NEVER FORGET

WITNESS

8-31-13

NEVER FORGET

There is an old saying

That says:

“Never forget

Where you came from”

I tell you

The same thing

Never forget

Where you came from

You are

A child of God

A living breathing miracle

Of the master of the universe

THE GOD OF LIFE

You are

A CHILD OF GOD

We are all

From the GOD OF LIGHT

Living breathing miracles

From the God of life

NEVER FORGET

Robert P. Wallman

7-2-12

Ps      WITNESS        8-31-13

“I TELL you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has

Left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children

Or fields for me and the gospel will fail to RECEIVE a hundred

Times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers,

Children and fields-and with them-persecutions) and in the age to come

ETERNAL LIFE

BUT many who are first will be last, and the LAST FIRST”

Mark 10:29-31

GIVING TO GOD

WITNESS

8-30-13

GIVING TO GOD

Time---money---prayer

Give to God

And give to others

Whatever and whenever you can

For if it is

Given with the proper spirit

God can make it grow---100 fold

“For if the willingness is there

The gift is acceptable

According to what one has

Not according what he does not”

Some of us

Have no money

Some of us

Have only time and prayer

And some of us

Have only prayer

But it does not matter

For if the willingness

Is there

It is a gift

Acceptable to God our loving Father

In Luke 21

Luke tells the story

Of Jesus seeing all the rich

Putting their gifts

In to the Temple treasury

He then saw a poor widow

Putting in 2 copper coins

He said,

“I tell you truth

This poor widow

Has put in more than

All the others

All these people

Gave their gifts

Out of their wealth

But she out of her poverty

Put in all she had

To live on”

Time---money---prayer

Give to God

And give to others

All of

What you can

And God our loving Father

Will reward you

According to God’s master plan

“I the Lord search the heart

And examine the mind

To reward a man

According to his conduct

According to what his deeds deserve”                                      Jeremiah 17:10

Time---money---prayer

Give it to God

And give it to others

ALL of what you can

Robert P. Wallman

4-8-11

Ps       WITNESS        8-30-13

WORDS

WITNESS

8-29-13

WORDS

(your words-my words-HIS WORDS)

Words are symbols that convey meanings

And feelings from one party to another

And these words

Can be spoken-or written

YOU have words

I have words

And he-THE LORD-has words

Hopefully

Our words are honest and sincere

But HIS WORDS-are Gospel

And the “Gospel”

Is the “GOOD NEWS”

And the good news

Is the message of Christianity

“For we are

God’s workmanship

Created in Christ Jesus

To do GOOD works

Which God prepared

In advance

For us to do”                                                                                2 Ephesians 10

The words of Saint Paul

Is the good news

Of the Lord

THE WORDS

And by

THE WORD OF GOD

We know

He made heaven and earth

And we know

He did it in six days

For he rested on the seventh

And psalm 33 says

“By the word

Of the Lord

Were the heavens made

Their starry host

By the breath of his mouth”                                                         Psalm 33:6

And Hebrews 11

“By faith

We understand

That the universe was formed

By God’s command

So that what is seen

Was NOT made out

Of what was visible”                                                           Hebrews 11:3

God or science

Your choice

MY CHOICE IS GOD

Or maybe God first

Then science

THE WORDS

And WE KNOW

That outside of fleeing

THE WORD OF GOD

Is our chief weapon

Against temptation

And our tool against Satan

The tempter

Came to Jesus and said

“If you are

The Son of God

Tell these stones to become bread”

Jesus answered,

“It is written

Man does not live

By bread alone

But on EVERY WORD

That comes from the mouth of God”                                                         Matthew 4: 3 & 4 

THE WORDS

“The WORD

Became flesh

And made his dwelling among us

We have seen his glory

The GLORY of he ONE AND ONLY

Who came from the Father

FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH”                                                               John 1:14

