My Gift is God in you

My Gift is God in you!

I intently desire to know more fully who my God is.

Where shall I find Him?

In you.

But yet not how I believe Him to be, for I desire to follow only Him.

But only how you desire to follow Him.

And together we bear the cross of EVERYTHING we understand together.

And there we all unite to join in joyful sharing of what is to come.

Judge others not for where they go to find what will never be known.

Know that life is lived as God would have it, and His answer to life has been given.

The paradox is that we seek an answer to life when there was never a question.

We endeavor to bridge a gap that never was in the beginning.

Christ has shown the way.

We travel the wrong way when we seek anything beyond dimensions that never existed. We will scientifically explain everything, and prove (believe) accordingly. We will justify our point of view because "we gotta come from somewhere" or "look at the world this way" or "you gotta live in this world!"

I would vehemently argue otherwise and agree one thousand percent!

It is not about how we are living, it is about how we are dying as the paradox continues. As much as God knows that we understand, the Love of Christ is in the beginning. Nothing else mattered (or was known).

I intently desire to know more fully who my God is.

Where shall I find Him?

In you!

Live not only for maturity and wisdom, see the world through the eyes of the beginning.

This is why this moment is created.

May His Peace be with you.

A Measure of My Success

What gives me the right to...?

How do I deserve to...?
Fill in the blanks.

Have these types of questions led to far too many sticking points along the way?

me too...

The Prodigal Son 

For those whom would like a refresher see Luke 15:11-32.

Do you share the indignence felt by the son who stayed home and honored the father, yet was not treated with the same enthusiasm as his brother by the father?

After all the other guy screwed up!

Do you also share in the understanding of the enthusiasm and love that the prodigal son is welcomed home too?

Wow, what a blessing!

Consider this.

We are NEVER the deserving son at the side of the Father.

The entitled perspective is not of God.
That perspective should be foreign to us as a way of living.
The Father emphatically makes this even more clear  "He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours."  (Luke 15:31).
It just is.

We are ALWAYS that Prodigal son.

Here is where Jesus is asking us to live.  Always welcome home from that last journey…

God knows that His perfect Love is attainable on the journey of the next right step.

Always joyfully follow the prodigal son home.  It is who we are meant to be in the story.

The Daily Workers

For those who would like a refresher see Matthew 20:1-16.

So, I worked 12 hours and you worked 1 hour doing the exact same thing and we got paid the same wage?

In this day and age it is easy how to see how we would not be going back to work for that boss.  Or at least not without a better understanding of his pay system.

Uh, don’t know how this could ever be fair?

Again we are being asked to live from the place where unfairness is irrelevant.

We can NEVER come from the perspective of the laborer who did not get treated fairly by God.

His promise is consistent and equal and cannot be merited or earned by a seemingly greater worldy effort.

We are missing from this story.
We are the laborers who arrived as the job opened, worked for God till the sunset, and then gratefully rejoiced in His reward! 

Humble service to God, just for the sake of Him is His greatest gift.
"Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."  (Matthew 20:16)
The last are the ones with Christ!

We pray to humble ourselves such that we ALWAYS come from the perspective that God will provide for all that we need by Him.

We also pray to understand that such as our life is a gift from Him, we live to return that very gift by following the map of Christ.

If we are living for the gifts of the world, then there will always be a measure for our success.

If we are living in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then our success will be beyond measure.

Lord, in your ever loving Spirit may we all meet…

The reality is that we are all worthy of living as Christ has taught us.
Amen

What Are We Waiting For?

Good morning brothers and sisters,

After a couple long days (probably more like weeks or months) of the anxiety and doubt, it has become more clear than ever to me how to discern/follow God’s will in life.

I am more at peace this morning than I have been in a long time!

I pray that all our self-inflicted wounds may be lovingly given to Christ, so we may see clearly how to respond to His will.

Most of my recent discomfort with life has been created purely by my own sinfulness.

Living in God’s will is neither a spectator sport, not an aspiration towards a future goal.

It is a Now reality that is the greatest gift of all.

I truly believe in this moment that putting trust in Him is not enough!

Have I been doing my part?

Where am I with the commandments? (Not the letter of the law, put the purest intent, perhaps more on this later.)

Where am I with the beatitudes? (a hint of intention here…)

One of my most consistent prayers is for God to “fix me”.

Guess what?

He has.

Through Christ.

What I seek was given over 2000 years ago.

Accepting Christ into our lives is neither just a statement nor a prayer to be mentioned in passing.

We are not called to wait for an answer (although we trust that it is coming).

His life is to be lived, through our commitment to Him.

Christ is indeed the answer!

It is not about being exactly like Christ (there is only one Triune God).

It is about giving everything we have to follow His lead (which some might say is being like Him…OK, i accept that as a semantic’s issue)

That is the cross we are asked to bear.

Somehow I had it so twisted that my worldly suffering was/is a sacrifice to Him (and indeed the cross I must bear).

No!

In fact, my worldly suffering was/is actually distancing me from Him, because that is what I wanted Him to fix.

The focus was on my place in this world, and things that needed to happen for me to be at peace.

Again, He provided all that we need over 2000 years ago.

It is only when we can carry His cross with Him, that we can truly experience what He offers.

The beauty is that His cross long ago included our cross.

He has already borne all that we must bear to be His truest disciples.

And he said.

“Pick up your cross and follow me, I will lead the way.

Leave yourself behind, we won’t be needing you today."

Live the map of the scriptural life that He has provided.

Only then can we truly begin to glimpse a life in His will.

Only then can we truly begin to understand that He offers us eternity with Him.

His will is for us to be with Him.

He is here right now.

What are we waiting for?

until then...

That Gift

God has given everything to me, so I can give back to Him everything I am.

