Sometimes I think about when my time on earth is over . . . will people remember me as a lover of Christ? A good wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend? I pray I am identified as all of the above. I know in my heart I have tried my best to be that person. I have some failures, but many successes of which I am so grateful to Jesus. I am a work in progress, striving to be identified as a light for Christ to all I meet. And, I am open to anyone helping me to achieve this goal!
In today's Gospel (Mark 16:15-18), Jesus asks His eleven apostles to go out and preach the Gospel to every creature. He goes on to say that those who believe in His name will easily be identified:
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
In Anne a lay apostle's book Transforming Grace, her questions are worth pondering today:
"Generally, Christians like to think of themselves as spiritually motivated. And as Christians, we truly want to be spiritually motivated. Some of us may remember a time when those who did not know about Jesus would have been identified, perhaps judgmentally or perhaps matter-of-factly, by Christians, as Pagans, or, to use the Merriam- Webster definition, '1: Heathen; 2: one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods.' Fellow apostles, it is clear to me that many of us who are trying to follow our faith could easily now be identified as pagans. Why? How have we lapsed into practicing our faith on the surface, even while we continue to seek material goods along with endless entertainment and distraction? How have we departed from right thinking to the degree that we often eat almost exclusively for pleasure and fail to keep our bodies healthy? In what way do we justify watching pornography, either with pornography dedicated websites or films or even on ordinary television, and fail to see the horrendous chasm between what we claim to be and those practices which we actually adhere to?
This might be something we could identify as the Pagan Beat. We are resonating at a vibration of this world instead of the next world, which I think of as the ‘real world’, eternity. Some focused religions make it their practice each day to prepare for the next life in heaven. Do we? We should. One thing we are guaranteed in life is death. Given this certainty, would we not want to contribute positively as much as possible to life on this planet for all of our brothers and sisters alive and yet to come?"
Lay apostles, how do you want to be remembered when you leave this earth for your heavenly home with Jesus? Are your actions identifying you as a Christian or just a part-time/when it's convenient Christian? We all need to unite in furthering His Kingdom on earth. How do you plan on achieving this today?
Thank you, Lord, for helping me achieve my goal of being identified as Your Follower every day. I don't always get it right, but with prayer and determination, I know You are my biggest Cheerleader!
God bless,
Bonnie
In today's Gospel (Mark 16:15-18), Jesus asks His eleven apostles to go out and preach the Gospel to every creature. He goes on to say that those who believe in His name will easily be identified:
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
In Anne a lay apostle's book Transforming Grace, her questions are worth pondering today:
"Generally, Christians like to think of themselves as spiritually motivated. And as Christians, we truly want to be spiritually motivated. Some of us may remember a time when those who did not know about Jesus would have been identified, perhaps judgmentally or perhaps matter-of-factly, by Christians, as Pagans, or, to use the Merriam- Webster definition, '1: Heathen; 2: one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods.' Fellow apostles, it is clear to me that many of us who are trying to follow our faith could easily now be identified as pagans. Why? How have we lapsed into practicing our faith on the surface, even while we continue to seek material goods along with endless entertainment and distraction? How have we departed from right thinking to the degree that we often eat almost exclusively for pleasure and fail to keep our bodies healthy? In what way do we justify watching pornography, either with pornography dedicated websites or films or even on ordinary television, and fail to see the horrendous chasm between what we claim to be and those practices which we actually adhere to?
This might be something we could identify as the Pagan Beat. We are resonating at a vibration of this world instead of the next world, which I think of as the ‘real world’, eternity. Some focused religions make it their practice each day to prepare for the next life in heaven. Do we? We should. One thing we are guaranteed in life is death. Given this certainty, would we not want to contribute positively as much as possible to life on this planet for all of our brothers and sisters alive and yet to come?"
Lay apostles, how do you want to be remembered when you leave this earth for your heavenly home with Jesus? Are your actions identifying you as a Christian or just a part-time/when it's convenient Christian? We all need to unite in furthering His Kingdom on earth. How do you plan on achieving this today?
Thank you, Lord, for helping me achieve my goal of being identified as Your Follower every day. I don't always get it right, but with prayer and determination, I know You are my biggest Cheerleader!
God bless,
Bonnie
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