Word Incarnate ~ Teach me to follow you

Something different today...
I promised myself I will only share my scripture views.

Whoa...

today, is different

See, I adopted a puppy six weeks ago from a rescue group.  

Naturally, I believe he adopted me. 

The story is common....

...as every other rescued pet owner will undoubted share!

hehehe

Two days ago he had knee surgery....

his second in his 4month old life.  

Bless his heart...

We are on strict orders,

 "KEEP HIM STILL IN HIS KENNEL FOR TWO WEEKS."

This is proving to be harder on me than on him...

His full leg will be in a cast for 6 weeks, 

a bandage for an additional 6 weeks.  

We will have 6 weeks of physical therapy.  

He eats bees he catches in the backyard despite several stings.  Kills me!  I can't figure out why he doesn't learn to leave 'em alone...I cannot tell you how many times he comes in the house with swollen lips.  I am so grateful he's not allergic to them.  What's become cute, though, is I feel he believes he is a bee.  He loves flowers.  He buries his face in them and licks...licks...licks.  Especially cactus flowers.  go figure...

Alright...what does this have to do with scripture?  What does any of this have to do with the title of this post, "Word Incarnate ~ Teach me to follow you"? I will tell you I relate differently with God because of my relationship with my dog...

I think about how hard God tries to communicate with me.  Like my dog does with me.

I think about how I try so hard to dump human attributes on God.  Like I do with my dog.

I wonder why it is so easy to accept others' belief that God can ever be jealous, angry, vengeful...

I wonder why it is so hard to allow the Word Incarnate to experience loneliness, sadness, confusion...

I wonder why it is so hard to allow Emmanuel the human struggle...the reality of seeking affirmation, the actuality that, "Wow, I am different."

Sometimes, I love praying while feeling God became Flesh...
God as Word Incarnate...
Emmanuel...
so God will know first hand what I pray about...
how I pray...
what it is like to be human...
why it is so hard to simply love...
to grasp why we hold that God could ever be jealous, angry, vengeful.

Pray with me...pray for me...

Let's expand on this together later .

Peace

Miracles ~ teach me to pray: Matthew 14 talks about Jesus Walking on the Water

Ah Man! I’m gonna make this short…

uh…

y e a h.

Again…

How many times did Jesus confront individuals and crowds of people because they
...we...
need signs and miracles to trust his Word?  
I don’t have that answer simply because the answer requires too much work.  

For Jesus to say it ONCE is enough for me to ask the Prayer Question, 
“Do I need a sign or miracle to hear God’s Word...
to trust the Word Incarnate...
to live with the desire to love God...
to believe Jesus is God?”

That ONCE is Mark 8: 11 & 12.  
I break everytime I hear, 
“(Jesus) sighed from the depth of his spirit.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote a bible.  He deleted all signs and miracles from his text so he would concentrate only on Jesus’ message.  Find a copy.  What do you think?  What do you feel about Jefferson’s efforts?

Yet, I love the miracles!

If it IS NOT about the miracle…

Find, read and pray with Matthew 14: 22-27.

Immediately

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat 

and go on ahead of him to the other side,

 while he dismissed the crowd. 

After he had dismissed them, 

he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. 

When evening came, 

he was there alone, 

but the boat was already 

a considerable distance from land, 

buffeted by the waves 

because the wind was against it.

 During the fourth watch of the night

 Jesus went out to them, 

walking on the lake. 

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, 

they were terrified. 

"It's a ghost," they said, 

and cried out in fear.

 But Jesus immediately said to them:

 "Take courage! 

It is I. 

Don't be afraid."

Matthew 14: 22-27

Jesus was alone.

Jesus missed his friends.  
Jesus wanted to be with his friends.

I can see Jesus seeing his friends 
in the boat so far away 
buffeted by waves.

I can see Jesus wanting to be with them so badly he just starts running toward them  
I believe Jesus didn’t even notice he was walking on the water until his friends told him.  

Jesus wanted to be with them...
    with me...
    with you...
    with us...
so badly nothing got in the way; not even the shoreline!  

No obstacles to being with them...
    with me...
    with you...
    with us!

Emmanuel!

Pray with me...

