Babel and Confusion to Peace ,Rest and community

babel = confusion

see Genesis 11:1-5 at

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+11

different languages are cool

but people stopped being able to understand each other

they had different ways of trying to express ________that the other
 could no longer read correctly anymore

misinterpretation
misunderstandings
confusion
bewilderment
hurt and anger
fear and rejection

does this not sum up the human condition?

unable to connect
to build community

we fracture
and all progess is at a standstill

we just abandon our great project and move on elsewhere
hoping to find something new that might work somewhere else

giving up on each other
on this relationship
on this person

forget it - this is hopeless
I never understand her
he never understands me..

"God is against the proud but he gives grace to the humble" Proverbs 3:34 ICB

"So, be humble under God's powerful hand.
 Then he will lift you up when the right time comes.
Give all your worries to him because he cares for you."
I Peter 5:6-7 ICB

Jesus Christ died to deliver us from our terrible self-centered pride
the 'I don't need to listen to you' within

If I am just willing to not deflect the situations and persons he is using to show me my need of Him
not blaming circumstances and everyone around me

willing to be shown my greatest problem is my ignoring of you

Yes, Lord I say those very hard words
you are right
and I am in the wrong
I need you
please help me

Oh praise you,
you sweep in like an overwhelming flood of care and comfort when you hear these simple words
let me be quick to say them
let me say them often

You do not trample me or despise me in my vulnerabilty and need
you say
I CARE FOR YOU

I am here
tell me all your heart
all your worries
all your concerns
all your sorrow and sadness
all your longings and desires

you care for me

what wonderful news

I do not have to try to be God and make things happen the way I think they should

You are God and I can come to you at any time and tell you everything

help me to bring and leave all my burdens with you

and to love others in this same way

they are safe here

they are cared for

they are helped

"Do not be a ruler over people you are responsible for.
be good examples to them.
Then when Christ, the Head Shepherd comes, you will get a crown.
This crown will be glorious and it will never lose it's beauty.
....And all of you should be very humble with each other.
'God is against the proud,
but he gives grace to the humble' Prov 3:34" 

I Peter 5:3-5 ICB

Ephesians 2:1-8Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

From Death to Life

2 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens,[a] the spirit now working in the disobedient.[b] 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us,[c] 5 made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, 7 so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindnessto us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—

Footnotes:

1. Ephesians 2:2 Lit ruler of the domain of the air
2. Ephesians 2:2 Lit sons of disobedience
3. Ephesians 2:4 Lit love with which He loved us

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. 14 For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.  

Epesians 2:13-14 (HCSB) 

Ephesians 4:15King James Version (KJV)

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

King James Version (KJV)

by Public Domain

this is the way 

accepting your truth about who I am and how much I need you

being willing to speak truthfully and kind and loving and helpfully 

this is what builds us up into Christ

builds up relationships

builds up a community where Christ can be seen and honored and glorified

Loving You is significant

"He sees me"

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

New International Version (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Corinthians 13:1 Or languages
2. 1 Corinthians 13:3 Some manuscripts body to the flames

1 Corinthians 13:1-7

The Message (MSG)

The Way of Love

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

A life of significance

What makes a life meaningful and significant?

What is time well spent?

How do I leave a lasting and meaningful legacy
for when my life is over and done?

Thank you Lord, thank you

I hear you in this passage

Yes, you tell me plainly,  even painfully 

all my so called great accomplishments

acts of devotion and service

sharing of wisdom and experience

are nothing 

without you and your love

no matter what I say
without love it is nothing

worse than nothing

a harsh, grating sound

bringing no pleasure to anyone

not helpful at all

no matter what gifts I have

or how much faith I have

without love

I am nothing at all

it will leave nothing lasting behind

bring no deep transformative change to anyone

no matter how sacrificial I try to be

no matter what I try to give up

no matter what I try to endure

for the sake of others

without your love in it

I have accomplished nothing of true lasting value

without your love in it

these verses seem so harsh,
cutting down so much of what I look to to feel good about myself
and what I have done,
what gifts God has given,
what actions or sacrifices I have tried to make

but there is something so incredibly beautiful and powerful here

If this is true...
then the the other side of the coin must also be true...

When I speak, haltingly, in simple words that could easily be despised by anyone, 

including myself

 for their lack of eloquence, grace, wisdom etc.

