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God is Love

One tree, three trunks, Chehalis Western Trail, Olympia, WA

The Great Adventure

Lake Crescent as seen from East Beach, WA USA

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

- Mark 12: 28-34

Clothed with Majesty

View of Dabob Bay and Hood Canal from the top of Mt. Walker, WA USA

Your Light Shall Rise

Dark-eyed Junco feeding chicks, Olympia, WA USA

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. - Matthew 5:14-16

The Work of Your Fingers

King David wrote these words 3,000 years ago, in amazement, that the God that created the universe cared so much about mankind. David was unaware of the love that God was to reveal through his son, Jesus Christ, a love so great that God would even die for us. Read Psalm 8 in light of the great love God has demonstrated for you in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

O LORD, our Lord,

how awesome is your name through all the earth!

I will sing of your majesty above the heavens with the mouths of babes and infants.

You have established a bulwark against your foes, to silence enemy and avenger.

When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place—What is man that you are mindful of him, and a son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him little less than a god, crowned him with glory and honor.

You have given him rule over the works of your hands, put all things at his feet:

All sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field,

The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,

how awesome is your name through all the earth!

You Know Me

LORD, you have searched me, you know me:

you know when I sit and stand;

you understand my thoughts from afar.

You sift through my travels and my rest;

with all my ways you are familiar.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

LORD, you know it all.

Behind and before you encircle me

and rest your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

far too lofty for me to reach.

Where can I go from your spirit?

From your presence, where can I flee?

If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;

if I lie down in Sheol, there you are.

If I take the wings of dawn

and dwell beyond the sea,

Even there your hand guides me,

your right hand holds me fast.

If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me,

and night shall be my light”

Darkness is not dark for you,

and night shines as the day.

Darkness and light are but one.

You formed my inmost being;

you knit me in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;

wonderful are your works!

My very self you know.

My bones are not hidden from you,

When I was being made in secret,

fashioned in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw me unformed;

in your book all are written down;

my days were shaped, before one came to be.

How precious to me are your designs, O God;

how vast the sum of them!

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sands;

when I complete them, still you are with me.

When you would destroy the wicked, O God,

the bloodthirsty depart from me!

Your foes who conspire a plot against you

are exalted in vain.

Do I not hate, LORD, those who hate you?

Those who rise against you, do I not loathe?

With fierce hatred I hate them,

enemies I count as my own.

Search me, God, know my heart;

try me, know my thoughts.

See if there is a wicked path in me;

lead me along an ancient path.

- Psalm 139

Living Water

We all thirst.

Thirst for peace.

Thirst for understanding.

Thirst for a life filled with love and joy.

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” ( John 14:6)

“Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

If you thirst, talk to Jesus.

Rejoicing and Praying

Hallelujah!

Praise the LORD from the heavens;

praise him in the heights.

Praise him, all you his angels;

give praise, all you his hosts.

Praise him, sun and moon;

praise him, all shining stars.

Praise him, highest heavens,

you waters above the heavens.

Praise the LORD from the earth,

you sea monsters and all the deeps of the sea;

Lightning and hail, snow and thick clouds,

storm wind that fulfills his command;

Mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars;

Animals wild and tame,

creatures that crawl and birds that fly;e

Kings of the earth and all peoples,

princes and all who govern on earth;

Young men and women too,

old and young alike.

Let them all praise the LORD’s name,

for his name alone is exalted,

His majesty above earth and heaven.

- Psalm 148: 1-4, 7-13

Infinite Possibilites

Olympic Mountains as seen from Hurricane Ridge, WA USA

Ah, my Lord GOD! You made the heavens and the earth with your great power and your outstretched arm; nothing is too difficult for you - Jeremiah 32:17

Love and Mercy

Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.

Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors’ needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.

Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.

Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.

Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.

You Yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy – if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer – if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically.

O my Jesus, transform me into Yourself, for you can do all things. - St. Faustina Kowalska, Diary, 163

Rejoice

Prairie Chicken, near North Platte, NE USA

Let us dance and sing and be merry for he has risen!

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad. - Psalm 118:24

Happy Easter!

