Free to Be and to Do
June 29, 2025
Free to Be and Do
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June 2025
Happy Birthday to Pearl Buck
June 26, 2025
“Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness.”―
“You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.”―
“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him... a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create -- so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.” ―“To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death.” ―“Love cannot be forced, love cannot be coaxed and teased. It comes out of heaven, unasked and unsought.”―“The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration. ”―“There are many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream -- whatever that dream might be.”―“To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind.”―“I feel no need for any other faith than my faith in the kindness of human beings. I am so absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life upon it that I cannot think of heaven and angels.”―“A good marriage is one which allows for change and growth in the individuals and in the way they express their love. ”―“Inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up. ”―
“Now, five years is nothing in a man's life except when he is very young and very old...
- Wang Lung”―“I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.”―“The test of a civilization is in the way that it cares for its helpless members”―-The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible -- and achieve it, generation after generation.”―“Let woman out of the home, let man into it, should be the aim of education. The home needs man, and the world outside needs woman.”―“All things are possible until they are proven impossible.”―“The rich are always afraid.”―“One faces the future with one's past.”―“But what happens when her beauty is torn from her like a cover from a book? Will he care to read her then, although her pages speak of nothing but love for him?”―“When good people in any country cease their vigilance and struggle, then evil men prevail.”―“Perhaps one has to be very old before one learns to be amused rather than shocked.”―“Sorrow fully accepted brings its own gifts. For there is alchemy in sorrow. It can be transmitted into wisdom, which, if it does not bring joy, can yet bring happiness.”―“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this:
A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.
To him... a touch is a blow,
a sound is a noise,
a misfortune is a tragedy,
a joy is an ecstasy,
a friend is a lover,
a lover is a god,
and failure is death.”
―“The truth is always exciting. Speak it, then. Life is dull without it.”―“If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.”―“I am always glad when any of my books can be put into an inexpensive edition, because I like to think that any people who might wish to read them can do so. Surely books ought to be within reach of everybody.”―“All things are possible until they are proved impossible and even the impossible may only be so, as of now.”―“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word-excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.”―
No Big Shots at the Table of Grace
June 26, 2025
Photo by Jamie Coupaud on Unsplash
That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom … — Luke 22:30
Every earthly symbol of grace is a precursor of glory to come.
David exclaimed, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”
When Jesus gathered with His disciples around the Passover table, it was as a family. When we gather with Him in the Kingdom, it will likewise be as a family.
He will be our host there as he is here.
We see him now as present in the elements of the Lord’s Supper, whereby we remember him. We also see him as present in the scriptures, whereby he speaks to us.
“Lo, I am with you always,” He promised, “even unto the end of the world.”
It is now and shall be forever, His table, the table of grace.
In this specific passage, Jesus is teaching His disciples, at the Lord’s Supper table, to serve as He served them. He is explaining that the path to true greatness is to wait on one another.
He told them that he was among them as a servant and that if they wanted to fully participate at his table, they would become servants as well. They would serve each other and, in so doing, serve him.
At Jesus’ table, there are no big shots or seats of arbitrary honor. There are neither titles nor degrees. There are no positions of importance and no lowly places. Each person gathers as one who waits on all the rest. The privilege of simply being there with Him is all that any need desire … and the knowledge that he is among us.
No Big Shots at the Table of Grace
June 26, 2025
Photo by Jamie Coupaud on Unsplash
That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom … — Luke 22:30
Every earthly symbol of grace is a precursor of glory to come.
David exclaimed, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”
When Jesus gathered with His disciples around the Passover table, it was as a family. When we gather with Him in the Kingdom, it will likewise be as a family.
He will be our host there as he is here.
We see him now as present in the elements of the Lord’s Supper, whereby we remember him. We also see him as present in the scriptures, whereby he speaks to us.
“Lo, I am with you always,” He promised, “even unto the end of the world.”
It is now and shall be forever, His table, the table of grace.
In this specific passage, Jesus is teaching His disciples, at the Lord’s Supper table, to serve as He served them. He is explaining that the path to true greatness is to wait on one another.
He told them that he was among them as a servant and that if they wanted to fully participate at his table, they would become servants as well. They would serve each other and, in so doing, serve him.
At Jesus’ table, there are no big shots or seats of arbitrary honor. There are neither titles nor degrees. There are no positions of importance and no lowly places. Each person gathers as one who waits on all the rest. The privilege of simply being there with Him is all that any need desire … and the knowledge that he is among us.
You Count What Counts
June 23, 2025
What Counts? What you count is an alert to what counts in your life and work. If you are in nonprofit work or ministry and you value people, you will count people. If you are in business, you will count contacts, activities, and profits even if quality comes first. If you value time, you will measure it. If you value effort, you will keep track of it.
Whatever counts, you count.
That does not make it "all about numbers," but numbers are among other factors, a useful tool for measuring how much time, effort, and resource expenditure it takes to be effective in moving toward the things that really count.
They can also be helpful in alerting us to where we can shave off efforts and save time and money.
If you want to be successful, don't neglect your digits.
Count what counts and be accountable
I Told You So
June 22, 2025
I told you so is, perhaps, not the best opener, but here it is.
I said it last week.
The worst happened.
There is no sobriety in our leadership.
It is unilateral; off-the-cuff; knee-jerk; ill-advised, and theatrical.
It is also dangerous.
Citizenship is the highest office in America.
