The Mark – No 33, Play Ball!

The commands of Jesus are the Mark, the target for the perfect life. To aim for and to hit the Mark is to conform to the image and likeness of God. To ignore, neglect, or miss the Mark is to sin. The commands provide stepping stones through earthly life, upon which the child of God survives tempests and deflects the boomeranging darts of pride. Adhering to the Mark aspiring immortals gain victory.

Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.
Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9

For everyone that asks receives; and he that seeks finds, and to him that knocks, it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his sons ask bread, will he give him a stone. Or if he asks a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?

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As I hear Jesus whisper this into one ear, I cringe because into my other ear I hear a chorus of raging souls who have begged God for something that was crucial to them, which they did not receive, or they think they received the serpent instead. I have heard tales of people who sought and didn't find, who knocked and the door did not open. I have been that person. This generous offer from the most powerful Man on earth is taken as a lifeline for drowning people. This is serious business. People die when the lifeline breaks. Pay close attention to how to hit this mark. God help you if you don't get it.

With every other command, for every other mark the action is between the aspiring immortal and the mark. Easy. One person aims and either hits the mark straight on, or misses and tries again and again with help from the Holy Spirit.  In this case a response is required. This is not archery, it is tennis. 

Playing ball with God the Father exposes a person to amazing grace, wishes come true and doors open into heaven. The one who gives what you ask for, the one who shows you where to find what you are looking for, and the one who opens the door you are knocking on, is not wearing a watch, and nothing but the best is good enough for you.

Yes,  everyone is guaranteed a response, but for God timing is essential. Sarah's  impatience is at the root of never-ending wars between Jews and Arabs. Impatience can be deadly. You miss the mark when you give up, or stop waiting at the closed door. Did the person you pray for die, or become sicker or more depraved? In this too, be patient. Death is not the end; it could provide perfect health and happiness for your beloved.So take off your watch too and wait for the response that will exceed your wildest imagination. 

Ask - wait and receive.

Seek - wait and find.

Knock- wait and watch open.

Patience is a virtue.

The Mark – No. 32, Dogs, Pigs and Pearls

The commands of Jesus are the Mark, the target for the perfect life. To aim for and to hit the Mark is to conform to the image and likeness of God. To ignore, neglect, or miss the Mark is to sin. The commands provide stepping stones through earthly life, upon which the child of God survives tempests and deflects the boomeranging darts of pride. Adhering to the Mark aspiring immortals gain victory.

 

Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you. Matthew 7:6

While dogs and pigs can be playful and even lovable they cannot distinguish between the sacred and the silly. Neither aspires to anything more than a full tummy and an empty bladder; they are 90% physical and 10% emotional. If you hand a Bible to a dog or pig he will tear it to pieces for fun. Even if you read it out loud in barks and oinks, the smartest animals in the world could not listen. So what is the point?

While the sun and rain fall upon both the good and evil, and all men are created equal and we are all endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, the sad truth is that people are unequally able to receive the sacred. Some people are doggish and others are piggish. This mark warns us not to even try.

The ungodly are as callous and unreceptive as dogs.  The immoral, like swine who love to wallow in mud, would rather lie or cheat or steal than admire your pearls. This command admonishes aspiring immortals to preserve and protect the integrity of the sacred.

Yes, the Great Commission directs us to spread the good news that immortality was made possible by Christ, and invite the interested to be baptized, but stop with the invitation and let the Holy Spirit take over. Jesus said that no one comes to the Father unless He draws him or her. Wait and see who God chooses.

We are not selling widgets, we are not selling anything. When we give holiness to the holy, we are hiking up a mountain with friends, sharing light and water.

Peace.

The Love Mom Mark

The fifth commandment demands that we honor mom...every day. 

They need more wine.  (Jn 2:3) Woman what does your concern have to so with me? (Jn 2:4)  Whatever He says to you, do it. (Jn 2:5)

One man said he would do it and did not, the other refused, but regretted it and and went. Which of the two did the will of his father? (Mt 21:28)

Look your mother is seeking You. Who is My mother or My brothers?  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and My mother. (Mk 3:33-35)

John, behold your Mother. (Jn 19:27)

This mark says to do what she asks, whether you want to or not.

Never leave your mom vulnerable. Care for her. If you must go, then find John and turn her over to him.

The Mark – No. 31 The Be-Me Death Trap

The commands of Jesus are the Mark, the target for the perfect life. To aim for and to hit the Mark is to conform to the image and likeness of God. To ignore, neglect, or miss the Mark is to sin. The commands provide stepping stones through earthly life, upon which the child of God survives tempests and deflects the boomeranging darts of pride. Adhering to the Mark aspiring immortals gain victory.

Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.

Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37, 41, 42

The quest for similarity in everyone we come to know reminds me of God’s desire for us to return to His image and likeness. It seems as natural to criticize and condemn others as it is to inhale.

The brilliant pre-sun kind of light, the light of Tabor that shines upon every crease of human psyche curbs our pension to turn every good and holy characteristic of our Father into a win for His arch enemy. Criticism and judgment are as pervasive on this earth as oxygen and carbon dioxide.

There is a kind of good criticism though, the kind that is employed when, we go to our brother who sinned against us, privately, to point out his fault, the kind required to combat true evil in every form. Judgment, discernment, discrimination are essential on this old earth.

Aspiring immortals, if we are to live need fancy footwork indeed to dance on these stepping stones of correct criticism and judgment lest we fall into the serpent-filled mote.

It is better to turn that Holy Gene of the quest for image and likeness for everyone around us, upon ourselves. Once again, the truth is simple and repetitive. We who want to be immortal work so hard at becoming Godlike that there is no time or energy left to try to make others into our still immature selves.

The Mark – No. 30, The Real Now

The commands of Jesus are the Mark, the target for the perfect life. To aim for and to hit the Mark is to conform to the image and likeness of God. To ignore, neglect, or miss the Mark is to sin. The commands provide stepping stones through earthly life, upon which the child of God survives tempests and deflects the boomeranging darts of pride. Adhering to the Mark aspiring immortals gain victory.

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 6:34

God loves reality. He hates lies because of the way they distort it. God likes reality to be pure and clean and true, like a fragrant pink spring rosebud.

Reality only resides in the ‘now’ zone. Memories distort reality and of course worrying about tomorrow does too. Worries about tomorrow are no more real than fairy tales and Star Wars. Don’t get God and me wrong, make-believe is fun! Stories, whether in books or on film, are very entertaining. But reality is God’s story and it is the most interesting, the most complex, and of course, the most interactive story ever.

Ask any sniper how important it is to stay focused and not to think about the future, even what you will eat for dinner, or the past, even about who hurt your feelings yesterday. Snipers, like aspiring immortals must focus on the real true mark now!

Jesus doesn’t want us to worry, but for Christ’s sake let’s only worry about the real matters of today.