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Sunday, October 21, 2007: If you want to be in a relationship with someone and you want that relationship to grow, you have to make time for them, you have to talk to them, you have to listen to them, and you have to share yourself with them, whether by sharing your hopes, dreams and aspirations, or just sharing your feelings. These are ways we nourish a relationship to make it grow. The same rules apply if you want a relationship with God, only these same acts (talking, making time, listening, sharing) are called prayer when dealing with God. God wants a relationship with you...He is your heavenly Father, He created you, and He gives you life. It is only right that we make time for God, that we talk with God, and that we try to listen to God.

Prayer isn't only a repetitive set of words or set prayers, like the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be... Prayer is communication, and through prayer we communicate our needs, our desires, our praise and our thanks to God. But prayer is not one-sided and selfish. When you talk with someone, you listen to them too. When you want something from someone, you don't just give them a list of demands or chores...you ask them what they need to carry out the tasks, or provide the means to accomplish the tasks. God doesn't need anything we have to offer, but He isn't a magical genie there to grant us our every wish either. When we pray, we should look for signals from God that our prayers are being answered. Sometimes God's answer is a "No" and other times it's a "Not yet." This is why we should not give up on praying when our prayers aren't answered immediately, or are not answered in the way we think they should be answered.

Sometimes in prayer we need the help of others...not just ourselves. It's interesting to note that since prayer is about communication and relationship with God, that God makes prayer more powerful when we pray with others with whom we have some sort of relationship...a spiritual relationship.

The importance of persevering in prayer and faith are demonstrated in many places in the Holy Bible, but there are two stories that illustrate well the importance of persistence and perseverance. The first is an excerpt from Exodus, when Amalek declared war on Israel...Moses told Joshua to gather men for battle, and Moses said he would stay on a hilltop with the rod of God in his hand. As long as Moses' hands were up, Israel prevailed, but when his hands came down, Amalek began to prevail in battle. Look at the importance of the help of others in this passage (verse 12):

"8 Then ^(A)Amalek came and fought against Israel at ^(B)Rephidim.

9 So Moses said to ^(C)Joshua, "Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with ^(D)the staff of God in my hand."

10 Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and ^(E)Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.

12 But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur ^(F)supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.

13 So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword."

Jesus gives a parable which describes the importance of perseverance/persistence in prayer. He gives account of an unrighteous judge who feared neither God nor respected man. A widow pestered him to make a righteous judgment for her, and he wouldn't. Then he thought about it and thought that if he made a righteous judgment in favor of the widow, she would stop bothering him and there'd be no chance of a retaliation by her:

Luke 18:1-8

"1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ^(A)ought to pray and not to ^(B)lose heart,

2 saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not ^(C)respect man.

3 "There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.'

4 "For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor ^(D)respect man,

5 yet ^(E)because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will ^(F)wear me out.'"

6 And ^(G)the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said;

7 now, will not God ^(H)bring about justice for His ^(I)elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He ^(J)delay long over them?

8 "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, ^(K)will He find faith on the earth?"

This parable tells us that if we are praying for something we really need, want or desire for someone else, we should continue praying, even when it looks like God is not answering our prayer, or when it looks like God's answer is "No" because sometimes He may grant the prayer request just to appease you (to use a cliché, "the squeaky wheel gets the oil"), or just so you'll stop pestering Him about it. But remember, if God does not grant a prayer request, or answers with a "No", it is usually in your best interest.

You might find that if you finally got your prayer answered to your liking, life will not necessarily be great because of it. For example, let's say you were praying persistently for a material thing...say a sports car. Years later, you find one you can afford, or you win one through a contest or something like that. Not long after you get it, you may find that you either can't afford the insurance, or the car breaks down a lot, or worse yet, maybe you get into an accident and it ends up costing you lots of money or maybe the accident makes you afraid to drive again. Any number of negative things could happen, not because God didn't want you to have the car, but acquiesced to your prayers and decided to smite you, but rather the negative things would have happened anyway but God was keeping them from you by not granting your prayers until such time that He knew you could handle them.

