Sunday’s Blessing – 02/02/2025

Sunday’s Blessing – 02/02/2025

February was named for a Christian feast (Candlemas) which occurs during the month; specifically, today, February 2. It is set aside as a time of “expiation” or purification. It is a celebration of Jesus, when Joseph and Mary brought Him to the temple to be dedicated (circumcised) in order to follow the Law.

February is also considered the last month of Winter, since Spring begins in March. February 2 marks (approximately) the middle of winter; ironically, when the earth is closest to the sun.

This time of purification (February) precedes resurrection (Spring). I liken it to the process Paul encouraged before celebrating the Lord’s Table (communion) which is described in 1 Corithians 11. “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (vs. 28-29 ESV) I do not believe Paul is saying we will be “cursed” if we partake of the Lord’s Supper with sin in our life, as many teach.

The focus of Paul’s words speak to THE Body, the Church of Jesus. “Discerning the body” speaks to understanding our place in the Kingdom of God. In taking the wine and bread we recognize that Jesus paid for our redemption, reconciling us back to the Father. Just as Jesus was submitted for the rite of circumcision (representing the removal of the flesh from the heart), we in like fashion submit ourselves to the New Testament version of circumcision, which is allowing the Holy Spirit to baptize us into the Body of Christ (salvation).

This February, let us be mindful of the purification completed in us when God made us righteousness through the blood of Christ, washing us clean, making us pure – justified. Then when Spring arrives, we can embrace the new beginning of resurrection, once again walking with the Father as we live out our purpose empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Now, for today’s blessing:

May you receive the full measure of grace provided by the sacrifice of our Savior

So that you can approach the Father without shame or fear

Because you have been made a son or daughter in the Kingdom of God

Which also makes you a king and a priest of the Most High God

May you have eyes to see the position from which you now live

As a joint-heir with Jesus, seated at the right hand of the Father

Empowered by the Holy Spirit sent by Messiah after He ascended

Now an ambassador from Another Kingdom sent to your world

On this Candlemas, may you prepare your heart for the coming resurrection

Both: the one when Messiah returns, but also the one which comes each morning

Living each day as the most important one you have ever lived

Thankful for the grace and mercy given with each sunrise, because the Son has risen

Sunday’s Blessing – 01/26/2025

Sunday’s Blessing – 01/26/2025

May you find or renew hope in whatever situation you find yourself

So you can face each day with expectation of a good end

Knowing your trust is in the God of more than enough

Giving thanks for the peace you find in Him

May you keep hope alive by dreaming of possibilities

Until it quells the fear of the not yet

So you can see the unseen

Until it becomes the evidence of faith

Sunday’s Blessing – 01/19/2025

Sunday’s Blessing – 01/19/2025

May the Lord warm your heart this Winter with His mercy

And cover you with His blanket of grace

So you will understand that Winter is not wasted time

But instead a time of rest for the earth, and for it’s inhabitants

May you find a way to keep His wonder before your eyes

Through the magnificent images of snow and ice

Or the colorful birds against the drab of dried leaves and empty limbs

So you will remember that springtime – resurrection – is coming soon

May you learn to hear the Lord’s gentle voice in the winds when they come

While you sit in the doldrums, considering all He has done

And never forget His faithfulness of filling your sail with His purpose for you

So you may be the blessing to your world to which you have been sent

Sunday’s Blessing – 01/12/2025

Sunday’s Blessing – 01/12/2025

May the grace of God cover you as the snow covers the ground

So that all you see is the pure white where there was once the unsightly

So you may live free of the guilt and shame removed by His mercy

So that you can beam with the bright reflected sunlight of God’s glory

May you wonder at the wonderful God brings into your life

The red berries which become visible when all else is snow-covered

The peaceful vistas of the snow-covered shrubs and trees

The warmth of home where you can find rest

Sunday’s Blessing – 01/05/2025

Sunday’s Blessing – 01/05/2025

May the Lord meet you at your point of decision

So you may realize that regardless of the choice, He is with you

Right or wrong, He will be by your side

To help redeem the wrong and propel the right

May the Spirit of God illuminate your path

To clearly show you where your feet will land

Giving you every opportunity to choose wisely

And step with confidence without fear or trepidation

May purpose guide you in your journey through life

Where choices become obvious, consistent with calling

And direction becomes deliberate, detailed by diligence

So you flourish in both form and function

Sunday’s Blessing – 12/29/2024 – The New Year

Sunday’s Blessing – 12/29/2024 – The New Year

May you come to understand that January 1 is just another day

So that you are not deceived into thinking something has been lost

Like a promise of “this year” it will happen

Know that God determines your times and seasons, not the calendar

May you see the divine thread of the Holy Spirit woven throughout your days

From your beginning of days until the end of your days

God has been, is, and will be at work in your life to bring about His purpose in you

Which a flip of a calendar does not promote nor deter

May you find the new year full of the goodness of God, and His presence

So you may feel the empowerment of His Spirit sent to encourage you

When you feel like the only one on the road you are travelling

Open your eyes to see God’s purpose and provision

May you be immersed in the REST of God accomplished through the miraculous birth of Jesus

The sinless life lived, the sacrifice on the cross for your sins

The burial, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension back to the Father

The seating on the Father’s right hand, and sending the Holy Spirit – Another like Himself

Sunday’s Blessing – 12/22/2024 – Forth Sunday of Advent – Love

Sunday’s Blessing – 12/22/2024 – Forth Sunday of Advent – Love

May the Love of the Father, embodied in the only begotten Son

Show you how to live, by giving you capacity to love others

Giving you something to give away as you encounter those in your world

In order to bring them back to the Father

May this Love, born of a virgin, sent from the Father, rebirth your spirit

To make you alive by the Spirit of God Who empowers you

Enabling you to love others beyond your ability to do so

By showing them the Father’s love in you

May the culmination of HOPE, PEACE, and JOY be realized in LOVE

Just as the prophets of old gave you HOPE of a coming Messiah

It manifested in PEACE through the Babe in Bethlehem

Bringing JOY to your world, making room to receive LOVE