You have words

I have words

HOPEFULLY-both sincere and true

BUT ONLY ONE-is THE WORD

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

THE WORD MADE FLESH

Robert P. Wallman

3-5-13

Ps       WITNESS        8-29-13

DON'T WORRY-BE HAPPY

WITNESS

8-28-13

DON’T WORRY-BE HAPPY

Where do you find your happiness

In today’s world

Happiness is defined

As a state of good fortune-

Pleasure-contentment-or joy

I’m not talking about fleeting happiness

Not the kind that you get

When you hit a lottery number

Or buy a new car

I’m talking about

The kind of happiness

THAT LASTS

The kind that lasts

Regardless of your circumstances

DON’T WORRY

BE HAPPY

Surveys in today’s world

Tell us

That those who are the most happy

Are those living lives

Dedicated to helping others

They are those

Who out of faith

Deliberately set out

To live a life of service

And Jesus himself-tells us

“Whoever hates his life in this world

Will preserve it for eternal life”                                                                      John 12:25

And

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition

Or vain conceit

But in humility

Consider others better than yourself

Each of us

Should look not only

To our own interests

But also to the interests of others”                                                             Philippians 2:3-4

DON’T WORRY

BE HAPPY

So whatever

Your state in life is

Whatever your problems are

Take your mind

Off of yourselves

Try to help someone else

With their problems

And your problems

Will get a little lighter

Jesus taught us

That in order to find ourselves

We must paradoxically

Die to ourselves

DON’T WORRY

-BE HAPPY

“Whoever finds his life

Will lose it

And whoever loses his life for my sake

WILL FIND IT”                                                                                   Matthew 10:39

It is said that our society

Is becoming

More and more self-focused

And self-seeking

So is it any wonder

That the surveys indicate

A general decline in our happiness

So take your mind

Off of yourself

Focus on someone else

              and

DON”T WORRY-BE HAPPY

Robert P. Wallman

8-14-12

Ps       Inspired by an article in Living Faith magazine by Monsignor Stephen J. Rossetti

WITNESS 8-28-13

PATRON SAINT OF MOTHERS

WITNESS

6-7-13

A MOTHER AND HER LOST CHILD

Do you know the story

Of Monica---and her lost child---Augustine

A Mother

With a lost grown-up child

Any mother---or any parent

For that matter

Knows the pain

Of having a child

Who has made some wrong decisions

And are on the road to destruction

They are unable to help themselves

And you their Mother ---their parent

Are unable to help them either

This is the story of two such people---Monica and Augustine

Monica was married to a pagan man

Or a nominal Christian at best

Her mother-in-law lived with them

And created further difficulties for her

Monica was the mother

Of 3 children

But it was her son, Augustine

Who brought her dismay

And ultimately great glory

Augustine was

Brought up a Christian by his mother

But was never baptized

Augustine completely turned away from God

And renounced the Christian faith

He became a notorious womanizer

And partier

He lived with a mistress

For 15 years

And even had a son

Monica was angry at him at first

Refused to even let him in to her house

But after awhile

Turned to God

With patience and prayer

For his conversion

She decided

To never ever give up on her child

I plead with you

As a mother

As a parent

To never ever give up

On your child

No matter

How much pain and suffering

They may be causing you

Augustine eventually

Returned to God

Became baptized

And went on to become

A Saint, and one of the great writers and thinkers

Of his time

And a Doctor of the church

ALL because

He had a mother---he had a parent

That refused

To give up on him

Saint Monica is seen

As the mother of ALL CHRISTIAN mothers

At her last illness, and death, she said,

“Nothing in this world

Now gives me pleasure

I so not know what there is left

For me to do

Or why I am still here

All my HOPES

In this world are now fulfilled”

Monica died a fulfilled mother---a fulfilled parent

I plead with you

To never ever give up on your child

To help them

With your patience and your prayers

AND TURN THEM OVER TO GOD

Robert P. Wallman

8-11-11

AUGUST 27^th is the feast day of Saint Monica

August 28^th-the feast day of Saint Augustine

Ps        WITNESS        6-7-13

MOSES-CHRIST-and US

WITNESS

8-27-13

MOSES---CHRIST AND US

Moses was tending a flock of sheep

For his father-in-law Jethro

And angel appeared to him on Mount Horeb

Moses looks over and sees a bush

A bush on fire

Yet not burning up

A strange site indeed

As Moses

Goes closer to the bush

He hears a voice,

“Moses, Moses”

Moses says,

“Here I am”

And God says,

“Do not come  any closer

Take off your sandals

You are standing on Holy Ground”                                               Exodus 3:5