Reflecting on the Passion of Christ

“The love of which Jesus speaks is the love of a God who even today comes among us, not to dazzle us with spectacular displays, but to share in our struggles and to take our burdens upon himself. In doing so, he reveals to us the truth about who we are and how precious we are in his sight.” - Pope Leo XIV

Dwelling Together as One

Ring-necked Duck, Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, WA, USA

The love that is God made man for communion, communion with God and with each other. True joy is found in relationships, loving relationships. Those that prefer the solitude of a sunset, perhaps unknowingly, are in communion with the one that created the sunset. Those that love the rigorous solitude of solving mathematical problems, are in communion with the one that created order. Those that love art and music and beauty, are in communion with the one that is beauty.

All acts of God are done to draw us into a loving relationship with God and with man. May we continue to learn from our great teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ, and grow in loving relationships with God and with each other.

Christian Vision

We rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.

While we were yet helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. - Romans 5: 2, 3-8

God loves us! I say it again, God loves us! These three words are the foundation of Christian hope, Christian truth and Christian love.

The Heart

Wood Duck, McClane Creek Nature Trail, Capital Forest, WA USA

We spend billions and billions of dollars each year on beauty products. TV and social media are saturated with a focus on appearance, but what is of real importance is the heart.

The heart is the place where the battle between good and evil, joy and sadness takes place. Place God on the throne of your heart through diligent prayer, quiet meditation and deliberate actions of love and you will win the battle for your heart and find true peace, happiness and joy.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! - Psalm 139:23-24

A great meditation for the heart is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7.

And always follow Jesus’ teaching to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” - Matthew 22:37

Following Jesus

McClane Creek Nature Trail, Capital Forest, WA USA

Jesus asks those near to him to follow him over 20 times in the bible, but only a very few followed him all the way to the cross.

Why? Perhaps Jesus provides some insight in his listing of the steps needed for discipleship.

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” - Luke 9:23

Denying ones self is a shedding of those desires that separate us from a more perfect love of God and man. For example, for the rich young man in the Bible (see Matthew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18) it meant no longer being possessed by money and possessions. Followers of Christ should exam their lives and their conscience and go to prayer asking our Lord what they need to deny in order to more closely follow Him.

Picking up your cross daily is an encounter with the challenges God places in your life for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. For some it may be performing a job that is not satisfying in order to provide for your family, for others it might mean taking care of a loved one that needs assistance despite the demands, and for others it might mean enduring suffering with faith and prayer. It is interesting to note that Jesus asks us to pick up our cross daily because in life our cross can change as we change, and the needs of those around us change. Ask for the Holy Spirit each day for assistance in carrying your cross.

This all might sound hard but getting closer to Jesus is well worth it.

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”

- 1 Cor 2:9

Gift

Take time to reflect on the loving actions of God as giver, as a gift and as perfect love.

God, the Father, the Creator, “said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3)” and the universe was born as a gift for all.

God, the Word, the eternal Son, became man and gave himself “even unto death on a cross (Philippians 2:8)” to rescue man from sin and death. “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)”

God, the Spirit, the Love between the Father and the Son, gives himself to live within us. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19 - 20).”

The gift of the Holy Spirit allows for us to enter into the loop of God’s grace so that we can become more like Jesus, a gift for the world.

Are you living your life as a gift for the world?

Pure Heart

Great Blue Heron, Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, WA USA

Dear Jesus, help me to be more like you.

Help me to love God with all my heart, mind, body and soul.

Help me to cast away my selfish desires and to seek only your Father’s will in my life.

Help me to love my neighbors as myself.

Dear Jesus, may the power of your holy spirit turn my heart of stone into a heart like yours.

Amen

Dignity

Trees standing alone in a clear-cut, Capital State Forest, WA USA

We are all made in the image and likeness of God and as such have dignity, an inherent, inalienable worth. Dignity, not earned, but freely given by our Creator to each and everyone of us. This gift, this common bond we all share, makes it possible for us to see the beauty in each other, and not just our differences. Let us mend the fabric of our shared humanity, not obscuring our differences, but listening to each other, learning from each other, seeking understanding, seeking truth, and seeking what it means to love.

God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. - Genesis 1:26

God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:27

God blessed them - Genesis 1:28

God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. - Genesis 1:31

A Light to the Nations

Sunset at Lands End, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

The light of the early Christian church spread ever so quickly with little money and without the use of power or violence, it spread. First “in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (ACTS 1:8). The light of love is still spreading. How are you spreading the light of Christ’s love?

#LighttotheNations #WalkwithGod #nature #God #Jesus