It is not Tuesday here. We have no elections immediately.
It is Wednesday in America and it is time for citizens to be citizens.
Don't Give Up!
Watch this:
The Fame of Him
June 21, 2025
And the fame of him went abroad into all that land.” – Matthew 9:26
For what would you like to be famous?
If not famous, for what would you be known or remembered?
A famous man came to Jesus one day. He is so famous that we do not know his name. However, we are told that he was a ruler.
One might assume that a ruler would have been a person of importance who was well known, at least in his region.
With all his fame and all of his wealth, he was a beggar on that day. The one thing that mattered to him was something that neither his wealth nor his power could give him – the life and health of his precious daughter.
On that day, Jesus was teaching, but, he was willing to be interrupted by a man with a broken heart and a desperate plea. This man also had faith in the face of impossible odds. He told Jesus that his daughter was so sick, that she had died.
But you can heal him, was the man’s plea.
This anonymous, famous, wealthy, powerful man, fell at the feet of Jesus in worship. He begged for the life of his daughter. Jesus did not hesitate. He did not favor the rich. He favored the broken and the wounded. In this moment, the poorest man was the wealthy man.
Yet, along the way, there was another, whose name we do not know. She was hemorrhaging. She had been bleeding for years. She was so anonymous, that she did not even ask for Jesus’ attention She just touched the hem of his garment.
But he knew and he stopped, and he inquired, “Who touched me?”
He felt the release of power. No one is anonymous to Jesus. No one escapes his attention,
Both stories end well. The woman was healed. The girls was brought back to life even though the crowds were laughing at Jesus. He got the last laugh.
He also got the fame.
Miracles of that sort do not happen every day – or at least are not noticed every day.
Jesus’ fame spread. His fame is what counts because, when his name is known, people listen to him and their lives are transformed.
If you were to become famous, for what might it be. Perhaps the only thing that matters is to be known for what Jesus has done in your life.
Here I Am
June 20, 2025
“Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" – I Samuel 3:4
“… The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” – I Samuel 3:1b
In the days of Samuel, when God’s word did not regularly rest upon the ears of people, the lamp of God still burned near the Ark of the Covenant.
“… the lamp of God had not yet gone out…” I Samuel 3:3
God knew how to get in touch with people. He still called and people still answered. The story is longer than this statement, but the statement says it all.
“Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!"
In every generation, God calls prophets and preachers, workers and intercessors, servants, and leaders. God knows the hears of people and God calls them for his work.
“O LORD, you have searched me and known me.” – Psalm 139:1
The psalmist understood that the calling of God was one based upon God’s knowledge of his heart. It was a personal and intimate call.
“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’" – John 1:43
Jesus came. He began to call people. First, Philip was called, and Philip sought out a brother and then, Jesus found Nathaniel. Jesus peered into Nathaniel’s heart and saw something that Nathaniel did not even see.
Over and over, the call rings out: I see you. Follow me. Come and see. When he calls, may we be ready with the response, “Here I am.”
Called from darkness where we wandered.
Called to follow brilliant light.
From the lives that we squandered.
From our blindness, hearts ignite.
We have heard the distant voice,
Growing closer by the hour.
We have made the desperate choice.
We are consumed by gentle power.
He has said now, "Follow me."
We have answered, "Yes. We see!"
Dooley
June 18, 2025
For any of you sedentary souls,
Podiatric, pedantic, sitters,
Stand up now and chase the rats.
Time to sing and time to dance.
If you don't, you'll miss your chance.
Dooley knew what you don't know.
It's time to move your feet. now Go!
Dooley was a good ole man
He lived below the mill
Dooley had two daughters
And a forty-gallon stillOne gal watched the boiler
The other watched the spout
And mama corked the bottles
And ole Dooley fetched 'em outDooley slippin' up the holler
Dooley try to make a dollar
Dooley give me a swaller
And I'll pay you back somedayThe revenuers came for him
A-sippin' though the woods
Dooley kept behind them all
And never lost his goodsDooley was a trader
When into town he'd come
Sugar by the bushel
And molasses by the tonDooley slippin' up the holler
Dooley try to make a dollar
Dooley gimme a swaller
And I'l pay you back somedayI remember very well
The day ole Dooley died
The women folk weren't sorry
And the men stood round and criedDooley slippin' up the holler
Dooley try to make a dollar
Dooley gimme a swaller
And I'll pay you back someday
Apology
June 18, 2025
Apology
If you are just realizing that some of my views are antithetical to yours, that is on me for not being clearer. I apologize. I have always respected your views and tried t stay on point with the message and to find areas of agreement. That may have caused me to be silent on matters that matter.
If I have been silent on some things in the past because of a position held in the community in the past, it may have been out of respect to the opinions of others or out of a sensitivity to not misrepresenting my organization by suggesting that my views were the views of all. Now that I do not represent anyone, my opinions are entirely my own.
My views have been pretty consistent through the years and have developed through much thought and prayer. That does not mean that other thinking and praying people, like you, have not come to other conclusions.
I am not claiming infallible divine inspiration for my opinions.
At any rate, our friendship is not based on total agreement. That's the way it should be. We all need to work together.
My Father’s World — Devotionals for Today
June 15, 2025
Father’s Day and Trinity Sunday
Let the Fields Rejoice
“Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. “-1 Chronicles 16:32
Seas roar and its more than a metaphor
Fields rejoice and somehow find their voice.
All therein becomes our kin in the symphony of praise.
