, to chase away her physical pain and healing her with your perfect grace and love.

O’ Lord, my Savoir you are ever faithful – ever true. It is your promise of an incorruptible body – an everlasting gown of white made from a holy thread of your grace and love. I ask dear Lord for you to wrap this gown of blinding light around Mrs. Elan LaDay – your daughter of the light – and hold her hand with your preserving touch taking upon yourself her troubles and worries – sickness, weakness, and distress carrying away her sorrows and pain. Dear Lord, we all thank you for loving Mrs. Elan LeDay and all her sisters and brothers in Christ so much that you sacrificed yourself on the cross which gave the world a marvelous hope in an everlasting life with you in heaven forever. With sincerity and fidelity we, your children acknowledge our dependence upon you. So once more we thank you for listening to our many cries and prayers today on behalf of Mrs. Elan LeDay. We ask this in Jesus’ name? Amen.

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Reflection 9: What You Can Expect From Life: According to HONESTY

11 “‘Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.” ~ Leviticus 19:11

Honesty 

When confronted with this word, I think deep down inside we all want to be honest, but yet we are still very much intimidated by it. Honesty carries with it some very rigorous implications, like a two edged sword that could just as easily cut the wielder as the opponent. As imperfect human-beings this word, “HONESTY” scares us just a little because we all know this is the ideal we sinners can never live up too. For the majority of people however, this ideal is very much ever-present in our minds, hearts, and souls as it is the one aspiration which can revolutionize how we think, feel, and operate on a daily basis and again that notion is a bit scary. So, with this firmly stated and excepted as the truth, no one is perfect, thus when we reflect upon this word there should be no one who takes offense of the remainder of this blog. Rather when reading the contents I ask that you reflect deeply upon your own life and experiences and ask yourself how honest have you truly been to your loved ones, friends, and of course yourself? How honest have you been with God? Also as a disclaimer I want everyone to know I am not perfect and I too struggle with  this word everyday. But it also should be known that when we are not honest we are breaking a covenant with God, as mentioned above, God did ordain it to be so for all mankind to be honest with each other, to not steal lie, or deceive. Because when we are not honest with one another then we separate ourselves just that much more from Him. We destroy what should have been and allow an abomination to take its place.


35 “You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume.” ~Leviticus 19:35

It’s interesting that God chose the word, “INJUSTICE”, when warning us about our sense of judgement. I feel He saw our civilization coming and knew we would be a people of great laws, and even greater hypocrisy and corruption within those laws. I think He knew we could not live up to the ideal He set forth so we would try and replace His perfect laws with ones of our own, ones less perfect in nature more befitting mankind. Laws riddled with loopholes that would allow Judges from all branches of our Justice System to skip happily through rules they feel strongly about but while ignoring the words “Shall Do”, ignoring the laws in-favor of making a point or changing how people perceive specific guidelines and policies. I think God saw our lawyers who argue their cases based upon lies and misdirection, never caring who they hurt but instead whether or not they win their case. Justice goes hand in hand with ethics, but our civilization too is so far removed from this our most honest of men sit and let immoral people change the definitions of words like, “Marriage” to include two people of the same sex, which again is clearly an abomination to God. I am still waiting for people to protest scenes in our T.V. shows who have snuck in under the radar that depict two men kissing, or two women making out. For these perverse things our children are being desensitized too and will someday be voting adults. This is how perversion is first spread and rots out the core of a nation. The older I get the more my students become accepting and down right argumentative to what it means to them to be married, what it means to not have pre-marital sex, and even more shocking how they feel violence is acceptable behavior when someone disagrees with them. But, this of course is the final result of our long lived policies of stripping our public schools from saying prayers in their classrooms, prohibiting our children to engage in their faith on public property and to keep our children from having pride in our country by abolishing the national anthem in school for the fear it might hurt a specific groups sensibilities. It’s interesting how far we have slid since those policies where adopted over thirty years ago, and I must now stand up and forewarn you all that God will turn His back on us as surely as we have turned our backs on Him. Our judgments on issues of morality are the cause to our grief as a country, because they are filled with injustice of both measure, weight, and volume. The days of honesty in Government is over, honesty in our courts is over, honesty in our media has become a thing of the past as well.