Miracles ~ teach me to pray: Mark 8 talks about The Man in Bethsaida

How many times did Jesus confront individuals and crowds of people because they...we...need signs and miracle to trust his Word?  I don’t have that answer simply because the answer requires too much work.  For Jesus to say it ONCE is enough for me to ask the Prayer Question, “Do I need a sign or miracle to hear God’s Word...to trust the Word Incarnate...to live with the desire to love God...to believe Jesus is God?”

That ONCE is Mark 8: 11 & 12.  I break everytime I hear, “(Jesus) sighed from the depth of his spirit.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote a bible.  He deleted all signs and miracles from his text so he would concentrate only on Jesus’ message.  Find a copy.  What do you think?  What do you feel about Jefferson’s efforts?

Yet, I love the miracles!

If it IS NOT about the miracle...

Find, read and pray with Mark 8: 22 -26

When they arrived at Bethsaida, 

they brought to him a blind man 

and begged him to touch him.  

He took the blind man 

by the hand and led him 

outside the village. 

Putting spittle on his eyes 

he laid his hands on him 

and asked, 

"Do you see anything?"

Looking up he replied, 

"I see people looking like trees and walking."

Then he laid hands on his eyes 

a second time 

and he saw clearly; 

his sight was restored 

and he could see everything distinctly.

Then he sent him home 

and said, 

"Do not even go into the village."

Where are you in your heart reading this again?  

How high does the 

    ‘infant in (my) womb leap for joy upon hearing (this)?’

                                                                Luke 1: 39.

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. 

Wow!  Jesus calls me to spend time with him...

just the two of us...

away from everyone, 

“This is between you and me.”

Putting spittle on his eyes 

he laid his hands on him 

I use this line so many times when praying about Trinitarian Apologetics.

Jeremiah 18

Lamentations 4

Isaiah 64

Romans 9

What?  God is the potter and I am the clay…

A potter repairs a crack, if you will, in the vessel 

with spittle...

with mud (John’s Gospel, Luke’s Gospel)...

with slip.  

Jesus is God for me here!

"Do you see anything?"

I cry.  What a beautiful Prayer Question!  Even healing me, God makes no assumptions...God asks me how things are working out...God wants me to be involved.

Looking up he replied, 

"I see people looking like trees and walking."

This cracks me up!  “well, it’s not exactly what I was expecting.”

I hear I can tell God what its really like for me…

Talk about freedom, huh?

Jesus didn’t walk away.  Jesus didn’t blame, “Well, your faith isn’t strong enough.”

God doesn’t walk away.  God doesn’t blame.

Then he laid hands on his eyes 

a second time 

I cry.  I can see Jesus scrambling.

I cry.  I can hear Jesus saying, “Wait!  Let me try something else!”

I cry.  I can feel Jesus’ exasperation.

Pray with me, huh?

The Road to Emmaus ~ Teach me to pray

Christ is risen!  Emmanuel...

Again, what is the Good News through

"(all) of the things that have taken place (in Jerusalem) in these days?”

Luke 24: 18

Jesus asks us, 

“What sort of things?”

Luke 24: 19 

Remember what Jesus asked
 the scripture scholar in 
Luke 10?

Bring that Prayer Question 
to our hearts 
while responding to 

Jesus' question 
"What sort of things?".  

Remember what Jesus asked
the scribes and pharisees in
Luke 5?

Bring that Prayer Question
to our hearts
while responding to

Jesus' question
"What sort of things?.

It is interesting to me
how quickly I tend to respond
with the timeline in those
     "sort of things."

Jesus ate dinner with his friends.

Jesus talked to Judas
about what Judas was about to do.

Jesus talked to Peter
about what Peter was about to do.

Jesus prayed in the Garden
while his friends slept
despite
asking them to stay with him.

whoa...there's a prayer question for ya!
"Will no one stay awake with me?"

Jesus before Pilate.

Jesus before Herod.

Jesus before Pilate, again.

Jesus is scourged.

Crowned.

wow...how readily i can type this outline!

What happens, then,
when I bring the "sort of things" home...

to my heart 

with the Prayer Questions in Luke 10 and 5?

  

What does that outline look like?  How does that feel...

How readily can I type that outline?  How does that feel...

Praise God and Amen...

Emmanuel...despite everything we do to God...

Praise God and Amen!

Peace