Father Snort

God can be revealed to us in any place at any time when the eyes of our hearts are opened to his presence.

John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Part of repenting and receiving God's forgiveness also involves forgiving others. To do so, we must offer up our anger and fear to God.

Times may seem bad (wars, violence, etc.), but the new birth of creation is still to come. God has not forsaken us.

We are asked to love God and each other. Our religion is supposed to help us do these two things. Sometimes, however, we place too much importance on the religion itself, neglecting God and each other.

Like little children who don't want to go to sleep, we often want things that may not be best for us. If we trust in God's way of life for us, we just might find life to be better than when we follow our own ways.

Jesus' healing of two gentile people, simply by speaking the words of their healing, shows us something of who Jesus is, what true faith is, and how God has given us freedom.

Solomon asks God for wisdom in order to rule Israel well. For what might we ask God in order to serve God's people well in our own ways.

From 2 Samuel 11:1-15, David's affair with Bathsheba: We all make poor dicisions which hurt those around us. By lying about them or trying to cover them up, we merely compound the problem. On the other hand, by admitting our faults and seeking reconciliation, we can be freed of our bad decisions.

David danced before the Lord not caring if he looked like a fool. All too often, we allow our fears of what others may think to keep us from dancing with joy before the Lord (literally or metaphorically).

What about our faith brings us joy and how might we "dance" before the Lord?

Endurance in our faith will carry us through difficult times.