If I speak or act in love, whether impressive or knowledgeable 

by anyone's estimation or not

If I am filled with your love

and it moves me to speak or act

what I believe to be your words or actions

your thoughts and way

instead of mine

this is significant

whether it seems so to me

or to whom I am speaking

or to any one at all

whether I feel good or bad about it

whether it seems to make any difference or not

The measure you give us:

is it done in love?

your love

that does not run out

that does not get irritated 

or envious

that is not motivated by the object at all

or what kind of response I may or may not 

get in return

because love is your essential nature

it defines who you are

and everything you do or say

You cause the sun to shine and 

the rain to fall 

on the evil and the good

because that is who you are

"This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty." Matthew 5:45 The Message

You do not love because you will be loved in return

or someone will understand you

or someone will appreciate you

or you believe you will get desirable results

You can enable me to love

anyone

anywhere

anyhow

no matter what I think,

you count this as lasting and significant

So, as I sit here struggling 

I couldn't impress anyone if I tried

Whether those closest to me understand or appreciate me

whether my children rise up to respect

love and appreciate me

or they don't

whether anyone in my neighborhood 

or at my church 

thinks I am _____________ :)
or thinks I am____________ :(

You

are saying:

this is significant

this is lasting

this is meaningful

this will bear lasting fruit

whether you see it 

or understand it 

or not 

right now

because you have done it

unto me

"The King will reply, 'Truly, I tell you,
whatever you did
for one
of the least of these
brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me.'"
Matthew 25:40NIV

"His master said to him,
 'Well done good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful over a little;
I will set you over much.
Enter into the joy of your Master.'"
Matthew 25:23 ESV

"...The LORD does not look at
the things people look at.
People look at the outward appearance,
but the LORD
looks at the heart."
I Samuel 16:7

"For the eyes of the LORD run

to and fro

throughout the whole earth

to show himself strong 

on behalf of those

whose heart is loyal

to Him..."

II Chronicles 16:9 NKJV

none of us have this heart...

"Create in me a clean heart O God.
 Renew a loyal spirit
within me."
Psalm 51:10 
The Living Bible

but we can cry out to God to do His work within 

to do and give us what we cannot

to give us Joy In You

whether we feel meaningful, significant,

beloved, helpful 

or otherwise

"Though the fig tree 

should not blossom,

And there be no fruit on the vines

Though the yield of the olive shall fail

And the fields produce no food

Though the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet, I will exult in the LORD.

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength.

And he has made my feet like hinds feet.

and makes me walk in my high places."

Habakkuk 3:17-19 NIV

 a gentle pushing back...

for some of us right now

who truly do not have the strength, time or energy to

do what most would consider beautiful and meaningful

 I would love to 

bake with my children

prepare gifts for others

travel to _________

 give _________ to ____________
but really am not able to at this time...

For those who are looking for work

not because the are looking for a career 

that is meaningful and significant

but because the family needs to eat

who may truly need to take a job they do not even like

because the family needs to eat

some of the wonderful and beautiful encouragements 

to find your passion

to those whom there is no one else to hand the baby off to,

to go and ___________

some of these encouragements can, without meaning to

place a burden on the heart

undermine 

without meaning to
the value God places
in the hidden, unseen, mundane,
even the trivial and tedious
done in love for Him

for those who cannot do beautiful craft projects

who can barely keep the children clean and well - fed

whose passion is to have just one night of undisturbed sleep

God sees you

God values you

God can make what you are doing so significant

For those who are shut in caring for the shut in

For those whose health has boxed them in

and put so much out of reach 

For those for whom the care of family 

takes nearly all available resource

God sees you

God values you

God knows what you are doing

out of love for Him

For those who experience severe limitation

in body, soul, mind, spirit

God is not limited to work in you

and through you

to shine His Glory

to fill you 

and use you

for unspeakable 

unimaginable 

good

Oh Lord,
You who have experienced all we do
you who are not a high priest who 
cannot be touched with all the feelings of our infirmity
you know severe pain, loss, grief,
 limitation
death

You who Paul, could say with confidence
I know how to abound and I know how to suffer
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Help us to not close our hearts to whatever you call us to
whether it be our wildest dreams come true
or the hardest challenge we have ever faced.
Help us to find our joy in you 
and remain there through 
the heights and depths this life 
has to offer

Help us to live in your love
to fully believe and receive your love
in the midst of our exhilarations
our joys, our sorrows
our depletion
our confusion 
our disappointment

Help me to love you 
more than all else 
and know your love
that
abides 
through all else

"we love you because you have first loved us"
I John 4 :10

Please take this splinter out

Yesterday afternoon I looked down to discover that a 1/4 in splinter had wedged itself somehow under the skin on the middle finger of my right hand. I have no idea how it got there or when it happened but there it is.

There is not enough of an edge to pull out either way.

Being in my finger means that I only have the 5 other fingers on one hand to try to do the job of  trying to grasp and remove this foreign object from inside my first line of defense for my body - my skin

I cannot do this job myself.

It is a relative simple job and will only take 10-15 min and the right tool(s).

But I cannot do it alone.

I need help from another.

I got so busy last night that the tiny pressure from the splinter, while mildly discomforting, was not enough to remind me to ask someone to help me.
It got put off and forgotten.

I woke up at 5 in the morning. Oh, my finger hurts. Why is that?