Here's a clip from American Dad. In this episode, Stan (stand-up, right-wing Republican and Christian) meets a great new friend, but that friend is an atheist. Stan tries converting him throughout the entire episode, but his new friend just doesn't accept God. Stan decides to make bad things happen in his friend's life so that he'll turn to God for help, but it all backfires on Stan. In this clip, his friend is comatose in the hospital, so Stan prays to God to bring him back:

So, keep in mind that God wants a relationship with you, God knows what's best for you, and God wants you to talk to him, communicate your feelings and desires, make time for him, listen for Him, look for signs that your prayers are being answered. Go to church to experience the power of group prayer in your life, or just to find spiritual companions who will pray with you. You'll be amazed at how many different ways God communicates with you. Maybe you'll find an answer listening in meditation, or maybe you'll pass a store you've never been in that has that thing you've been looking for, and it's less expensive than other places you've looked. Maybe someone you know, or even a stranger, perhaps an angel in human disguise, will approach you with a word of encouragement or instruction. You never know how God will respond, and He will only respond if you make an effort to be in loving relationship with Him.

May God bless you and hear your prayers and show you in a unique way that He is listening and responding, in Jesus' name.

Sunday, October 14, 2007: How many times when you pray do you give thanks to God? Many people find themselves praying when they realize they have run out of options, when they realize they cannot do it on their own, as a last resort, or only in emergencies. Others pray daily, basically giving God tasks to do, people to bless, asking for things they want in their own lives...we've all done it, and there's nothing wrong with asking God for things, but it's VERY important to thank God for those things and blessings that He has already put in your life. Why? Because he wants us to thank Him. It's a way of praising God when you give Him thanks and He deserves it.

Personally, I believe that thanking God for whatever it is we are grateful for keeps us humble. When we thank God for our health, our life, our material possessions, our relationships, our whatever, at the same time we our humbling ourselves because we are acknowledging that God made these things possible...not ourselves. It's important to remember we accomplish nothing on our own, but that God has helped make it possible. He gives us breath and life and without either one of these two things, we are dead organic material, or just dead bodies and dead weight.

By thanking God we let Him know that we know He is responsible for all the good things in our life, we also are praising Him for them, and that makes God happy and more likely to fill our lives with more of the same things, and He will fill our lives with so much more and so much more abundantly when we are grateful for what we already have and for what He has already given us.

All we need do is have a grateful spirit and tell God thank you for those things for which we are grateful. We can also be more creative in our thanksgiving to God in many different ways. We can make a new song and sing it for God, or if we are less musically talented, we can learn to play a new song on a musical instrument. Other ways to thank God might be offering our time by volunteering for a charity or at church, or to the homeless person living under the bridge (maybe offer him/her food or clothing or asking what the person is most in need of other than money...many times they could use clean underwear or socks). These are but a few ways of thanking God, get creative and thank God in your own way. God does not expect us to pay for blessings like healings, but He does expect a grateful heart: "8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8)

In today's Gospel reading (Luke 17:11-19) and the reading from the Old Testament (2 Kings 5:14-17) we see stories of lepers being cleansed and healed by the power of God. In the Old Testament reading, Naaman approached the prophet Elisha and asked how to be cured of his leprosy, and Elisha told him to dip into the Jordan river seven times and he would be cleansed of his leprosy. Naaman didn't like what Elisha said because it was too simple and he didn't want to do it, until his men convinced him that if Elisha had told him to do something extraordinary, he would have done it, so why not something simple? He goes ahead, dips himself in the river seven times and is healed. He is so grateful that he tries to pay Elisha, but Elisha would not accept any gifts for the healing. Not only that, but Naaman tells Elisha he will no longer offer holocausts or sacrifices to any other god but the God of Israel (Yahweh). That is a truly grateful heart in God's eyes.

"9 So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha.

10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "^(I)Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean."

11 But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.'

12 "Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and ^(J)went away in a rage.

13 ^(K)Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, "^(L)My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?"

14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and ^(M)his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and ^(N)he was clean.

15 When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, "Behold now, ^(O)I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so please ^(P)take a present from your servant now."

16 But he said, "^(Q)As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, ^(R)I will take nothing." And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

17 Naaman said, "If not, please let your servant at least be given two mules' load of ^(S)earth; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD."