Moses is afraid to look

Afraid to see the face of God

Who can blame him

Wouldn’t you be afraid to look

Wouldn’t I

God proceeds

To tell Moses

To go to the Pharaoh of Egypt

And tell him

That he Moses,

Is to lead the Israeli people

Out of Egypt

Moses is terrified

He asks God

What he is to tell the Israeli people

God says to tell them,

“I AM has sent me to you

The Lord the God of your Fathers

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Has sent me to you

This is my name forever

The name by which

I am to be remembered

From generation to generation”                                            Exodus 3:14-16

Fast forward to 2 or 3,000 years later

And we find Jesus

Arriving from Galilee

At the river Jordan

To be baptized

As Jesus comes up

Out of the water

The spirit of God

Comes down upon him

Like a dove and lightening

I am

The Light of he World

I am

The Resurrection and the Light

I am

The vine

And you are the branches

He who believes in me---shall never die

Are we

Really his branches

Are we really

Open to the Lord’s calling

Live in me

So I can live in you

This is the ecstasy of our religion

This is our calling

The calling of

The power to believe

The calling

To live our life out

On his Word

The calling

To be smaller more miniature versions

Of Jesus

In today’s world

The calling

To live out our life

Not our way---but God’s way

The challenge

To keep believing

Without seeing

We are to believe

As Saint Paul said,

“No longer I

But Christ who lives in me”

To learn

That we really

Are to live our life

For the God whose name is

I AM

Robert P. Wallman

8-17-11

Ps        WITNESS        8-27-13

LORD YOU TAKE OVER

WITNESS

8-26-13

LORD YOU TAKE OVER

Are you trying and trying

To rebuild your life

Overcome your obstacles

And lift your life

Back up to God

Not by our own power

Can we do so

Not by our own power---

If we are looking for our lives

To be lifted up

Not by our own power

Can it be done

Only by the power of God

“Yours oh Lord

Is the greatness and power

And the glory and the majesty and the splendor

For everything in Heaven and earth

Is yours

Yours, oh Lord, is the kingdom

You are exalted as head over all

Wealth and honor come from you

You are the ruler

Of all things

In your hands are strength and power

To exalt and give strength and all”                                           1 Chronicles 29:11 & 12

Lord you take over

You take over all

Lord we human beings don’t know what we are doing

We are headed

For a fall

The disciples had been fishing all night

Yet caught nothing at all

He said,

“Friends have you caught any fish”

“No,” they answered

“Throw your net

On the right side of the boat

And you will find some”                                                               John 21:5 & 6

They did

And a great catch was made---153 in all

Lord you take over

We are headed for a fall

Lord---we try and try

To overcome our health difficulties

We try and try

To make our financial ends meet

Lord you take over

We can’t do it alone

We try and try

To make our marriage

And personal relationships work

We want the best

For our family and our kids

Sometimes it doesn’t work out

The way we intend

Lord you take over

We can’t do it

With our own power

We can’t do it alone

Saint Paul said,

Three times I pleaded

For the Lord

To remove the thorn in my flesh

But the Lord said to me,

“My grace is sufficient for you

My power is made perfect

In your weakness”                                                           2 Corinthians 12:9

Lord we are weak

But you are strong

Not by our own power

Can we do it

Lord you take over---PLEASE---Take over all

Robert P. Wallman

4-29-11

Ps        Inspired by an article in LIVING FAITH---April issue---article by Father

            Kenneth Grabner

Ps        WITNESS       8-26-13

SALVATION

WITNESS

8-25-13

SALVATION

“The LORD is my light and salvation

Of whom shall I fear

The Lord is the STRONGHOLD of my life-

Of whom I shall be afraid”                                                         Psalm 27:1

There are ALL kinds of things

To be afraid of in this life

Illness, death, loss of loved ones

Broken relationships, financial disaster-

Etc., etc., etc.