17 “Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am theLord your God.” ~ Leviticus 25:17

Ironically, the injustice in our country is primarily a symptom of our rotting souls as we seek to oppress instead of find common ground and common respect. Our fear of God sadly too has become a thing of the past as to many of our evangelists preach about a loving, tender, forgiving God that is no-longer vengeful, no longer judgmental, or temperamental as found in the Old Testament. To many feel what was then does not apply to us today, thus removing ourselves from under the harder aspects of what God really expects from us as His people. At this juncture I would like to point out the only being that which was the same a million years ago is still unchanged and perfect. Therefore, God is unchanged since the beginning and His views, wants, desires, hopes, and aspirations for mankind is also unchanged. We have become spiritually soft and I would hazard a guess this is because no one or collective group of thousands or tens of thousands of people all in unison have not heard from God lately. To even admit you hear God’s voice in your heart and mind in today’s world is looked at as strange. But, yet two men or women kissing each other isn’t strange? This perversion is truly the hallmark of the days Jesus predicted would come. Oppression is found in every avenue of our great society from how we oppress men’s and fathers rights, to how we oppress other people from other countries when their land holds something of value we prize and want to control it based upon the, “Holy Grail”,  of excuses called “National Security”. We oppress people with our hypocritical view of the 1%ers  to how we tax those who can no-longer pay taxes nor catchup in what they owe because of the meager wages they earn. Again, we have forgotten honesty, integrity, and hard-work and have replaced it with a dollar sign and loophole in the tax code called shelters. Who would have ever thought our money would need a shelter?

HONESTY VRS THE FALSE BALANCE

11 “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.” ~ Proverbs 11:1

All the above indeed has caused a false balance, one so greatly exacerbated that our very economic system will implode its just a matter of when. Largely this problem of economics is based upon a decision made when our country was still very young and it was made through weakness of the President of the time and Greed from the banking institutions. This of course of which I speak gave rise to the modern money system we enjoy today, one based upon credit and interest. A system we force feed the rest of the world and yet we are surprised upon the eve of its failure of why the world hates us? I say what a short memory we have and what a wonderful ability to spin the truth we have developed. A false balance created through lies, manipulation, and dishonest behavior. As with our nation so too many people around the world have fallen into this greed and sin as their personal lives spin out of control spiraling downward from the lavish  spending and while spouting aloud that this looming doom will never happen, turning a blind eye to the obvious as well as turning a blind eye to God. Simple truth is when we as mortals feel we are more powerful than the most powerful being in existence. When we examine this in full detail it  seems to me to be something seriously wrong with how we view ourselves, and how unbalanced we have as people, as well as, a nation have we become.

27 “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.” ~ Proverbs 3:27

Again “HONESTY” is the ability to recognize the truth, to tell the truth even when it is not in ones best interest, and it is our obligation as believers to keep our brethren from lying, cheating, and stealing from others. But the sin which is greater than the total sum is when a person in their own heart and mind willfully ignores the truth, ignores honesty, and withholds an honest man his due. In this any victory is hollow, any triumph is rendered meaningless, and all effort to that end have thus become futile. When we are given the opportunity to tell the truth and we ignore that obligation we then are turning our backs on what God wants, we thus change the circumstances to fit our own personal wants, stopping what was supposed to come into fruition and instead allowing an abomination. Everyone of us is guilty of everything thus far mentioned, but some of us more so than others. It is a hard reality when we wake and see ourselves in such a stark light, but nevertheless something we all must eventually do if we want God’s grace to shine upon us.

8 “Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues with injustice.” ~ Proverbs 16:8

Profit over righteousness? This has become the true question. Who should we be loyal to? Which master will be more forgiving in the end? Which side should we be on in these days of such turmoil? Jesus professed there would be such days where we would be blinded to what was real, man would sircome to evil and nations would crumble and fall because of their greed. The depiction of the end by John of Patmos is truly horrifying to say the least, but how much more bizarre and alarming was it to the disciples when Jesus spoke of those days. In fact Jesus was more in line with the idea that even the smallest amount of righteousness was better than none. It’s funny how people of those times mirrored those of us today who still clammer and bicker about who should or should not, ignoring that it would be righteous to find peace and accomplish the task together for the benefit of all. Both time periods are largely incased in vast greed, and the pursuit of happiness and truth through money and possessions  again something Jesus emphatically instructed not to do. I would hazard a guess that Jesus was talking to them and us and our children, and all people until His glorious return.

THE CHALLENGE OF HONESTY

9 “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 andhave put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” ~ Colossians 3:9-10

Therefore, in what has been thus written a collection of mankind’s collective sins against God. Here before everyone of us is the sin of dishonesty and the challenge to reverse or at least atone for our ignorance. For God has so declared for all mankind to be honest, to not lie, to not steal, to not manipulate, and  to never pervert the truth in anyway. God commanded us  to not bare falsely against thy neighbor  and to love one another as you love yourself. The challenge before all of us as sinners is to change and be more honest with God, with ourselves, and with our loved ones. To cast off our old sinful ways, and cling to our new more incorruptible selves. The challenge of honesty is real, it is ever present, it does not ever go away, and it above all it is absolutely, brutally honest. As I have stated before, a lie is a lie and will always be a lie, but the truth is the most honest things we could ever possess in this life. It is the ideal we should all strive for, we should all help each other stay devoted too, and it is that goal we can taste but never truly own.

Amen

If you liked this Reflection on HONESTY please leave a comment. Also please LIKE and SHARE this post with others.

Brian Keith

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