Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX

You just have to love him because he has God in him already.

From the Lectionary reading in Luke:

20:34 Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage;

20:35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.

20:36 Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.

20:37 And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

20:38 Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

Pharisees and Saducees.  Two different groups that have different goals except for the one that they agree on, they both want to silence Jesus.  They are in agreement that Jesus has an effect on the status quo.  Their own personal roles in society are threatened by Jesus and the tenets He teaches.  Not all Pharisees and Saduccees were bad people and some of them even found Jesus to be inspiring and believed in Him. 

Sounds like today doesn’t it.  Some believe, some don’t, some feel threatened by what Jesus teaches and some just think they are right no matter what Jesus says.  Some want big government taking care of everything and some want a smaller government letting business  guide the economy.  Some want more religion in government and some don’t.  Some want to absolutely seperate their beliefs from politics and some absolutely want religion in politics.

Personally my beliefs guide my life and that includes my work life, my personal life and my political life.  To “love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as myself” means that I love God first.  It means that I love God before I love my wife, my children, my grandchildren, my mother and dad, my brother and sister, my job, my home, my dog, my hobbies, my politics, etc. etc. etc.. 

Jesus’s insight into the scriptures, (He quotes right out of the Old Testament), tells us that if God is first in everything then everything else will be much better.  Love God and love your neighbor.  It is the right thing to do.  Start out by loving the neighbor closest to you, your spouse.  Life will be much better.  The Bible may not have a direct answer for each and every problem we run up against everyday so depend on God’s Holy Spirit to help lead you through those situations.

God is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, He is and has always been and always will be a God who loves you enough to send His only Son to lead you in the right way for our lives in this world.

Have a blessed day and a blessed weekend that will set you up for a really good week,

Love to all,  Randy

My good friend Melvin Croaker at his birthday party back in May on his back porch. I cannot think how to connect the scripture to the picture, so it is just a picture of a good friend who prospered where he was and was a good neighbor to many in this town.

29:7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Jeremiah tells the Israelites to build homes and prosper where they are and to pray for the welfare of the city because He is with them and they will be able to prosper.

Perhaps the lesson for us to learn is to work hard and be a part of the community no matter where God has placed us or where we may have moved ourselves without consulting Him. The Israelites were famous for turning their backs on a God who continually forgave them.  Sounds familiar doesn’t it. 

When we include God in all of our decisions, we make good decisions.  We can get up in the morning with a bad attitude, rebuke God out of our life decisions and make a real mess out of everything.  When we are caught up in secular work, politics, competition of all sorts and just plain old selfishness,  we exclude God from being a part of who we are and what we are doing.  A bad situation to be in, but one God can get us out of, if we just ask Him to live within us at all times.  Jeremiah was telling the exiled Israelites to depend on Him, pray for their enemies and have patience.  Sometimes it takes time for things to happen when God is involved.  Love Him, never leave Him and He will prosper you too!!!!

Have a blessed week and keep the faith,  pray for the place you are living, working and playing in, your welfare depends upon it!!

Randy