Oh yeah I forgot about that splinter

the offending object shoved into me
the small break off point of something I handled
remains lodged in me still

how I let things that happen to me
words that are said to me
actions of others that I experiece
get under my skin
lodge into me
remain with me long after I am no longer around that person or event
affecting me long after

It is when all is quiet and calm that the pain and pressure present themselves
perhaps this is why so many of us avoid the quiet and the calm?

It is 9 am now
there is a red area around the splinter about 1/4 inch in diameter
The pain is stronger now and not so easy to forget about

My body is trying to remain healthy
but this foreign object is fighting against that
 a continual source of contamination as long as it is jammed inside of me.

It will still only take 10-15 min to remove
but now I had better use some antibacterial cream
and soak it in hot water a few times
to make sure the germs that are rapidly multiplying are vanquished

again the lesson - my body needs help and support from somewhere outside of itself

but now the amount of effort it will take to heal has gone up dramatically

With the passing of time and left untreated
 this will turn into a trip to Urgent Care
the germs do not care about my scedule or the other plans I had for this time
they have their own agenda...

I am home alone

I have asked a friend and neighbor to help me

I am afraid others will be busy
will be annoyed at the interruption of my need
the claim my need will make on them

but it is a need
I must seek help
I need help

no matter how someone may respond or not respond

I must seek out assistance

Matthew 7:1-5J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

7 1-2 “Don’t criticise people, and you will not be criticised. For you will be judged by the way you criticise others, and the measure you give will be the measure you receive.”

3-5 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and fail to notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me get the speck out of your eye’, when there is a plank in your own? You fraud! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you can see clearly enough to remove your brother’s speck of dust.”

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

J. B. Phillips, "The New Testament in Modern English", 1962 edition by HarperCollins

We all need help so be careful how you look at and treat others

How interesting

a splinter, a log, a plank, not just in my finger affecting what I can and cannot do but in my eye distorting how I see and view others and their words and actions

over time the body can build a callous around something and you no longer feel it anymore

it becomes part of you

Oh Lord, I see I see

I see how my own pride, my own self-pity, my own resentments, my own pain and insecurity have stuck into me

in my eye

twisting and distorting all I see and how I respond to others

the remnants of past wounds still remain to poison the present

Yet you tell me to remove my own splnter

in my eye no less!

HOW?

Maybe this means to come before you and let you show it to me, make me aware of it

but then ask you to remove it

Oh Lord, I need you 

I need you so much

I need you to help me face the pain I bury

the hurts that have festered

there is nerve damage

I no longer feel or am aware of these splinters in my soul

until someone inadvertently hits one and WOW

such a reaction

they are confused

what I am saying and doing is so out of porportion to what they said or did

Why?

Oh Lord, 

I need your healing touch in me

O Divive Doctor you

diagnose for your diagnosis is always spot on

peel back the layers of denial, anger, blaming and excusing

to cut to the core of the problem

my hurt and need of you

help me to not make excuse or blameshift

to lay still and quiet as you use your word (it is perfectly sterile and will not add in further contamination) to slice in

to grasp 

to pull out

it is painful and humiliating 

but oh what a relief

to see clearly

to understand truth in each situation and relationship

to be unencumbered to respond in love to what another needs

instead of reacting out of my____________

Matthew 7:7-12J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you. The one who asks will always receive; the one who is searching will always find, and the door is opened to the man who knocks.”

9-11 “If any of you were asked by his son for bread would you be likely to give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish would you give him a snake? If you then, for all your evil, quite naturally give good things to your children, how much more likely is it that your Heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him?”

12 “Treat other people exactly as you would like to be treated by them—this is the essence of all true religion.”

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

J. B. Phillips, "The New Testament in Modern English", 1962 edition by HarperCollins

Matthew 6:22-23New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

22 “The eye is like a lamp for the body. Suppose your eyes are good. Then your whole body will be full of light. 23 But suppose your eyes are bad. Then your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light inside you is darkness, then it is very dark!

New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Copyright © 1996, 1998 by Biblica

John 13 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world. It was time for him to go to the Father. Jesus loved his disciples who were in the world. So he now showed them how much he really loved them.

2 The evening meal was being served. The devil had already tempted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. He had told Judas to hand Jesus over to his enemies. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put everything under his power. He also knew he had come from God and was returning to God.

4 So he got up from the meal and took off his outer clothes. He wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a large bowl. Then he began to wash his disciples’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter.

“Lord,” Peter said to him, “are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t realize now what I am doing. But later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter. “You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you can’t share life with me.”

9 “Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet! Wash my hands and my head too!”

10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs to wash only his feet. The rest of his body is clean. And you are clean. But not all of you are.”

11 Jesus knew who was going to hand him over to his enemies. That was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes. Then he returned to his place.

“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You are right. That is what I am. 14 I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you.

16 “What I’m about to tell you is true. A servant is not more important than his master. And a messenger is not more important than the one who sends him. 17 Now you know these things. So you will be blessed if you do them.