Nature sings. Each creature brings the offerings of worship.
Mountains and hills shout. Volcanoes erupt. Every living thing and every inanimate object joins the mighty chorus that announces the glory of God.
Fields rejoice.
Imagine that. When the first indicators of spring erupt from the earth, they join in a dance of joy. The colors and the shapes all imitate and reflect the essential nature given to them as a tiny piece of God’s revelation of Himself through creation.
“All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres. This is my Father’s world.” — Maltbie D. Babcock
Sound, color, even thought can be described in the language of frequency, cycles per unit in a period of time. That is physics and when life enters in, it is biology. But when the spirit enters in, it is life and worship.
I am no expert in the sciences and no one is an expert in the things of the spirit.
“The wind bloweth where it listeth …” — John 3:8
Jesus said it is that way with those born of the Spirit.
We are not experts, but we are participants and observers.
We are participants in rejoicing with the fields that are coming to life right now.
We are invited into the chorus and symphony of color, sound, and spirit.
Babcock continues:
“This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.”
As Short to Share
The Guide
“…he will guide you into all truth…” -John 16:13b
There were many things that Jesus could have said, wanted to say, and needed to say to the disciples, but it was not the right time. It was not the right time because they were not ready. They could not hear those things. They could not bear those things. They were not ready.
They would be ready later. They would be eager later. It would be the right time later. Their hearts would be prepared. Their lives would have been transformed later.
We must be ready to receive. We need a guide.
Jesus used more than one term to describe the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of Truth. He is the Counselor, the Comforter, the Paraclete who walks beside us. He is the Spirit of the Living God. He is the wind that blows wherever it will.
Now, in this setting, he is a guide. His role is to guide Jesus’ disciples into truth. Not only is it truth where he guides, but Jesus says that it is all truth.
He transforms the hearts and minds of the disciples and prepares them to receive truth. Then he imparts truth to them. He guides. He directs. He counsels. He coaches. He illuminates. He helps them to apply that truth to their lives.
He answers questions we have never asked before.
Jesus says that he will not speak of himself. He has not come to exalt himself. He hears and he speaks. Furthermore, he shows us what is ahead of us.
The bottom line, Jesus tells the disciples, is that he glorifies God in the Son of God. He glorifies the Christ.
He does this, according to Jesus, by taking what is Jesus’, namely his words and thoughts, and revealing them to us. He shows us the things of God. He discloses God’s wonders. He unveils the riches of God’s Word. He frames God’s wisdom in a way that we can understand it and live it.
There is a partnership between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a partnership of fellowship. It is a partnership of truth. All that belongs to one is shared with the other.
When the Spirit comes, Jesus teaches, we will be ready. That is because the Holy Spirit invites us into the fellowship where we experience the Holy Trinity. In that fellowship, we are prepared, and we are ready to receive the things the Jesus wanted to teach his disciples, but they were not ready to hear.
That is the beauty and the wonder of Pentecost and Trinity Day, and it is why we celebrate.
More Father’s Day Thoughts
A Son About His Father’s Business
“And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,” — Luke 9:51
Every day, for Jesus, was Father’s Day. It was his Father’s Day. He was Son of God and Son of Man, twenty-four hours of every day and every day of the year.
Twice, here, he refers to himself as the Son of Man, a messianic designation in its historic use. The Son of Man is one who has been anointed by the Father in Heaven for a message and a mission on earth.
Because he identifies with humanity, he is not only the Son of God, but the Son of Man. There are two declarations he makes about this role:
First, the Son of Man does not come to destroy lives. He comes to save lives. The disciples think that fire from Heaven might be appropriate for those who reject the message, but Jesus thinks and acts like his Father from whom he has received his mission and message.
He comes to save, and he is on his way to Jerusalem to do just that.
The second is that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
This, he iterated when a man professed that he would follow him anywhere and everywhere.
I am lower than a fox or a bird, he implies, because I have nowhere to sleep. All hope, salvation, and grace rested upon the life, testimony, death, and resurrection of a homeless prophet.
In these statements of intent, Jesus was observing the commandment to honor his Father to whom he taught us to pray as our Father, Dad, Abba, the perfect model for a perfect Father.
Another approaches and uses his father as an excuse to tarry, “And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”
Again, Jesus affirms his Father’s will and call and “said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
“And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
How then, did the Son of God and Son of Man honor his Father? By putting his hand to the plow and setting his face toward his destiny to do his Father’s will and proclaim his Kingdom.
Key of David
Isaiah 22:22 — And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, was about to get a key and that key would unlock the door to a function that would bring men and women into the very presence of God.
The scriptures will often tell us the name of a father when identifying his son. Here, the most important of the fathers was David. The prophetic word is a blessing one who will inherit a priestly responsibility and blessing that has been passed on since the time of David.
Cults have often misappropriated this concept, but they cannot rob it of its biblical significance.
In Revelation 3:7, Jesus holds the key. It returns, through a succession of natural and spiritual fathers to its source, the One to who it belongs with all authority and power.
It is the key of the covenant of God with His people.
God appointed Abram, changed his name to Abraham, and made him the father of many nations including a priestly nation. With that inheritance, the people of God have privileges and responsibilities to share the truth and love of God with all people.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the many sons of Jacob, and their descendants received a tradition and a stewardship. God’s call upon David was a preview of a Messianic Kingdom.
