Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Moses said to the people:
“Today I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom.
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today,
loving him, and walking in his ways,
and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,
you will live and grownumerous,
and the LORD, your God,
will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.
If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,
but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,
I tell you now that you will certainly perish;
you will not have a long life
on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.
I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
For that will mean life for you,
a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore
he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Moses said to the people:
“Today I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom.
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today,
loving him, and walking in his ways,
and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,
you will live and grownumerous,
and the LORD, your God,
will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.
If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,
but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,
I tell you now that you will certainly perish;
you will not have a long life
on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.
I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
For that will mean life for you,
a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore
he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Don't Turn Back
- Brennan Manning
One day Saint Francis and Brother Leo were walking down the road. Noticing that Leo was depressed, Francis turned and asked: "Leo, do you know what it means to be pure of heart?"
"Of course. It means to have no sins, faults or weaknesses to reproach myself for."
"Ah," said Francis, "now I understand why you're sad. We will always have something to reproach ourselves for."
"Right," said Leo. "That's why I despair of ever arriving at purity of heart."
"Leo, listen carefully to me. Don't be so preoccupied with the purity of your heart. Turn and look at Jesus. Admire him. Rejoice that he is what he is--your Brother, your Friend, your Lord and Savior. That, little brother, is what it means to be pure of heart. And once you've turned to Jesus, don't turn back and look at yourself."
from Inwardoutward.org
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It's so easy to look back. The Israelites were known for looking back. Not long after leaving the oppression of Egypt, they were looking back to the comforts of their oppression. That's an oxymoron, huh?
"Why didn't God let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew
and all the bread we could eat? You've brought us out into this
wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!"
Had they forgotten about slavery, the endless hours of building bricks, the abuse from the Egyptians? They were willing to turn back and trade their freedom and the promised land for lamb stew and bread. It reminds me of the story of Jacob and Esau. Esau gave up his birthright for stew. What was with that Old Testament stew? Our hunger and cravings are strong. They can make us forget everything else in order to fill their void.
Our Lenten Journey spans 6 weeks. You may have chosen to fast from something this Lent. Perhaps it's sweets, Diet Coke, swearing, or a number of other vices. The point of the practice of fasting is to become closer to God. To rely on God and fill ourselves up with God's presence. We may fail in our spiritual disciplines. We may turn back to our old ways. We remember how that chocolate felt melting on our tongues. We remember how the caffeine of the Diet Coke gave us that extra boost. We remember the satisfaction we received from blasting that curse word at the guy that cut us off in traffic.
We are left with a choice. We can beat ourselves up, focusing on self and our failures, or we can turn back again, this time turning back to God.
Set your eyes upon Him; walk in His ways.
Choose Life.
Choose to be a blessing for life.
--Missy
- Brennan Manning
One day Saint Francis and Brother Leo were walking down the road. Noticing that Leo was depressed, Francis turned and asked: "Leo, do you know what it means to be pure of heart?"
"Of course. It means to have no sins, faults or weaknesses to reproach myself for."
"Ah," said Francis, "now I understand why you're sad. We will always have something to reproach ourselves for."
"Right," said Leo. "That's why I despair of ever arriving at purity of heart."
"Leo, listen carefully to me. Don't be so preoccupied with the purity of your heart. Turn and look at Jesus. Admire him. Rejoice that he is what he is--your Brother, your Friend, your Lord and Savior. That, little brother, is what it means to be pure of heart. And once you've turned to Jesus, don't turn back and look at yourself."
from Inwardoutward.org
_________________________________________________________________
It's so easy to look back. The Israelites were known for looking back. Not long after leaving the oppression of Egypt, they were looking back to the comforts of their oppression. That's an oxymoron, huh?
"Why didn't God let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew
and all the bread we could eat? You've brought us out into this
wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!"
Had they forgotten about slavery, the endless hours of building bricks, the abuse from the Egyptians? They were willing to turn back and trade their freedom and the promised land for lamb stew and bread. It reminds me of the story of Jacob and Esau. Esau gave up his birthright for stew. What was with that Old Testament stew? Our hunger and cravings are strong. They can make us forget everything else in order to fill their void.
Our Lenten Journey spans 6 weeks. You may have chosen to fast from something this Lent. Perhaps it's sweets, Diet Coke, swearing, or a number of other vices. The point of the practice of fasting is to become closer to God. To rely on God and fill ourselves up with God's presence. We may fail in our spiritual disciplines. We may turn back to our old ways. We remember how that chocolate felt melting on our tongues. We remember how the caffeine of the Diet Coke gave us that extra boost. We remember the satisfaction we received from blasting that curse word at the guy that cut us off in traffic.
We are left with a choice. We can beat ourselves up, focusing on self and our failures, or we can turn back again, this time turning back to God.
Set your eyes upon Him; walk in His ways.
Choose Life.
Choose to be a blessing for life.
--Missy
Prayer...
Lord,
Let everything I do this day and in this season of Lent
come from you, be inspired by you.
I long to be closer to you.
Help me to remember that nothing is important in my life
unless it glorifies you in some way.It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day of my life and keep saying,
"Tomorrow, I will spend more time in prayer,"
but now my longing meets your love and I want to do it now.
Help me to rely on you for help.The prayer asks you that I reach perfection.
Please, Lord, remind me that "perfection"
isn't the crazy, "successful" way I try to live my life,
but a perfection of my most authentic, real self.
My "perfection" might be holding my many flaws in my open hands,
asking you to help me accept them.Heal me, Lord, and help me to find you in the darkness of my life.
Let me reach out in this darkness and feel your hand and love there to guide me.
Amen.