In the Gospel reading from Luke, ten lepers approach Jesus on the road, keeping their distance, and asking for mercy. Jesus tells them to show themselves to priests, and as they go on their way, they are all healed. However, only one of the ten healed lepers makes his way back to Jesus to thank Him or praise God. The one that came back and gave thanks to Jesus and praised God was a Samaritan, considered a foreigner to the Jews and a pagan and unclean. For coming back and giving thanks, the Samaritan was saved, while the other 9 lepers were not...they were only healed.

"11 While He was ^(A)on the way to Jerusalem, ^(B)He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.

12 As He entered a village, ten leprous men who ^(C)stood at a distance met Him;

13 and they raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, ^(D)Master, have mercy on us!"

14 When He saw them, He said to them, "^(E)Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they were going, they were cleansed.

15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, ^(F)glorifying God with a loud voice,

16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a ^(G)Samaritan.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they?

18 "Was no one found who returned to ^(H)give glory to God, except this foreigner?"

19 And He said to him, "Stand up and go; ^(I)your faith ^[a]has made you well."

Footnotes:

Luke 17:19 Lit has saved you"

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So have a grateful heart and give thanks to God for all good things.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for life, breath, health, use of my limbs, my senses, my schooling, my family, my friends, my loved ones, dreams in the night, those times I feel like you are near to me, answering past prayers, all the times you blessed me by saving me from myself (whether it was preventing a wreck in traffic or preventing me from dying by electricity or when I've jumped out of planes, or from any other stupid thing I've done in my youth that could have resulted in my death or in the death of others). Thank you for healing me and making me able to walk again without pain. Thank you for giving me control of my drinking habits. Thank you for blue skies, thank you for clouds that cover the sun on a hot day, thank you for shade from the sun, cool breezes on hot days, birds, butterflies, squirrels and all your creatures that make me smile when I look upon them, especially my pets. Thank you that I have people who care for me and look after me, thank you for ups and downs, thank you for music, dancing, friends to hang out with, time alone and solitude, parties. Thank you that I have food on my plate, and gas in my car and money in the bank (even when it's not very much). Thank you for windy days, oceans and rivers, mountains and hills, flat land, trees, the moon, stars. Thank you for clothes. Thank you for television, or (for those that have it) being able to pay the cable bill, high speed internet. Thank you for all those times I feel like you are communicating with me in Your own personal way. Thank you for always being faithful, even when I am not. Thank you for always loving me, even when I don't love myself. Thank you for hearing my prayers, and answering them, even if your answer is "No." Thank you being a good God. Thank you for your mercy and infinite love. Thank you for Jesus. Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for a sinner like me. Have mercy on me and help me not to sin again. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. Thank you that I can speak with you and ask you questions, and you will answer in unique and interesting ways. Thank you for helping me in my times of need. Thank you for sending me help when I needed it and forgot to ask. Thank you for keeping evil far from me. Thank you for all the good things and people you bring into my life.

These are just a few of the things for which I am grateful. What are you grateful for in your life? Have you told God thank you yet?

Sunday, October 7, 2007: Words are powerful, so it's important to watch what we say. Words from a coach can motivate a team or a personal life, and they can inspire us to great things. The wrong words can hurt our feelings, hurt our relationships, destroy friendships, or scar us for life, whether it be through gossiping, a stern tongue-lashing, or whether they are spoken in the heat of anger. Finally, words combined with faith can bring about miracles.

"20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase (produce) of his lips shall he be filled.

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

These verses tell us our words are power and that what we say fills our life (belly), so we should choose our words carefully. Our words have even the power to revive a person's spirit or to kill it, literally and figuratively.

"4 The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook."

In other words, deep waters can be tread, swam upon, can become rough as with a storm, and can drown or kill a person. This is the spiritual power of our words. Use self restraint in speech to prevent rough waters. Words can also be a grand source of wisdom, help, or advice to someone in need of it.

"6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes (blows)."

This means that words from fools enter into or cause contention (quarrels, arguments, fights, competition). The last half of the verse can be taken to mean the fool would call for or instigate violence on another, OR could mean the fool might get a response of violence on the fool him/herself due to the fool's words.

This suggests the fool's words cause the fool's own downfall, loss of credibility, or even their own death. Lips as a snare of the soul- a snare can be disabled so as not to cause harm (snare as in trap), or it can be a loaded trap for the fool's soul. This is part of why it's better to choose our words carefully.

"8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."

