George, the skeleton, Talked!

My teaching friend and one of the best friends I ever had, kept a replica adult
skeleton at the front of his classroom. Around its neck hung the sign, "George
Talked!" Quite a discipline maneuver. There, of course, was always a bit of
humor in his classroom; he was loved by students and fellow teachers! He died
several years ago of complications of diabetes; I'm not sure where George hangs
out, these days.

We all have skeletons in our closet! They are the things that we really do not want
others to know, and may be things that no one ever finds out. Most of these
skeletons center around things we have done that would fall into the category
of sin. 

I am not sure how I would survive being a Catholic who goes to confession. I
am not sure I believe that a priest would have the power to forgive sins that have
already, by the grace of God, been forgiven. I am guessing that even with a priest,
there would be some skeletons still unknown, and that it wouldn't matter how many
"Hail Mary's" I said, there would still be those things I am embarrassed to share.

There is nothing you can do to make God love you more.
There is nothing you can do to make God love you less.

I love that quote, and I have forgotten who to attribute it to. The point, here, is
that the one avenue of "safe revelation," it seems to me, even for those really
nasty sins, is the avenue of discussing them with our God.  The obvious point is
that God has the key to that skeleton closet. He already knows what hangs in
there and, through the work and blood of His son, Jesus, those skeletons are
a moot point.

He forgives sins of the past, of today and of the future. The priest may say, 'Sin
no more," but we will. God knows this. He is bigger and stronger than our sins.
When we talk to Him, He listens and understands. It's called GRACE! What a 
remarkable God we love!

Jabberwock at the Toes of Jesus

Now you have to admit; that title makes you want to read on, doesn't it. This
blogging is a lot of fun.

My overall goals in life have certainly changed these past few years. Once upon
a time, it was just trying to survive until Friday. Many other goals have come and 
gone as I have reached the end of my teaching career, seen my lovely daughter
become a beautiful young lady and marry a great fella, and, most importantly,
since Jesus has become the all in all in my life.

Well... now I just cannot wait until I can be in His presence, kneel at his feet and
speak to Him. Some of that, I will admit, seems a bit daunting. What will I say to
Him? Will I even be able to speak? 

I do not have the best history when it comes to speaking at eventful moments. My
phone calls to young women, most or all of whom were totally out of my league, did
not go smoothly. I listened for the, "Hello," with full knowledge of what I was
going to say, having practiced an infinity of times prior to the call. However, what came
out of my mouth was completely unintelligible! Often, this girl of my dreams, would
just hang up. Once, at the height of embarrassment, she actually translated these
"words" and said, "Tom?" I hung up!

So what are the chances that I will come to the ultimate point in my existence
and wax poetic? I'm thinking that awe-struck would be a potential state of mind.
Even though I am sure that Jesus is proficient in all languages, He may have some
difficulty understanding sheer gibberish. 

Not really. I actually am quite sure that He will know what I am trying to say!
He may even help me articulate it. 

I know one thing... I will be bursting with love for Him and just blessed beyond words
at the Grace God has shown me. Beyond words may be a literal situation! :)

The Ultimate Cardiologist

John 3:3 - Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

I have to admit that I, like Nicodemus, was, at one time very perplexed by the
whole notion of being "born again." Obviously, being a Christian and having accepted
Jesus as my Lord and Savior means that I believe and try to follow His words.

I believe that this process is a type of heart transplant. Accepting God into
one's life brings a change. The pace of this change may vary, the actual beginnings
of the change may be difficult to measure or even understand, but there is a
change happening. I know some folks cringe at the word, but I see this 
transformation as nothing short of mystical.

When Jesus left those who had walked with Him for those three years, He
promised that He was going to send a counselor, a comforter, the Holy Spirit,
into the hearts of those who would declare Him as the Son of God and believe on
Him as their Lord. It is this spirit, Christ Himself, that comes into being inside
our hearts and begins the process of change. 

We are being changed. That's passive because it is being done to us. We are
essentially along for a glorious ride, one that begins to identify our sins so that
we can be aware, repent and strive to change our ways. The appreciation we
feel, the awe we feel at being saved by the sacrifice of God's son, help us to
take these revelations and work toward being more Christ-like. 

God is operating within our hearts to rework our thoughts, words and deeds
into ones that glorify Him through the changes made. He has invested in us
because He loves us. He has forgiven our sin, through the blood of Christ,
so that we may be adopted into His family. It's hard work for the surgeon
of our hearts; yet, from before the beginning of time, this plan was put
in place. It's a glorious, step-by-step procedure. Praise God our Father!

Take Off Those Mr. Magoo Glasses!

Dating myself, again! Mr. Magoo was that poor near-sighted old fellow who
couldn't see what was in front of him!

From Brendan Manning's The Ragamuffin Gospel
     By and large, our world has lost its sense of wonder. We have grown up. We no longer
    catch our breath at the sight of a rainbow or the scent of a rose, as we once did.....
    We get so preoccupied with ourselves, the words we speak, the plans and projects we
    conceive that we become immune to the glory of creation. We barely notice the
    cloud passing over the moon or the dewdrops clinging tho the rose leaves.

