Bible Study

I do three Bible studies a week and have been doing that for three months now.  And I keep finding that it is a real blessing to my spirit.  No matter what I find ideas and insights that strengthen my faith and truly inspire me.

This morning we spent time with Matthew 10: 5-23 which is the calling of the disciples into doing the ministry that Jesus has begun.  As I preached on some of this last weekend I highlighted how we are gifted to preach, heal and bring peace.  I really believe that everyone of us can come into a home or a hospital room with the spirit of God and  our love can bring hope and healing.  That is the call for all of us as Christians.

This morning the text talks about the vulnerability of  ministry.  Jesus tells his disciples: " I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves."   We learn that the early church did experience persecution as they came into conflict with the government, the existing church and even their families.  That kind of physical persecution is not happening today for people like me, but it is easy to feel like an alien these days seeking peace and understanding and grace in the midst of a whole of judgments and divisiveness all over the place.

People are speaking a lot in slogans that others take to define their positions - whether you say black lives matter or all lives matter, or want to kneel for racial justice that others define as defying the flag, or wear a mask for protection or don't wear a mask for freedom.  It is all very challenging to me. And it feels literally hard - hard boundaries, hard opinions and hard hearts.

What I liked in the text this morning were these verses:

"Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

and

Do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time.

I want to be vulnerable and I do come from a place of knowing that I have more to learn.  I listen to podcasts, read books and am (I hope) open to hearing all sides of all these complicated issues.  Most of all, I want to be close enough to God that I receive the words that I need to say and I need to write.

For today they are these - Love, Grace, Healing, Forgiveness

For now, that's all I have to say.