Papa Hilkiah, whose name means “my portion is Yah” (for Yahweh — God’s personal name) was a priest at during the days of King Josiah During his priesthood, he found a lost copy of the Book of the Law at the Temple in Jerusalem.
It can be supposed that his preaching influenced Josiah and a time of revival and renewal. It is a great heritage for a father to pass on to a son. What a profoundly significant key!
What sort of keys are you, fathers, placing in the hands of your sons and daughters that God can use to bring men and women face to face with Himself?
It is an awesome responsibility.
It is an awesome privilege and joy.
It is awesome to think of those who have preceded us and done this so well.
Happy Father’s Day.
A Father’s Blessing
“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” — Psalm 20:4
Did you receive a blessing from your father as a child or a young adult? Have you used your role as a father figure to bless a younger person? Have you ever wondered what sort of blessing you might like to receive or that you could give? Psalm 20:4 lays out a strong suggestion.
As astounding as it may sound, God, our Heavenly Father, desires to give us our desires, but only after He has transformed those desires and brought them into sync with His own. He wants our plans to succeed, especially when His Spirit has planted those plans in our hearts. The progression of the blessing is the prerequisite experience of the blanket prayer.
First there is distress, then divine deliverance and protection, followed by help, support, sacrifice, and offering. The transforming power of these events paves the way for success.
Psalm 20:5 says, “We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.”
There have been many along the way that have cheered you on to spiritual success and growth. The have applauded God at your salvation, baptism, and first steps in discipleship.
They have encouraged you and embraced you along your pilgrimage. It is your turn to do this for another. You are called to be an encourager or a mentor or even a cheerleader.
You have the capacity to invest your life and prayers in someone other than yourself and to take great joy in his or her progress. Don’t let the opportunity slip away.
Psalm 20:6 says, “Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.”
It is a serendipitous moment when we realize within ourselves that God does indeed save those upon whom His purposes rest. Jesus Christ is God’s anointed and all who are found in Him are heirs of God’s purposes, promises, and privileges. We suddenly discover that we can reinterpret every event in our lives in the newly discerned light of God’s eternal program in which we are included.
Live each day in the light of His promises and in the confidence of your secure position in His eternal family and take each opportunity God gives you to bless a young man or a young woman who is discovering his or her path in life.
(He) set his face to go to Jerusalem,” — Luke 9:51
Every day, for Jesus, was Father’s Day. It was his Father’s Day. He was Son of God and Son of Man, twenty-four hours of every day and every day of the year.
Twice, here, he refers to himself as the Son of Man, a messianic designation in its historic use. The Son of Man is one who has been anointed by the Father in Heaven for a message and a mission on earth.
Because he identifies with humanity, he is not only the Son of God, but the Son of Man. There are two declarations he makes about this role:
First, the Son of Man does not come to destroy lives. He comes to save lives. The disciples think that fire from Heaven might be appropriate for those who reject the message, but Jesus thinks and acts like his Father from whom he has received his mission and message.
He comes to save, and he is on his way to Jerusalem to do just that.
The second is that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
This, he iterated when a man professed that he would follow him anywhere and everywhere.
I am lower than a fox or a bird, he implies, because I have nowhere to sleep. All hope, salvation, and grace rested upon the life, testimony, death, and resurrection of a homeless prophet.
In these statements of intent, Jesus was observing the commandment to honor his Father to whom he taught us to pray as our Father, Dad, Abba, the perfect model for a perfect Father.
Another approaches and uses his father as an excuse to tarry, “And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”
Again, Jesus affirms his Father’s will and call and “said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
“And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
How then, did the Son of God and Son of Man honor his Father? By putting his hand to the plow and setting his face toward his destiny to do his Father’s will and proclaim his Kingdom.
Your Father’s Good Pleasure
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.“ -Luke 12:32
After warning the listeners about losing everything by seeking to gain riches at all costs, Jesus speaks these words, Fear not.”
Fear not because your Father loves to give and wants to give you his entire Kingdom.
He gives this advice: Divest.
“Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
As we view a retrospective of the early church, we find that there were many who took this quite literally and threw off the shackles of possessions to follow Jesus.
Others took it more symbolically and dedicated all their possessions to God and lived as if God were the owner of all they had once considered their own.
In both cases, there was a conversion of their thinking about how they viewed wealth and ownership.
He taught his disciples to travel light when he said,
“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.”
Be ready to respond and ready to move quickly, not overloaded with stuff that ties you down.
“Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching…”
Things can happen quickly when we live, move, and breathe in the realm of the Spirit.
We need to be ready. To be ready, we must be unencumbered.
We lose nothing by giving it all to God and to others. It is a lesson I learned early in life from a godly grandmother. She told me two things:
You cannot outgive God and you only save, in this life, what you give away.
God’s desire is to give you far more than you could ever wish for, hope for, or accumulate on your own. It is God’s good pleasure to give you the entire Kingdom. Nothing can compete with that. Fear not, little flock!
“Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
Psalm of Suffering
June 13, 2025
More at - Up to My Neck in Rivers of Heck:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdzB3AIqh9Q&pp=0gcJCd4JAYcqIYzv
Reflections on Psalm 69
A prayer of a man sinking in the mud.
"You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you." - Psalm 69:5, NIV
I do not know your folly. I am not absolutely certain that I know my own.
God knows.
Some may consider this bad news.
I consider it liberating and the ground upon which grace can build a house of witness in my life and an altar of honest exchange between me and my Maker.