I have been blessed for many years with a preoccupation about the
beauty of this world. I think I was able to pass some of this on to my
daughter as we spent a bunch of time, when she was small, just hanging outside
and being amazed at this world.

I can't count the number of times I have mentioned a beautiful sky,
a rainbow or an animal passing by to someone and had them reply that
they didn't notice. I even became pretty accurate at predicting the arrival
of a rainbow based on angle of sunshine after a rain shower. What intense
beauty, and if really lucky, one can see a second bow, less bright.

We all long to know and see God in our lives. The Bible says that we
can see Him in His creation, and, yep, we most certainly can...IF... we
take the time to notice. No one can create like our creator, and even though
this world certainly has its problems, that doesn't diminish the beauty
of what God spoke into being. He was so right when He said that it was
good.

Sometimes one has to turn off the television, unplug the laptop, leave
the confines of the inside world and go into the world determined to
just quietly look, listen, smell and feel. He gave us those senses with a
purpose. It's a glorious creation; we are blessed to be a part of it!

What I Believe....

I believe...
In God!
That God is limitless, in every facet
That life is precious and that every single heartbeat and breath we take is
   a gift
In grace...forgiveness that I may repent...not repentance so I may be forgiven
In the sanctity of life, from conception to its final breath
In Heaven
That God loves us even though He knows us
That all the answers we need to know will be revealed when we see God
That prayer is a two-way communication
That the two most glorious moments in the history of this world were
   the birth and resurrection of Jesus
That the Bible is truth
That there is good in every person, but that people are sinful and in need
   of salvation
That my daughter, Olivia, is precious to me..yet she belongs to God
That this Earth is a glorious place full of things that reflect the existence of
    God
That we were not meant to endure the difficult times in life alone
That a good book and a cup of Joe are an excellent way to pass time
That I will someday be able to hold the hands of Jesus from a kneeling position
That my every thought, feeling and desire are known to God
That I have been blessed beyond anything I may deserve

Now... what do you believe?

thomaskearns8@gmail.com

Fear Factor... Hold onto Jesus!

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6) 

It comes with the territory; we all have fears. To make a listing of all the fears we
battle would easily fill pages and pages of this blog. We don't all suffer the same
fears, yet many of them are typical of the lives we live.

Jesus seemed acutely aware of the problem of fear and spoke frequently to his
disciples and those he taught about the need to not live in the state of fear.                                            I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27 NLT

It's not difficult to see that Jesus is telling us that the real, lasting answer to
the problem of fear lies in faith or trust that God is in charge, and that He is the
comfort we need to face the things that trouble us.

For a part of my dear daughter's young life, she would not go to sleep
without someone holding her tiny hand. Obviously she has outgrown this need,
but it's an illustration, in many ways, of the relationship we need with the
God who is in charge of all things. We need Him to hold our hands in the
times of discouragement, disappointment, fear and insecurity. We need not
face these things alone, in fact, it is His desire that He be holding our hands
and leading us through the tough times of life.

We all are standing out there on the diving board of life waiting to jump..
God is in the water, hands outstretched, telling us to jump because he will
not allow us to be harmed. He, after all, is our God!

Simon bar-Jonah and self-preservation

I've been doing some reading about the disciple Peter, (Cephas), Simon and
have found it fascinating. Michael Card's book A Fragile Stone: the Emotional Life 
of Simon Peter is the one I am currently enjoying.

The bond and realtionship between Jesus and Simon is really one that I was
unaware of down to the basic fact that Simon is mentioned more frequently
and addressed personally more times by Jesus. The book paints a bond between
the two that must have been remarkable. 

Simon is seen as unpolished, quick to speak and act and, as the title
suggests, an emotional being. 

Even before reading these things about Simon Peter, I always found the
denial of Jesus, as foretold by our Savior, to be one of the most sad and
powerful moments in the Gospels; a moment that had to have been so very
tragic.

How can one explain it; I believe that it is the epitome of one of man's
most basic instincts, the powerful force of self-preservation.  Simon
is the one who declared Jesus to be the Son of God, who walked on the
water after asking Jesus to call him, who was first to declare himself
unworthy and a sinner, who rebuked the whole idea of Jesus dieing...
He was a very active and passionate follower, yet on that fateful
evening, even he could not overcome sleep when sorely needed and
the fear that caused him to deny his Lord.

Built into our dna is the need to remain alive, to protect ourselves
from death and pain. It is what makes those stories of men and women
who willingly die for others at the cost of their own existence so
powerful and hard to imagine. 

I believe that Simon Peter loved Jesus fully; yet, at that most frightening
moment. he was unable to overcome his fear. Jesus often said to Peter
"Do not fear," but the human condition got in the way.  Jesus knew He
was loved. Of course He knew what was to happen, and forgave completely.
That's what makes Him Lord of Lords!!!