Archives: Watchword

WATCHWORD:

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  Isaiah 53:3

 My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death.  Mark 14:34

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” Luke 10:21

 Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength! Nehemiah 8:10 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” ²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

²⁶ As for Philip, an angel of the Lord (The Holy Spirit) said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ²⁷ So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” ³⁰ Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.  Acts 8:26-31 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

²⁵ “I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. ²⁶ But when the Father sends the Comforter instead of me—and by the Comforter I mean the Holy Spirit—he will teach you much, as well as remind you of everything I myself have told you. John 14:25-26 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

^15-16 “If you love me, obey me; and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Comforter, and he will never leave you. ¹⁷ He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, for it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, for he lives with you now and someday shall be in you. John 14:15-17

²⁵ “I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. ²⁶ But when the Father sends the Comforter instead of me —and by the Comforter I mean the Holy Spirit—he will teach you much, as well as remind you of everything I myself have told you. John 14:25-26 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

In Luke 10: Jesus responds to questions about his identity, with the remarkable claim that He and the Father are One.  Those who understand this are His sheep; they hear His voice, follow, and will never be snatched from His hand. Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  Psalm 23:4 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

⁴ He had to go through Samaria on the way, ^5-6 and around noon as he approached the village of Sychar, he came to Jacob’s Well, located on the parcel of ground Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jesus was tired from the long walk in the hot sun and sat wearily beside the well. ⁷ Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. ⁸ He was alone at the time as his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. ⁹ The woman was surprised that a Jew would ask a “despised Samaritan” for anything—usually they wouldn’t even speak to them!—and she remarked about this to Jesus.

¹⁰ He replied, “If you only knew what a wonderful gift God has for you, and who I am, you would ask me for some living water!” ¹¹ “But you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this is a very deep well! Where would you get this living water? ¹² And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob?” John 4:4-12 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

¹ Later on, God tested Abraham’s faith and obedience. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes, Lord?” he replied. ² “Take with you your only son—yes, Isaac whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I’ll point out to you!” ³ The next morning Abraham got up early, chopped wood for a fire upon the altar, saddled his donkey, and took with him his son Isaac and two young men who were his servants, and started off to the place where God had told him to go. ⁴ On the third day of the journey Abraham saw the place in the distance. ⁵ “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the young men, “and the lad and I will travel yonder and worship, and then come right back.” ⁶ Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering upon Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the knife and the flint for striking a fire. So, the two of them went on together. Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

God’s Revelation to Elijah: ¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings19:11-12

Meditation:

Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo, everybody! Time to celebrate! Drink up! Oh, what are we celebrating? Nothing, really. This is the day celebrated by bartenders everywhere! The distilleries are alive with music. Some believe that we celebrate Mexican independence.  No, that is in September. Then what? The Virgin Mary? No. How about Kahlo? Or Hidalgo? Or Juarez? No, no, and no. What then? Tequila!  Drink up!

Is this a false holiday? Maybe, depends of how you look at it. Maybe celebrating a day, any day, is a good thing. Which is more important? The day, or the celebration?

Many of us have had the experience of the Cursillo Weekend, and have come away with a powerful, uplifting spirit, as we embrace or re-embrace our faith in Christ. That is a good thing. But, we must realize, the experience is not the spirit, the experience is simply the door through which the Spirit comes into our conscious level so that we are aware of what has taken place at a much deeper level of our being. Did you follow that? Celebration is good, but the Spirit is better.

When I was 39 or so, I was a strong Christian, or so I thought.  Then, I got some wake up calls; the threat of bankruptcy, increasing stress with teenage kids, etc. etc. Somewhere in the midst of all that chaos I was confronted with the fallibility of what I considered my faith. Then I had “the experience”.  Through some people’s influence and some circumstance, I had a ‘born again experience’. Celebrate!

From that point on, when I would speak about my faith journey, I would highlight that ‘born again experience’ as proof that I was, indeed, a strong Christian, or so I thought.

I was ‘out of kilter’. I was telling my story wrong! The feeling of being born again is not the transforming experience. What makes the transformation is the great thought of God behind the experience. The purpose of our stories, telling our faith journeys, isn’t us, you and me. The purpose is to convey the Good News. That powerful feeling of being born again? Maybe a Cursillo high? The cacophony all around us?That is just the celebration, announcing the Good News! Listen carefully to the “still. small voice” within, the voice of God, the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Bulletin Board:

From our Poet Laureate Mac McKinley:

Of God and Man

Down to the sea I go, to read a book and rest my soul.
I sit and read and read then read some more, until at last my eyes grow weary.
I pause and watch as endless people trod to and fro;
each intent upon making their footprints upon the sand.
As if to say, “Look at me God, I exist, I belong, here I am.”
Slowly, surely the incoming tide laps at the shore; like a hungry cat at her bowl.
The setting sun signals retreat to the comfort of hearth and home.
During much of the night wind and rain did blow.
I arise before the sun and return to the shore to find a clean, unmarked, pristine sand.
I stand and muse at mankind’s feeble attempt to change God’s eternal plan.

Closing Prayer:

Praying Psalm 46 – Heavenly Father, you are our refuge and our strength in the face of the trouble that surrounds us. Because we rest in that truth, we will not fear. Though everything that we thought we knew and found comfort in has changed, though all those things we felt were so important, no long are of great value. Though trouble, not of our making, draws closer and seems to be overtaking us, sweeping us into the unknown, we are not afraid. We know the Truth and the Light that overcomes this present darkness. That Truth is You, Lord. That Light is You, Lord. We are Yours, Heavenly Father, and because of that Truth, we know You are the Way. We give it all to You, Lord, in the name of Your Son, Jesus, The Christ.  Amen.

(An earlier version of this Watchword was posted on May 5, 2020.)