Only secrets can feed a dysfunctional system. None exist between God and me - none of mine and He is revealing Himself to me daily and as much as I can bear. No secrets, no pretense, no enabling of my wrongs.
God knows me and God loves me.
It passes through the filter of a knowledge of God's mercy:
"Your love is kind."
From Psalm 69
This has always been one of my favorite bible prayers. It has always provided me words to express my own heart in times when I could not find the right words myself.
It says what so many of us, so often, feel.
Even as it empowers us to reach into the darkness within our hearts, it encourages us to find hope and resolve.
Pray it. Don't just read it.
Pray it slowly, pausing over the phrases that will become your prayers for this day.
It is a thoroughly, reusable psalm that will give you new meaning and new expression each time you pray it.
At times, you will only need the first few words, "Save me, O God." And you may stop there.
Sometimes, it has been for me, "O God, you know my foolishness."
There have been moments when I have only mustered the strength to pray, "I have grown weary with my crying."
Often, I have prayed, “In your great mercy, O God, answer me with your unfailing help."
I never enjoy admitting that "shame has covered my face," but God knows, hears, and welcomes me though "my faults are not hidden from God."
The writer-singer-psalmist-petitioner has sought help and comfort from others, but only finds acceptance, assistance, and compassion in God.
God is swift to help in our distress.
One of my favorite prayers within this prayer has always been, "let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me."
It has been a prayer of mine in times of pain, suffering, discouragement, temptation, and trial. It has taken my mind away from an inward focus on my problems to the implication of my life and witness and its effect on others'. It has given purpose and meaning to my own struggles.
"I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving," is the cry of praise and the promise of hope for "the Lord listens to the needy...and his prisoners he does not despise."
Enjoy your prayer time.
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Psalm 69 (NRSV)
Salvum me fac
Save me, O God,
for the waters have risen up to my neck.
I am sinking in deep mire,
and there is no firm ground for my feet.
I have come into deep waters,
and the torrent washes over me.
I have grown weary with my crying;
my throat is inflamed;
my eyes have failed from looking for my God.
Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
my lying foes who would destroy me are mighty.
Must I then give back what I never stole?
O God, you know my foolishness,
and my faults are not hidden from you.
Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord GOD of hosts;
let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel.
Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach,
and shame has covered my face.
I have become a stranger to my own kindred,
an alien to my mother’s children.
Zeal for your house has eaten me up;
the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
I humbled myself with fasting,
but that was turned to my reproach.
I put on sack-cloth also,
and became a byword among them.
Those who sit at the gate murmur against me,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
But as for me, this is my prayer to you,
at the time you have set, O LORD:
“In your great mercy, O God,
answer me with your unfailing help.
Save me from the mire; do not let me sink;
let me be rescued from those who hate me
and out of the deep waters.
Let not the torrent of waters wash over me,
neither let the deep swallow me up;
do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
Answer me, O LORD, for your love is kind;
in your great compassion, turn to me.”
“Hide not your face from your servant;
be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
Draw near to me and redeem me;
because of my enemies deliver me.
You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
my adversaries are all in your sight.”
Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I could find no one.
They gave me gall to eat,
and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.
[Let the table before them be a trap
and their sacred feasts a snare.
Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see,
and give them continual trembling in their loins.
Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let the fierceness of your anger overtake them.
Let their camp be desolate,
and let there be none to dwell in their tents.
For they persecute him whom you have stricken
and add to the pain of those whom you have pierced.
Lay to their charge guilt upon guilt,
and let them not receive your vindication.
Let them be wiped out of the book of the living
and not be written among the righteous.]
As for me, I am afflicted and in pain;
your help, O God, will lift me up on high.
I will praise the Name of God in song;
I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD more than an offering of oxen,
more than bullocks with horns and hoofs.
The afflicted shall see and be glad;
you who seek God, your heart shall live.
For the LORD listens to the needy,
and his prisoners he does not despise.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and all that moves in them;
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah;
they shall live there and have it in possession.
The children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his Name will dwell therein.
It culminates in praise:
Even the Seas Praise Him
"Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth therein." - Psalm 69:34
To borrow from a different season, my heart sings,
Joy to the world! The Lord has come!
Let earth receive her king.
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing!
(Isaac Watts)
Heaven and nature sing the glories and praise of God.
Look at the sky. It is praising God. The multitude and magnitude of the heavens form a symphony of adoration for the One who thought it all out, spoke it into existence, and maintains its order through the strength of His own resolve.
Earth praises God. Down to the atom, every mineral, every mountain, every blade of grass or leaf that falls from a tree sings the honor of His intricate design. Plant, animal, and human life testify to His genius and meticulous design.
The seas praise Him.
From surface to depth, the oceans are mysterious and possess overwhelming power. They have not been nor, can they be conquered, harnessed, nor tamed. We have yet to explore a fraction of what they possess. They form more of the surface area of this planet than all the land masses combined.
No human can survive at their deepest places. In their secret places, there is darkness and even that darkness praises God.
When the sea is quiet, He is praised.
When the storms rock the surface and the mighty ships are in peril, He is praised.
When we rest upon the shore and look out over the waves crashing on the beach, God is praised.
God of the seas! Thy thundering voice
Makes all the roaring waves rejoice,
And one soft word of Thy command
Can sink them silent in the sand.
(Isaac Watts)
If the heavens, earth, and sea praise God, let us also join them in praise.