I wonder what today has in store for me?

I have been struggling with far too many things in life (at least according to MY desires), and my most recent reaction has been relative inaction.

I can't do it anymore!

It is in denial of what God has put in my heart.
It is in fear of how the world will react to these very unworldly desires of my heart.

Consider this post as an answer to days and days of prayerful contemplation, with a certain disgust with my inability to respond to truth...

All I have are questions.  When I get a glimpse of an answer, it typically increases my lack of conviction to share.  "What will they think of me?"

This calling is not normal.
This calling will be judged.
This calling will lead to even greater struggles.

Yet, to not answer is becoming the death of me (in a way that does not lead to light).

The struggle has been a lonely answer to respond to the ways of the world and it's expectations.
The struggle in this darkness, steals my joy.

So, somehow today reveals a new light.  I pray that this light blinds me to the ways of the world and illuminates the way to Him.
I pray the struggle transforms into a communal answer to the ways of God.
The struggle in this light, brings joy to others.

Christ gave all.  How go we repay that gift?

Is it subject to interpretation and how, when and where we were raised?
No, there is only one truth.

Is it in response to our family, friends, co-workers, strangers, enemies?
Maybe, but towards what end?

Is it by attendance to church, and spiritual formation, volunteering and giving?
Perhaps, but what is our intent?

I was feeling really good there for a while about my endeavors to repay that gift, but there was always a nagging feeling that my efforts (while beautifully giving on the outside) where focusing efforts on the wrong light (I was a shining example of what God could do with your life if you let him).

It became about Him, for me.
Not about Him, for Him.

At least now I realize the complete and infinite separation of those paradigms.
Lord, I pray for the grace and strength to repay that gift for you alone.
Until then...

And so the journey continues...

To follow is a song that came to me back in February

And He Said

This morning as I awoke I felt suddenly alone.

Today just might be the day our Lord would call me home.

I couldn't help but feel that gnawing bit of fear,

that deep inside I somehow knew I did not properly prepare.

I've read the Books old and new, and understood the message.

And yet my heart was telling me the errors of my passage.

The path is clear, the light is bright, the end eternal life,

Our Lord has paved the way through all our earthly strife.

And He said:

"Pick up your cross and follow me, I have led the way.

Leave yourself behind, we won't be needing you today.

Pick up your cross and follow me, My love is there before you.

No matter where you are, I already forever adore you".

I said, "My Lord this cannot be, for I have gone astray.

How can I truly accept this love you offer me today?

For my soul has yearned to live your truth, since even before my birth.

And yet I struggle to stay the path while living on this earth.

And He said.

“Pick up your cross…

For you my Lord it is so simple to make the message clear.

What my five senses try to ignore, my heart will always hear.

I offer you that very heart for all eternity.

I give you all the love inside, so please please stay with me.

And He said.

Suddenly I felt a sense of peace, for I knew He heard my plea.

I heard Him say love others first to give your love to Me.

Now as I lay my head to rest, and thank Him for my day.

My joy is complete in His Trinity, for He provides the way.

And he said:

"Pick up your cross and follow me, I have led the way.

Leave yourself behind, we won't be needing you today.

Pick up your cross and follow me, My love is there before you.

No matter where you are, I already forever adore you".

Amen.

By Michael J Krebs 02/10/2016

A Gift from the Sea

I am bored this morning.  My person needs a respite from a long work week.  I still have too much on my plate.  However with determined obedience, I put down the "hammer" and observe this Sunday day of rest.

I realize that the "boredom" that has come is a trap.  It is the World calling me away from time with our Lord.  It has dulled my senses to the extent that I feel useless, unless I am doing something.  There is no joy.  Why????

I pause now to pray for clarity and the ability to share His offering.

After a week long pause to this message...

My sense of lack of purpose is simply a lapse in the search for Him.

Last week we went hunting for scallops.  For those whom have not tried it, it is a rather simple process.  Basically you don mask, snorkel and fins, and while floating or slowly swimming on the water's surface you scan the sea floor for scallops.  The scallops are somewhat camouflaged and/or hidden in sea grass, however with diligence and a sense of purpose/determination they may be found.
When you spot one, you reach (or dive) down and pluck it from it's bed.  Once in a while they try to swim away.  It is kind of cool watching a shell propel itself through the water.  There is no chase however, for the scallops are not able to escape our grasp.

On a personal note, I really did not have the desire to go scalloping.  Or perhaps, a more honest share would reveal that, I thought my work was too important (and busy) to let this family time interfere with the worldly success that was within my reach.

So this message began by sharing my boredom.  The very first word was "I".  What was my focus in that moment?  The answer is all to obvious.  Did it really take a week to discover His will?

Yes and no!

It took a tiny sea creature to remind me that He is where you seek.  What could have been a boring and rather monotonous experience (literally floating in the Gulf of Mexico for hours), was joyful.  Family, fresh air and a fruitful harvest brought light to His presence in life.  Just like those scallops would be there, ready for the taking when we fully participate in the experience:
God is always present, even when and where we fail to seek Him.  He is always within our grasp.

Scripture reminds us that when we truly desire His presence...
Jeremiah 29:13,  "You shall seek me. And you will find me, when you have sought me with your whole heart."
...there He shall be.

What actions will be taken today to clarify what our hearts are pursuing?  I pray that the answers come as obvious choices, each moment of the day.  For me, boredom is a sure sign that I am the center of my own attention.  Christ would not know me on that day.

Thank God, He is bigger than that.  The seed He planted in my heart was being choked by the weeds of this world and my own transgressions.  He revealed how to weather this storm and again make fertile His soil.  Christ knows how difficult the path is, and our desire to know (follow) him, is in turn how He knows us.

May we find the grace to seek Him with our whole heart.
amen.