The words of a gossip or a slanderer hurt others to the inner depths of their souls, as if physically wounding them. Their words are felt and usually felt as pain. The pain felt is actually from a spiritual wound received through words.

"13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded (broken) spirit who can bear?

15 The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge."

v.13- It is wise to first hear a matter or a person out completely before responding. (This is used widely in business as a customer service skill). Otherwise you are being foolish and it reflects on you as shameful, and possibly arrogant and stupid.

v.14- With a strong spirit you can overcome obstacles, like infirmities (sicknesses), but if your spirit is broken, for example- by words, then no one can help you but God. The military uses this tactic of breaking one's spirit to train their soldiers to follow orders. Solitary confinement in prison to break the spirit of the troublemakers, and torture to break the spirit of captured enemy soldiers.

v.15- Spend more time getting knowledge (learning new things), facts, wisdom, and less time talking is the point of this verse.

"19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle."

Words can easily offend, and once the damage is done (once the wrong words are spoken), the words can't be taken back, and the most difficult thing to do is to repair the damage caused to a relationship (even a member of your own family) by the offences of the mouth (words).

"21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.

22 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.

24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."

v.21-23-- Wise people train their mouth so they can control the words that come out of it. Listen to people cuss everyday...you'll hear them say something like "G-d dammit!" Instead of blurting out a curse (telling God to damn something), why not work on changing the words that come out of your mouth and say something like "G-d bless it!" or leave God's name/title out of the equation and just say "Bless it!", because when you do that, God can change the circumstance that made you upset enough to blurt out a curse and make it work to your advantage (whether it be something as simple as spiritual growth in training your mouth, or something more complicated like getting you to view your situation from a different and peaceful point of view).

v.24- Pleasant and sincere words are health to our bodies and spirits, and they are sweeter to hear than phony peoples' insincere and usually degrading, hurtful and unhelpful words. It's like when people say something like "a true friend would have told me" such and such...what that means is that the person doesn't want to hear insincere words like "oh yeah, that looks good on you" when it really looks horrible and the person is counting on your honesty for their own sense of vanity; or when a person asks for an honest opinion, sometimes a true friend will have to say something the other doesn't want to hear and that may hurt them a little to hear, but it's more important to the person to hear the truth, rather than not know or to be told what they think they want to hear.

More wise advice on life, but that also applies to our use of words and how words can affect others:

"29 He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones."

More scriptural quotes on the power of the tongue (our words) and how we should use them:

"12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it."

Proverbs 6:16-18

"16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,"

Proverbs 15:1-4

"1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit."

Proverbs 21:23

"23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles."

Proverbs 26:28

"28 A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin."

Proverbs 28:23

"23 He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue."

James 3:5-8

"5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."

1 Peter 3:9-11

"9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it."

Matthew 12:33-35

"33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things."

Matthew 15:17-20

"17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."

The power of faith combined with words:

Luke 17:5-6

"5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."

Bringing dry bones to life: God brought the prophet Ezekiel to a valley full of dry bones, and told him to speak to them certain words and they regrouped into skeletons and then flesh came upon the bones and then breath came into them and they lived.

Ezekiel 37:1-10

"1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath (spirit) to enter into you, and ye shall live:

6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above (over): but there was no breath (spirit) in them.

9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army."

Finally, a clip from the season finale of the new Doctor Who (Last of the Time Lords)...this is a spoiler. Martha Jones reveals how she carried out the Doctor's orders to save the world by telling his story, not using weapons...her weapon was simply words. This is analogous to our job of spreading the good news and story of Jesus Christ. Enjoy the clip:

Sunday, September 30, 2007: This week many churches celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi this coming week by bringing their animals to the church grounds to be blessed. Here's a little bit about him from (other than what he is most noted for: founding the Franciscan order of monks). http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Francis/default.asp :

-"St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology, was a Roman Catholic saint who took the gospel literally by following all Jesus said and did."

- "St. Francis of Assisi, lover of all creation, champion of justice, patron saint of animals and the environment, founded the Franciscan Order of monks. His feast day is October 4."