#folly #Psalm69 #mercy #compassion #prayers #precatory #sinking #helpme
June 12, 2025
What is real strength?
How can we be stronger when we are weak?
June 11, 2025
Preaching to the Choir
If that is all you have, preach with all your heart.
Good Anger
June 11, 2025
We all experience anger.
Anger is a common human experience.
There are many possible provocations for anger. some are legitimate; some emerge from our narcissism All seem rooted in our essential fear of losing something we value.
We know people whom we would describe as angry by nature or angry all the time. We can agree that such anger is not healthy.
There are times when we wish we could simply shake off our anger, but we are unable to do so. That is a subject for another article, but it may involve self-therapy or therapy with a counselor.
Another time for that.
What I want to say today is something general. Watch this video for context:
In these days, if I said to you, “don’t be angry,” it would be stupid of me. I’d be angry at myself for saying that. You’d be angry at me. Rightfully so. Anger is natural. It is either a force for evil or a force for good. It can be both. It is your choice.
It is not your choice whether or not to be angry. You have permission. Ephesians. 4:26 says to be angry. Go ahead, be angry. Let your anger be what it is. Acknowledge it. Be honest about it and consider it a form of energy. Now, what are you going to do with your energy?
Well, Paul tells us in that verse what not to do with our end energy, don’t sin.
You say, “I’m not a follower of the Bible. What do you mean by sin? “
Sin is a reality, Karl Menninger wrote a book called, “Whatever Became of Sin.”
Do you believe that there’s evil? Do you believe that there are bad choices? Do you believe that people can shoot for one thing and hit something else? Then you do believe in sin. Have you ever made a bad choice? Join us in that assumption.
That’s what we mean by sin.
Don’t do the wrong thing. Don’t make the wrong choice. Don’t have the wrong attitude. Don’t do wrong. Don’t do evil, don’t harm people.
OK, go ahead and be angry.
How do I handle that?
Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Don’t let. anger predominate your life. Don’t let it go on and on and on. Do not let it become the driving force of your life. Handle it and don’t let it run your life. Let it be part of your life. Let it be positive in your life, but don’t let it run your life.
That’s what Paul means.
There are three words that cross my mind. They all start with “E.”
Bad E: Excuse
Do not let your anger become an excuse for doing what is wrong. Don’t let it motivate you to make big mistakes or hurt people. Do not live in anger or act badly in anger. No excuses. Anger is never an excuse for being a jerk.
E for All: Expression
Everyone must find a healthy outlet for their anger. It could be exercise. It is often the process of talking it out. It might be work. It might be play. It might be time. It may be therapy.
Good E: Energy
This is what I recommend. Find ways to be energized by your anger to make a positive impact on the world.
I recently saw the movie, “Harriet.” Mrs. Tubman came out of slavery and turned her freedom and anger at the evil institution into positive energy.
She committed her life to confronting evil by defying the institution and freeing slaves. She focused. She kept at it and vowed not to quit as long as one slave remained in captivity.
That is what you do with anger.
Find a cause and be energized to turn evil into good.
Politics of Distraction
June 10, 2025
While We Were Looking Away #RFK #chaos #distraction #politicsofdistraction #ideological
Chaos can be an effective way of getting things done while no one notices.
The Politics of Compassion: Typical
June 10, 2025
If You Are a Leader, By All Means Lead #insurrection #crisis #constitution #trump #newsome
June 10, 2025
In crisis, leaders must lead, including thought leaders and influencers. So must I. At least, I must try.
What Do You Do When You Must Address the Crisis? What If You Are a Steward of Influence?
It is seldom in your best interest to climb out on a limb when the ground is shaking and someone is sawing on the tree.
To leave one's place of safety in a crisis is frightening. At the least, it may be bad for business.
But, what if you have a following, no matter how strong or large? What if your following considers you, to some extent, an influencer? Isn't that what a leader is?
Isn't a leader a steward of influence?
A steward is entrusted with something and responsible to use it. Popularity and safety can never be the main concern for a leader. A leader must lead.
A thought leader must put thoughts out there and think out loud.
This article has a duel purpose.
The first is to trigger some thinking about how to think about some bad thinking from a leader who is thinking out loud and, in my view, thinking and acting wrongly.
The second is to encourage you, as leaders, to be courageous and to lead in thinking - even if you disagree with me.
If your are a leader, you must lead. You cannot take a poll ahead of time to find out if you will be supported. You must do what is right.
If your are a thinker, you must, not only think, but think out loud and speak out. The people listening to you are a gift and so is your platform. Use it wisely, boldly, and fearlessly.
If you are a thought leader, lead the thinking. Get out of the box.
If you are an influencer, then influence. You probably know what is right. Do it.
So, here is my argument and it is risky.:
There is a SEQUENCE and I am angry about it and want you to be angry too.
•Our President incited a real insurrection after losing an election over four years ago. There was violence and death. There was an attempt to overthrow the government. He encouraged it and, when it got out of hand and was violent, he refused to lift a finger to stop it. He would not engage the National Guard. He would not tell them to stop. He would not call it an insurrection.
He was elected again and we must accept that.
That is democracy. But he was not elected to be a king.
•He beat the rap on the insurrection - by running for President and winning. He pardoned all the insurrectionists. He fired anyone who might threaten him or hold him accountable. He intimidated the rest. If you have a similar view or a different view, be a steward of your influence.
Be a thought leader. Lead!
•He incited riots in L.A. by staging an event in such a way as to trigger anger and resistance. The response has been mostly peaceful protests. Yes, there has been some rioting. But the commando tactics to enforce immigration violations were calculated to escalate violence
This was intentional as I see it. It was designed to give the POTUS an excuse and a legal basis for overreacting, for invoking emergency power, for squashing dissent, and challenging the sovereign governor of a sovereign state.
He is testing the Constitution for weak places to penetrate.
It is dangerous.
Real thought leaders, if they see this and perceive it this way, must risk their influence, popularity, and livelihoods to call it out!
•He called what is happening in L.A.. an insurrection. That is what the President essentially did. He did not do so when his followers stormed the U.S. Capital, destroyed property, threatened lives, and even killed a police officer. In those days he was declaring he had no power or authority to coop the National Guard.
•He bypassed the Governor in accessing the California National Guard while threatening to jail the Governor. He has gone to war with the State of California and with every other state in the process. Where are the states rights conservatives? Why are they not screaming?
Where are all the other Governors of both parties?
Where are the Republicans who are true to their roots, convictions, and heritage? Where? Where are the voices of truth?
Why are conservatives not angry that they have no real voice because Trump has taken over the Grand Old Party?
Why are Democrats not screaming louder?
This is crisis!
There are so many other manifestations of power-grabbing, attempts to silence dissent and the press, moves to control social media, the arts, and every area of American life and it has been less than six months.
So, for that dubious success, I congratulate you, Mr. Trump.
I have no intention of turning this newsletter into a political diatribe. I honor the full spectrum of political and economic views and philosophies.
However, leaders must lead, thinkers must think, and influencers must influence.
I know I am a very small fish in a big pond, but I must do my part and so must you.
We need conservatives, liberals, and moderates in this country.
A plane cannot fly with one wing.
But President Trump is neither conservative, liberal, nor moderate. His category is different and it is time he is reigned in.
I gave you a sequence with bullets. Here it is again:
SEQUENCE
•Incite a real insurrection after losing an election.
•Beat the rap - by running for President and winning.
•Incite riots, mostly peaceful protests with some rioting by using commando tactics to enforce immigration violations.
•Call it an insurrection.
•Bypass the Governor in accessing the California National Guard while threatening to jail the Governor.
Did I get that order correct?
Our Constitution is in crisis!
Our democracy and freedom are in peril.
Peacefully protest.
Legally resist.
Persistently speak, write, and share.
Engage with good hearted people across ideological fences. Negotiate in good faith, but stand your ground.
Stand in the way of evil.
Refute lies, misrepresentations of truth and false narratives. Shine the light of truth n both truth and falsehood. Let no untruth go unchallenged.
Call out every attempt to deceive.
Pray for your leaders, even the wicked ones. Love your country. Use every peaceful and honorable means to fight tooth and nail for America.
Share this article and video everywhere!
#thoughtleaders #influencers #politics #POTUS #Trump #LosAngeles #leadership #America
June 09, 2025
Too angry for anything but the video.
Pentecost Message
June 08, 2025
When you observe a religious ruckus, you might be like the pilgrims to Jerusalem two thousand years ago and ask, “What does all of this mean?”
That would be a very good question.
Medium Member Link https://medium.com/@tomsims/tongues-of-fire-and-the-spirit-of-truth-1600341a2b67
Fresh Air for a Desert People
June 07, 2025
Some of the preaching I hear is just a lot of hot air.
I hate to sound judgmental, but if it is not life-giving, refreshing, and enlivening, what is it? We feel like we are living in a spiritual dust bowl.
When God raised up the children of Israel, they were a desert people.
Read more at:
Only God
June 07, 2025
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Mary_of_the_Presentation_Catholic_Church_(Geneva,_Indiana)_-_stained_glass,_Christ_forgive_a_penitent.jp
Psalm 22:5 - They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
What was it that our fathers did that brought them into the experience of God’s deliverance?
It was very little and very much. It was very little of human effort or initiative.
However, it was a great expression of faith in two parts. First, their attitude was one of trust – that resolute act of resting on God’s grace.
Second, the volitional action was crying out for mercy, help, and salvation in desperate resignation.
We who scatter ourselves about in frantic frenzies of futile flailing exclaim, “Is that all? It can’t be!”
It is.
Unless it becomes that alone, nothing we DO matters.
Only God saves.
"Grace Came Down..."
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."-Ephesians 2:8-10
Manhattan skyscraper, the W. R. Grace building, 1114 6th Ave, Manhattan, NY 10018 (at Bryant Park), designed by Gordon Bunshaft.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarowen/2626992252/
Cry of the Destitute. Psalm 102 is called, “A Prayer of one… | by Tom Sims , Ongoing Conversation Between Friends | Jun, 2025 | Medium
June 06, 2025
How do you know that an invisible God who rarely manifests His presence directly and obviously in your life is really hearing and answering? Sometimes it is in the subtleties; often it is in the coincidences; frequently it is in the irrational peace or the unexplained strength and faith that arises in our hearts as we trust and follow.
So often, it is in joy and in the joyful reality of community that becomes the presence of God to us.
We experience God’s presence as we brutally pour out our hearts to God in the full range of human emotion, despair, and… More at https://medium.com/@tomsims/cry-of-the-destitute-472fc19c8a18?sk=9c231a3b058d3f5468c12d19089af880
via medium.com
What Do You Mean by My Neighbor?. Go and Do Likewise | by Tom Sims , Ongoing Conversation Between Friends | Jun, 2025 | Medium
June 05, 2025
Who is my mother, my sister, my brother?