But SALVATION is defined  

As DELIVERANCE from dangers of evil

Especially deliverance from all that separates us people

From God

The truth is

ANY of a million things

In this world

IF we let it-at any time

CAN SEPARATE us from God

But the truth-also is

NOTHING can separate us from God

IF WE DON’T LET IT

“NO-in ALL these things-we are MORE than conquerors

For I am CONVINCED that neither death nor life

Neither angels nor demons-neither present nor the future

Nor any powers-neither height nor depth-

Nor anything else in all creation-will be able to separate us

FROM THO LOVE OF GOD

That is in Christ Jesus our Lord”                                                     Romans 8:37-39

OUR SALVATION

Comes from God

For God

In the form of Christ Jesus

IS the only thing

That ever survived this world

Our Lord God

LIVES today and forever

AN EVERLASTING SALVATION

“But Israel

WILL be saved by the Lord

With an everlasting salvation

You will never

Be put to shame

Or disgraced

To ages everlasting”                                                                   Proverbs 45:17

And salvation is for EVERYONE

“SALVATION has come to the GENTILES”                             Roman 11:11

And is AVAILABLE to all

“As scripture says,

‘Anyone who trusts in him

Will never be put to shame’

For there is NO DIFFERENCE

Between Jew and GENTILE-THE SAME LORD

Is Lord of all

And richly blesses

ALL who call on him

For

‘EVERYONE who calls

On the name of the Lord

Will be saved’”                                                                                   Romans 10:11-13

In fact

That was Jesus’ mission

To LIVE AND DIE for all

That all may be made one

“Jesus said to him (Zacchaeus)

‘Today SALVATION has come

To this house

Because this man too

Is a son of Abraham

For the Son of Man

Came to seek

And to SAVE

What was lost’”                                                                                      Luke 19:9_10

SALVATION-for you

SALVATION-for me

Salvation-for ALL of us

THE LORD IS MY SALVATION

OF WHOM SHALL I BE AFRAID

Robert P. Wallman

5-5-13

Ps        WITNESS        8-25-13

                                                 

TO CARRY US THE REST........

WITNESS

8-24-13

TO CARRY US THE REST OF THE WAY

God gives us earthly parents

To teach us what we should

And need to know

To teach us love

And to teach us

Kindness and affection

He gave me

The 2 greatest parents

That anyone could ever have

I think both of my sisters would agree

And when they are gone

God steps in

To take us

The rest of the way

We are all

Children

Children of God

Our earthly parents

Are limited

Though in our case

Not very much

They both

Gave us the gift

The gift of unconditional love

Our earthly parents

Can only take us a certain distance

But God

Can carry us

The rest of the way

Heavenly Father

We pray for your guidance

And direction

As we continue on our journey

Through our life

Heavenly Father

I/WE

REST IN YOUR LOVE

Robert P. Wallman

3-22-11

Ps        WITNESS        8-24-13

THE MOST IMPORTANT SERMON

WITNESS

8-23-13

“The Most Important Sermon”

In the Sermon

On the Mount

Our Lord says

“Blessed are the poor in spirit

For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”

But who are

The poor in spirit

I dear say

It is us

All of us

Because

We are chasing

The wrong things

Most of us

Are chasing lives

Built on wealth, fame, status, and fortune

But these things

Will not fill us up

Nature abhors a vacuum

And we

Must fill our lives with something

I suggest

We try to

Fill our lives

With love

Love of God

And

Love of others

Only then

Can our spirit be filled

Only then

Can we

Be no longer poor in spirit

We need to

Let go of yesterday

We need to

Focus on the present

We need to

Let the Lord possess us

God’s gift is today

Today is the most important day

Of our lives

By focusing on love

We might find that

We are no longer poor in spirit

And by focusing on love

We might find that

The Kingdom of God

Is not only in heaven

But right here on this earth.

Robert P. Wallman

5/14/10

Ps       WITNESS       8-23-13

RESPONSIBILITY

WITNESS

8-22-13

RESPONSIBILITY

Have you ever wished

You lived a care free

And footloose kind of life

Without any responsibility

Sounds great doesn’t it

But I think

There is NO SUCH THING

Because when too few people

Live that way

You get a world and global community

Like we have right now

Where RESPONSIBILITY

Falls in fact

To those who care

To those who LOVE

And to-in fact

THOSE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE

There is no such thing

Where a life

Comes without responsibility

WE are responsible

For/and to God

For/and to family

And for and to everyone

And we should be

RESPONSIBLE

For our own sins and mistakes in this world

But that-MY FRIENDS

We are not

We cannot be

That fell to our Lord

And Savior Jesus Christ

Christ was made sin

And lived and died for us

And thus

WE BECAME CHILDREN OF GOD

“How great

Is the love

The Father has lavished on us

That we should be called

CHILDREN OF GOD

And that is what we are

The reason

The world does not know us

Is that it did not know him”                                                            1 John 3:1

