MetroMonk

[Luke 9:23, Deut. 30:1-20 (14-18), and Matt. 4:1-11] I've made some bad choices in my life before. Heck, I make bad choices most days. However I have learned that making good choices is wiser than making bad ones. Pretty profund huh? Wisdom has taught me to navigate my way through the subsequent actions that follow each choice presented me and over time I have learned to make wiser decisions a larger percentage of the time. This doesn't happen for everyone unfortunately. I am thankful for God's grace, mercy and love that he doesn't cast me down for forever because of bad choices I make. Instead he allows me learn and develop from the errors of my ways. Maybe you can relate too? Each day I can choose good, bad, life or death.  I am reluctant to share that after all I've been taught, though all the great role models I've had in my life sometimes I still don't "get it," I still make the same mistakes thinking that results will be different. I...

Almighty God, You know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Tweet

I remember today that the goal of our faith isn't knowledge, knowledge is just the start. Our knowledge should push us to action, and our action to love god and love others. Thus, memory of what God has done reminds us that God is gracious towards us and loves us. We are to remember [and not forget] the incredible love that our father in heaven has lavished us with.  I'm thankful for this morning scripture in Peter. I'm thankful for the people that gave their lives to keep the story alive and in front of me. I thankful for the ancient saints who consider their lives not as important as they did making sure that Christ was shared and told to others. I'm thankful for the authors, professors, mentors and leaders in my life who considered it important to use their time and talents to keep the story alive. I'm thankful for all the people who showed me loving-kindness, and by doing so witnessed to me that Christ was real, gracious, gentle, and wonderful. This mornin...

I am thankful that I opened my bible this morning. If I get coffee with the intention of spending time with the Lord I usually get right into it, but this morning I felt a little distracted. I wanted to check my Facebook, then I wanted to to clear and organize in email inbox. I read all my emails and checked all the links I was sent. Doing something like this can be dangerous (and has proven to be disastrous) before time with God. So much time can pass that I no longer have time to really spend with the Lord. Fortunately, that was not the case this morning. I needed to confront my distractions head on and let them pass from me so I could free up more concentration for what I really sat down for, to hear from the Lord this morning. This mornings text that jumped out to me was my reading in Deuteronomy 30:11-20 (ESV). The Choice of Life and Death   11 "For this commandment that I command you today  is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.  12  It is no...

This morning there are several readings I'm reflecting upon: Isaiah 7:10-16 Psalm 46:1 & Ps. 80:1-7, 16-18 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-25 All of these readings have so much going on and, in no way, do I expect to reveal and expose all the wonderful layers and context in these passages. I only hope to help shed some meaningful light from these scriptures that'll help build up and encourage believers. Ultimately I hope, that from this, our hearts will be lifted to the Lord and be reminded that he loves us (oh how he loves us) and remember again, as the following passage reads, " God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in in trouble " (Ps. 46:1, ESV). (Let me start by quickly reflecting on Isaiah 7:10-16 and Matthew 1:18-25). Both of these passages happen in the midst of chaotic times.  Isaiah 7 starts off by telling us that Rezin; the king of Syria and Pekah and Remaliah; king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to Ahaz; king of Judah to wage war. S...

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to beat witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:6-13 Christmas lights are all around us. They illuminate and hang on people homes, bushes and trees. Christmas lights come in many different sizes, shapes and colors. You can get them to blink or be set to a timer. Lights are pretty to look at. They are festive, fun and imaginative. No matter what your opinion of Christmas lights are there is no escaping them. Christmas lights are the first sign the Christmas is c...

Disclaimer: I don't endorse this belief, but it's simply a poem that, I think, ultimately, tells of the limits of human knowledge. So oft in theologic wars, The disputants, I ween, Rail on in utter ignorance Of what each other mean, And prate about an Elephant Not one of them has seen! From British poet John Godfrey Saxe Tweet

Psalm 66:1-5 reads (in my ESV) Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give him glorious praise! Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name." I read this one morning and thought, "yeah, you're right. God is so great." It really lifted my spirits. Every day is different. How I feel in the morning is not necessarily the way I'll feel in the evening. If something is good early in the day, it might not be later. The point is that things change. The Lord does not change though. I, because of my ever-changing moods and mentalities, need to be reminded of God's goodness, his very worthy and deserving goodness. The danger is in forgetting. I'm thankful scripture reminded me, yet again, to lift my eyes and heart to the Lord God of heaven and earth. God has been good to ...

I was reminded today about the importance of good Christian leaders. Most Christian people are not necessarily staff people in an official leadership job description, but rather, volunteers. Good Christian volunteers are so vital in the life of the Church. Volunteers are the vital necessity of any non-profit organizations, but especially the Church. In the early part of Matthew, the first book in the New Testament, we read about Jesus getting his ministry going after his baptism and temptation in the desert. The author, Matthew, writes: When Jesus got word that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee. He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village Capernaum, nestled at the base of the Zebulun and Naphtali hills. This move completed Isaiah's sermon:      Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,        road to the sea, over Jordan,           Galilee, crossroads for the nations.     P...

I stumbled upon something this morning in my coffee sanctuary....joy. Not like happy-go-lucky joy or giddiness, but a joy that, with it, had peace and a feeling of being loved, like sincere love. Maybe it was more like entering, if just for a few moments, into the shalom of the Lord [ For a look at some definitions for "Shalom" you can look here: http://therefinersfire.org/meaning_of_shalom.htm  or here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalom ]. As I was in those moments, I felt, and still feel, how I wished others could know the peace, the joy, and goodness of knowing Jesus I feel now and have felt my entire time with him. I don't have a testimony where I remember the exact day and time when I first came to really "know" Christ. I do, however, remember that early in my relationship to Jesus that I felt that others really ought to know this feeling too. I instantly thought of all my friends in high school, who weren't apart of my church youth group, and how ...