Who is my neighbor, my friend, my another?
This is the crux, the crisis, the cross.
This is what matters. All else is loss.
Medium Member' link: https://medium.com/@tomsims/what-do-you-mean-by-my-neighbor-32767e27adc3
Friend Link: https://medium.com/@tomsims/what-do-you-mean-by-my-neighbor-32767e27adc3?sk=99f9f357c25ad8d3b54492f03eeb1a0d
Excerpt
We all know the story. It was prompted by a question and occasioned by a teaching in response to a greater question. What we have here is the application: Go and do likewise. One question led to another, then to a story, and then to the lesson Jesus desired to imprint upon every heart: that everyone is our neighbor and that loving our neighbor is about making a practical and active decision to do so and following through regardless of our feelings.
A legal expert who sought to trap Jesus in His own words asked Him what was necessary to inherit eternal life. He turned the question back to him and to his knowledge and interpretation of the law.
“Love God and love your neighbor” was both the answer he gave and the one that Jesus Himself gave on another occasion when asked what the greatest commandment was. Jesus commended him and told him to go and do likewise.
via medium.com
Believe to Be Saved
June 01, 2025
In Acts 16, Paul has come to a very unique city, a Roman colony, Philippi. It is located in present day Greece. There are very few Jews there, but there are some God-fearing women.
One of them, Lydia of Thyatira, becomes the first believer in Europe.
A little later, Paul is having a successful preaching ministry but is followed around by a very annoying young woman who is being exploited by her masters. Paul speaks a word of liberation to her, and she is set free to believe.
Something inevitable happens when the good news liberates people from their bondage
The profits of their masters dry up and the masters cry out.
If God’s people are bringing liberation to the lives of people, powers that be and industries of oppressive commerce will declare, “These men … are disturbing our city.”
They will hurl insults and ethnic slurs.
They will call the prophetic word and its demonstration unlawful.
And they will be correct …. hopefully.
They may even cast the messengers of good news into prison.
“But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.” Acts 16:19–20 ESV
God help us to disturb the city.
Paul and Silas, along with their friends are beaten and thrown into jail
Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. . — Acts 16:25
Prior to the coming of the message, the women were believing, but unaware of the full scope of God’s love and grace. The girl believed, but it was not liberated from her spiritual and outer bonds.
An earthquake comes and the chains fall off the prisoners
Now there is a jailer who is about to fall on his sword.
Acts 16:31 — And they said, “Believe on the Lord, Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”
Here is an acronym for what it means to have saving faith:
B- Be convinced that God loves you and that Jesus died for your sins, rising again to give you eternal life. This is the gospel
E– Examine your life honestly in the light of God’s Word and admit your need of a Savior as a result of sin. The Holy Spirit will guide you through this process of conviction if you are open.
L– Let go of your sinful resistance and self-centered control of your life. Another word for this might be repentance , a turning from sin to God.
I– Invest your life completely in God. This is basic, gut-level trust and is necessary for the new life in Christ. Express this change of heart to God in prayer.
E– Eternalize your values. Stop adding up your assets the old way. Understand that eternal reality is true reality and that only what lasts forever is worth our lives.
V– Visualize a new life of freedom, forgiveness, and fullness based upon God’s grace, mercy, and power. This is the beginning of the exercise of faith in your life.
E– Embody the life of Christ within you by receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, His indwelling presence. This is a new birth.
Listen to the whole message:
Recap and Precap
Paul’s Imprisonment and Roman Punishment System The discussion begins with Paul’s imprisonment, highlighting that Roman incarceration was temporary, often leading to execution or release. Romans preferred fines, exile, or death over long-term imprisonment. The concept of penitentiaries for rehabilitation emerged later. Paul, likely jailed in a rented house, exemplifies Roman practices. The narrative transitions to Paul and Silas singing hymns in prison, showcasing their faith and resilience.
Faith and Belief in Adversity Paul and Silas, despite being imprisoned, prayed and sang hymns, demonstrating their unwavering faith. Their actions influenced other prisoners and the jailer, who, after an earthquake, sought salvation. Paul emphasized belief in Jesus for salvation, leading to the jailer’s conversion and baptism of his household. This narrative illustrates the power of faith in dire circumstances and its ability to inspire and transform others.
The Concept of Belief and Salvation The speaker explores the nature of belief and salvation, using an acronym for ‘believe’ to guide understanding. Key points include being convinced of God’s love, examining one’s life, letting go of resistance, investing in faith, and embodying Christ’s life. The narrative emphasizes that belief is not about perfection but starting a new path, with the jailer’s story serving as a practical example of transformation through faith.
The Role of Faith in Community and Personal Transformation The narrative highlights the communal aspect of faith, as seen in the jailer’s household conversion and the support from Lydia’s community. The speaker underscores the transformative power of faith, which leads to personal and communal liberation. The story of the jailer and his family illustrates how faith can bring about profound change, fostering a sense of belonging and purpose within a community.
The Message of Jesus and Eternal Life The speaker concludes with a message about Jesus’ promise of eternal life, emphasizing the importance of belief in Jesus for salvation. The narrative includes a call to embody the life of Christ and to live with the hope of eternal life. The speaker encourages listeners to embrace this message, highlighting the transformative power of faith and the promise of eternal life as central to Christian belief.