And since

We are his

We are to love one another

Like HE first loved us

IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY

“This is

HOW we know what love is

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us

And we ought to lay down

OUR LIFE

For our brothers”                                                                      1 John 3:16

RESPONSIBILITY to God

RESPONSIBILITY to one another

Wouldn’t it be great

If everyone in life

REALLY LOVED AND CARED for one another

RESPONSIBILITY=this is a CALLING

FOR ALL OF US

Robert P. Wallman

5-17-13

Ps        WITNESS       8-22-13

REMAIN IN ME

WITNESS

8-21-13

REMAIN IN ME

What do you want

Most in your life

And can you get it

Jesus tells us

We can

That is if it is

For the good of God’s kingdom

And for the good

Of ourselves

“If you remain in me

And my words remain in you

Ask whatever you wish

And it will be given to you”                                                       John 15:7

Thank God

God does take control

And does NOT

Just give us

Whatever we want

WHEN

I think back

To the times in my life

When my prayers went unanswered

For a certain someone

Or a certain something

When I felt unfulfilled

I think of the line

From a Garth Brooks song,

“Sometimes I thank God

For unanswered prayers”

But I can honestly tell you

I have always remained

Or at least tried to remain

In the words of God and Christ

How about you

Have you gotten everything-everyone

That you wanted in your life

I HOPE NOT

But I am sure that

 You can look back and see God’s hand in your life

I KNOW that you are a GOD-LOVING

God-fearing person

And your life

Has brought about much fruit

“This is to my Father’s glory

That you bear much fruit

Showing yourselves to be my disciples”                                                           John 15:8

You didn’t always get what you wanted

But you always received

What you needed

For your life

If it was a necessity

And you are a God follower

“Remain in me

And I will remain in you

NO TREE

Can bear fruit by itself

Neither can you bear fruit

Unless you remain in me”                                                                                John 15:4

Remain in God’s word

And he will remain in you

And because you are a child of God

You will have ETERNAL life

We are children of God

And he REMAINS ALIVE in us

“Let no debt remain outstanding

Except the continuing debt

To love one another

For he who loves his fellowman
Has FULFILLED the law”                                                                Romans 13:8

Thank you Lord

FOR REMAINING IN US

Robert P. Wallman

7-15-12

Ps        WITNESS        8-21-13

GUNGA DIN

WITNESS

8-20-13

YOU”RE A BETTER MAN THAN

I---Gunga Din

One of my Father’ favorite movies

Was a movie called, “GUNGA DIN”

It was about

A young Indian water boy

To British soldiers

In late 19^th century India

My Dad and I

Used to watch it together

Gunga Din

Always wanted to be a soldier

Towards the end of the movie

Three British soldiers and Gunga Din

Are captured, wounded, and incarcerated

The British troops

Are marching into an ambush

And are going to be annihilated

Despite being critically wounded

Gunga Din climbs up in plain sight of everyone

And blows the bugle

Warning the British troops

As he gets shot over and over again

Gunga Din---at the end of the movie

Posthumously is elevated

To the rank of soldier

I believe it was Rudyard Kipling

Who once wrote,

“If you can keep your head about you

When all those around are losing theirs

You are a better man than I am---GUNGA DIN”

Many people ask me,

“Why didn’t you become a Priest?”

The short answer is---health reasons

And I always HAD HOPE

That I might meet someone

And have my own family

It is funny

In that my father

Actually considered becoming a priest

Jesus, himself, was a nomadic preacher

Who moved from village to village

Town to town

Preaching the WORD OF GOD

It might be a good thing

That I never became a Priest

I find

That more people are open to me

And open to the WORD OF GOD

Because they know

I have no vested interest

Only to share

The message of God’s love and forgiveness with them

My friend---today---

We live in a godless society

In general

People don’t care about God

Only about their own selfish interests

If you believe in God

If you believe in love, forgiveness, and kindness

Towards and for each other

We are

ALL on the same side

Jesus himself said,

(When asked by the disciples

About someone doing miracles in his name)

“Do NOT STOP him

No one who does a miracle

In my name

Can in the next moment

Say anything bad about me

For whoever is not against us

IS FOR US”                                                                                 Mark 9:39-40

I have GREAT RESPECT

For ALL those

Truly doing the work of God

In today’s world

Those that are truly motivated by God and love

NOT their own selfish interests

And so

As this world

Continues to sling arrows and shoot at us

Shots of lust and sexuality

Shots of materialism and violence

Let us rise once again

Blow the bugle---and keep on blowing

For this world to RETURN TO GOD

And remember,

“If you can keep your head about you

When all those about

Are losing theirs

You’re a better man than I---GUNGA DIN”

IN JESUS’ NAME WE PRAY……………….

Robert P. Wallman

9-2-11

Ps        WITNESS        8-20-13

GRACE-A GIFT FROM GOD

WITNESS

8-19-13

GRACE---A GIFT FROM GOD

Are you living

In a state of grace

If so

Say, “thank you”

Because grace is defined

As a gift

Given freely by God

To his believers

It is

The undeserved love and salvation

Given to us freely by God

It is nothing

That we can ever earn

If you are a loving parent

Think about it

There is nothing that you would not do for your child

If it is for their own good

It is the same way

With God for us

There is nothing he would not do for us

That is---if it is for our own good

Because we are his children

And he loves us INFINITELY

In the 15^th chapter

Of Saint Luke’s Gospel

Luke tells us 3 such stories about Jesus

He tells us the story

Of a shepherd with 100 sheep

One becomes lost

And the shepherd leaves the heard---the other 99

To go and find that one lost sheep

Jesus tells us,

“There will be more rejoicing

In heaven

Over one sinner that repents

Than over 99 persons

Who do not need to repent”                                                 Luke 15:7

God loves EACH and EVERY ONE of us

Then Jesus tells the story

Of a woman with10 coins

But she loses one

She does not worry

About the 9 that she has

But overturns the house---looking everywhere

Until she finds that one lost coin

Then she calls her friends and neighbors

And says,

“Rejoice with me

I have found my lost coin”                                                    Luke 15:9

It is the same way with us

Who are lost

Along life’s highway

God will look for us

Until she finds us

And he will find us---that is

Unless we don’t want to be found

Then Jesus continued with one more story

About a lost son

And his loving father

He tells the story

About his youngest son

Who has run away from home

And squandered everything

On wine and women

And to the older son---who has become jealous

Because, his father, receives the younger son openly

He says,

“You are always with me

And everything I have is yours

Because this brother of yours was dead

And is alive again

He was lost and is found”                                                        Luke 15:31 & 32

It is the same way with us

We should be happy

When one of our brothers or sisters

Comes home to God

God’s grace

A gift given freely to us by God

All we can do is be gracious

And say, “thank you”

“For it is by grace

That you have been saved

Through faith---and this not from ourselves

So that no one can boast”                                                         Romans 2:8 & 9

We say, “thank you Lord”

For this gift of your grace

THEGREATEST GIFT THAT WE WILL EVER RECEIVE

Robert P. Wallman

12-15-11

Ps        WITNESS        8-19-13

THE ULTIMATE VOLUNTEER

WITNESS

8-18-13

“The Ultimate Volunteer”

In every society

There are

3 kinds of people

The lawless

Those who do

What the law demands

And the volunteers

Those who go the extra mile

Jesus was

The ultimate volunteer

He gave his life

Freely for all of us

He was

Not just a hired hand

He was

The ultimate good shepherd

Who did not lose

Any of his sheep

So Lord

We ask of you

Not just to do

As we are asked

But for the grace

To go the extra mile

We ask of you

To give our lives freely

Back to you

Not just

To be loved by God

But to give

Our life and love in return

We ask of you

For the grace

To live like you

To give

Our lives freely

And to be like you

Go the extra mile

And be like you

THE ULTIMATE VOLUNTEER

Robert P. Wallman

4/30/10

Ps        WITNESS        8-18-13

IF YOU BUILD IT

WITNESS

8-17-13

IF YOU BUILD IT

In a famous movie, “Field of Dreams”

A famous line is uttered

“If you build it

They will come”

And in the end

They did come

The cars lined up

For miles and miles

To see a little baseball field

In a corn field

In the middle of nowhere

To borrow a line

From Martin Luther King---God rest his soul

“I have a dream”

To build

A CITY OF GOD

Actually

To build a world for God

To live in a world

Based on God’s values

Not the values

Of this world

If we build it

They will come

Sister Faustina

Received a vision from an angel

Sent by God

An angel---sent to destroy a certain city

Sister Faustina

Began to pray for this city

Began to pray for mercy for it

But her prayers were powerless

And the angel was set on

Carrying out the orders

Given to him by God

Sister Faustina

Continued to pray

“Have mercy on us

And on the whole world”

God and the angel were so moved

That this city was spared

If you build it

They will come

Building the city of God

I have a dream

Of Catholics and Jews

Muslims and Buddhists

All Christian religions

And ALL other religions

Standing together

Under God---one God

WHOSE NAME IS LOVE

I have a dream

Building the city of God

“The wolf will live with the lamb

The leopard will lie down with the goat

The calf and the lion

And the yearling together

And a little child

Will lead them”                                                              Isaiah 11:6

Major cities today

In our country

So much killing---so much violence

So much materialism---so much greed

So much lust

And rampant sexuality

Then Abraham said again,

“May the Lord not be angry

But just let me speak once more

What if

Only ten can be found?”                                                 

God answered,

“For the sake of ten

I will not destroy it”                                                       Genesis 18:32

I am sure

That there are at least 10

God loving---God fearing people

In each of our major cities

So we can rest assured

That God

Is not going to destroy us

But we have to

Quit destroying ourselves

And return to our God

The God whose name is LOVE

“You are The Light of World

A city on a hill

Cannot be hidden”

Let us

Return our cities to God

Let us return our cities to love

Catholics and ALL Christian religions

Jew, Muslim, Buddhist

Every religion---every nationality---every race

Standing firm

On the PROMISES OF GOD

IF YOU BUILD IT
THEY WILL COME

Robert P. Wallman

9-24-11

Ps        WITNESS        8-17-13

THE STORY OF GIDEON

WITNESSS

8-16-13

THE STORY OF GIDEON

How many of you/us

Have ever

Gone into an empty hotel room

And found nothing there

Except a GIDEON BIBLE—in the drawer

Do you know

Who Gideon was

Gideon was a warrior

And leader of Israel

At that time

The Midianites were oppressing Israel

And the people of Israel

Cried out to the Lord

Because of Midian

God sent an angel

To appear to Gideon

And said,

“The Lord is with you

Mighty warrior”                                                 Judges 6:12

And Gideon said,

“If the Lord is with us

Why has ALL this happened to us”                                  Judges 6:13

Do you ever feel that way

I know that I do

Well--for those of us

Who have encountered trouble

In this life—and who hasn’t

We know that there is NO ANSWER

To the question of WHY

The Lord—our God

Permits trouble

To happen to us

Permits life

To happen to us

But DON”T FORGET

To open that drawer

To open that book

To read that book

THE GIDEON BIBLE

The Lord Tells Gideon

To go and save Israel

But Gideon says,

“How can I save Israel

My clan is the weakest in Manasseh

And I am the LEAST in my family”                                        Judges 6:15

And the Lord answers back,

“I will be with you

And you will strike down

ALL the Midianites together”                                                     Judges 6:16

FAITH

Perhaps All Gideon needed

Was a little bit of faith

Like we all do

In times of trouble

God told Gideon

That he had too many men

And sifted his army

From 20,000 –down to 300

And the LORD OUR GOD

Delivered the entire Midianite army

Into Gideon’s hands

Then Gideon

Killed the two evil kings

And the people

Asked Gideon to be their ruler

But Gideon said,

“I will NOT RULE over you

Neither will my son

Rule over you

The LORD will rule over you”                                             Judges 8:23

So the next time

You are in that hotel room all alone

Instead of doing something else

Read the GIDEON BIBLE

And let the LORD

RULE OVER YOU

Robert P. Wallman

5-15-12

Ps        WITNESS        8-16-13