St. Francis of Assisi is most associated as the patron saint of animals, but really other saints are better known as the patron saints of animals, including: 1) Anthony of Padua - "A gifted speaker, he attracted crowds everywhere he went, speaking in multiple tongues; legend says that even the fish loved to listen. Wonder worker." http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainta01.htm ; 2) St. Anthony the Abbot - "His relationship with pigs and patronage of swineherds is a little complicated. Skin diseases were sometimes treated with applications of pork fat, which reduced inflammation and itching. As Anthony's intervention aided in the same conditions, he was shown in art accompanied by a pig. People who saw the art work, but did not have it explained, thought there was a direct connection between Anthony and pigs - and people who worked with swine took him as their patron." http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainta06.htm ; 3) Blaise - "Healer of men and animals; according to legend, sick animals would come to him on their own for help, but would never disturb him at prayer." http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintb04.htm ; and 4) St. Nicholas of Tolentino - "A vegetarian, Nicholas was once served a roasted fowl; he made the sign of the cross over it, and it flew out a window." http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintn07.htm . Click on the links to read more about each of these saints...they did many wondrous things during their lives.

"18Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; ^(A)I will make him a helper ^[a]suitable for him."

19^(B)Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and ^(C)brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

20The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for ^[b]Adam there was not found ^(D)a helper suitable for him."

We are told by today's society that just by having pets we as people become less stressed, live longer, and we learn to put others' needs before our own. In the past people relied on animals, not the machines we rely on, for agriculture whether as livestock or helpers to till the ground. Shaolin monks studied animals and learned to adapt their movements into various martial arts for their survival. Others use them for food and clothing. Animals are important to humans, and humans should at the very least recognize the importance of animals and treat them with the respect and kindness they deserve.

The Bible has a great story about a prophet that was about the be killed by an angel's sword. The prophet did not see the angel, but the donkey he was riding did see it, and kept trying to avoid the angel's sword. The prophet got mad at the donkey, and began to beat it, but God opened the donkey's mouth and allowed him to speak to the prophet, then God opened the prophet's eyes so that he could see the angel with the sword pointed at him. Animals aren't as dumb as some people think:

Numbers 22:21-33

"21^(A)So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab.

The Angel and Balaam

22But God was angry because he was going, ^(B)and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him.

23When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back into the way.

24Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side.

25When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself to the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall, so he struck her again.

26The angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left.

27When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so ^(C)Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick.

28And ^(D)the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?"

29Then Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, ^(E)I would have killed you by now."

30The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?" And he said, "No."

31Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw ^(F)the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground.

32The angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was ^(G)contrary to me.

33"But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live." "

Sunday, September 23, 2007: We are commanded to love each other, but sometimes it seems that other people, even our own selves, make this a difficult thing to do. We find that people (or ourselves) fall short of our expectations, let us down in several ways, irritate us, impose on us, don't seem to carry their own weight in the house or on the job, their differing views on matters conflict with our own (or we find ourselves acting contradictory to our own values)...etc. And those are just the people we get along with and love.

How much more difficult it is to forgive and accept these qualities in total strangers, especially those who steal from us, cheat us, try to hurt us for our material possessions, those who oppress us because they know they can get away with it. It's even worse when such atrocities are committed by people we previously considered friends, family, or lovers.

Yet, Jesus commands us to do more than just love those who love us. The Old Testament stresses the importance of loving others, yet securing your right to retaliation. Jesus changed that focus into love for those who love you AND love for your enemies, because if you just love or act loving to those who act loving to you or those who love you, then you are being no different than anyone else...even evil people do the same. Jesus wants us to stand out so he can see us as His, be perfect like our Heavenly Father, who is kind to the good and the evil.

27"But I say to you who hear, ^(A)love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28bless those who curse you, ^(B)pray for those who mistreat you.

29"^(C)Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

30"Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

31"^(D)Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

32"^(E)If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

33"If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

34"^(F)If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.

35"But ^(G)love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be ^(H)sons of ^(I)the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

36"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

The movie Peaceful Warrior (based on the book by Dan Millman: Way of the Peaceful Warrior) illustrates this lesson well. Socrates (the old man played by Nick Nolte) is teaching Dan about knowing the cost of certain pleasures (like a night out drinking), after having made him give up drinking and drugs and sex entirely. Outside the bar, Dan gets sick, and a gang of thugs approaches. Socrates, though old, can easily take all three of them if he wanted to, but decides to teach Dan another lesson about letting go of pride and material possesions. Enjoy: