ARE YOU OPEN TO THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD; OF JESUS?

ARE YOU OPEN TO THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD; OF JESUS? A few years ago There was a saying Going around: “IT'S ALL GOOD” And that is the way It is with our God ALL the news is GOOD “IT'S ALL GOOD” For that is what Our God wants for you All good things “After John Was put in prison Jesus went into Galilee Preaching the good news Of God 'The TIME has come,' he said 'The KINGDOM of God Has come near Repent and BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS'” Mark 1:14-15 The word of God IS LIFE The word of God Is LOVE The word of God Is TRUTH The bad things That happen to us In life Is usually due to The evil of other people Or just The circumstances of life “TASTE and see That the Lord Is GOOD Blessed is the one Who takes refuge In him” Psalm 34:8 “Whoever seeks GOOD FINDS FAVOR” Proverbs 11:27 There is something That we have to recognize About the listeners Of Jesus' day They weren't closed To the bad news They were CLOSED To the good news Of the Lord The reason They were closed Is that they felt threatened They denied the REALITY Of GOD'S PROMISE And they literally Pushed him away “They rose up Drove him out of town And led him To the brow of the hill On which their town Had been built To hurl him down headlong But he passed Through the midst of them And went away” Luke 4:29-30 WE CHRISTIANS Of the 21st century NEED to wake up To the PROMISE OF GOD “IT'S ALL GOOD” BELIEVE in God Believe in Jesus Their words are good “NO ONE is good Except God alone,” Mark 10:18 Jesus said And yet his Father LIFTED him up After the RESURRECTION Talk about GOOD “But the angel said to them 'Do not be afraid I bring you GOOD NEWS That will cause great JOY For all the people TODAY In the town of David A SAVIOR has been born to you He is the MESSIAH THE LORD” Luke 2:10-12 DEAR LORD=we pray That we will Always remain OPEN To the GOOD NEWS Of the Lord IT IS ALL GOOD Robert P. Wallman 8-31-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Amy Welborn

FINDING GOD IN THE PRESENCE OF ONE ANOTHER

FINDING GOD IN THE PRESENCE OF ONE ANOTHER We don't ever Have to worry about FINDING GOD For his PRESENCE Is within us He walks with us Through every situation We encounter in life “Because of my integrity You uphold me And set me in your PRESENCE- FOREVER” Psalm 41:12 “Dear children Let us NOT love with words or speech BUT with actions and truth This is how We know That we belong To the truth And HOW we set Our hearts In his presence” 1 John 3:18-19 But it is NOT ENOUGH To know That God lives WITHIN us And that he is present In our hearts We MUST KNOW That the PRESENCE OF God Ia ALIVE=in our brothers and sisters In Christ Of ALL people of God And all people WHETHER they believe in God Or not And treat them accordingly With DIGNITY=with KINDNESS= And with LOVE “A new command I give you: LOVE ONE ANOTHER As I have loved you So you must love ONE ANOTHER By this Everyone will know That you are my disciples IF you love one another” John 13:34-35 We must UNDERSTAND That LOVE is not just a noun But it is also a verb And verb implies action And we need to be NOT just hearers of the words-BUT DOERS “Be doers of the word- And not hearers only- DO what it says” James 1:22 LOVE-love-love=EVERYONE For the presence of God Is in them Do you have an action plan For loving others Mine is very simple: Birthday cards-friendship cards- Poems-and an encouraging word (and HELPING when I can) And most of all LETTING the person know That you CARE about them You would be surprised How an ENCOURAGING WORD Can pick you up MANY of you Have picked me up In my time of need And I am HERE for you If you need me And don't UNDERESTIMATE TH POWER OF PRAYER for others OFTEN times This is our BEST weapon And we can let others know That they are in our prayers “You have made known To me The paths of life You FILL me with joy In your presence” Dear Lord: WE PRAY Thank you for your presence Of living in us And we ask you To HELP US To let others know That we FIND THE PRESENCE OF GOD LIVING IN THEM Robert P. Wallman 8-29-15

FINDING COMFORT IN GOD

FINDING COMFORT IN GOD Today we celebrate The PASSION of John the Baptist Who is Jesus' cousin The precursor to Jesus And who came To PREPARE the way The bible Has its share of eccentric figures But none more so than John “John's clothes Were made of Camel's hair And he had A leather belt Around his waist His food was locusts And wild honey” Matthew 3:4 Talk about eccentric We had Some very eccentric GREAT UNCLES In our family But not even they Ate locusts and wild honey John was a very good man And his MISSION Was to prepare the people For the moral and spiritual teachings Of Jesus “Herod feared John KNOWING him To be a righteous And holy man........” Mark 6:20 John was One of those people Who could NOT Hold back From telling people What was on his MIND He criticized King Herod Telling him that his marriage To his brother's wife Was UNLAWFUL And it ultimately COST John his life When he was beheaded I am SURE John found COMFORT IN GOD As he knew His cousin Jesus Was to BEGIN his mission Of bringing God to the world “EVEN though I walk Through the darkest valley I fear no evil For you are with me Your rod and your staff THEY COMFORT ME” Psalm 23:4 “May your unfailing love BE MY COMFORT According to your promise To your servant” Psalm 119:76 Many of us too ARE righteous and HOLY Just like John (And we may be A little bit eccentric too) But we too EXPERIENCE UNJUST criticism and punishment But we too Can go on Just as the KINGDOM of God did Because we find The SPIRIT of John The spirit of Jesus And the COMFORT OF GOD Living in our hearts Living deep within us “COMFORT-comfort my people Says your God” Isaiah 40:1 “PRAISE be To the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ The Father of compassion And the God of ALL COMFORT Who comforts us In all our troubles So that We can COMFORT those In any trouble With the comfort We ourselves RECEIVE FROM GOD” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 DEAR FRIENDS-May you find The comfort that John did The comfort That Jesus did For we ALL Need to experience And do receive THE COMFORT OF GOD Robert P. Wallman 8-28-15

LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE

LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE Looking back Could you have PREDICTED WHERE you are In your life right now I could NEVER Have predicted That as a young man I would SURVIVE Three life and death operations And live a whole life With an UNPREDICTABLE chronic illness I could never have predicted That I would be LIVING In South Florida And spending My time SEARCHING for God And searching for A deeper MORE SPIRITUAL And HOLY life “This is the will Of God-YOUR HOLINESS...” 1 Thessalonians 4:3 How about you Could you have PREDICTED The course of your life And are you searching FOR GOD-for truth And for LOVE in your life Are you searching For a deeper More HOLY life With God “Ascribe to the Lord The GLORY Due his name Worship the Lord In the splendor Of his holiness” Psalm 29:2 And another thing About our JOURNEY Through life What we think Is “good” or “bad” At the time In RETROSPECT Often turns out to be Just the opposite over time I could NEVER HAVE PREDICTED That having this illness That my life BEING totally out of my control Could brine me THIS CLOSE to God And this close To my FAMILY AND FRIENDS In this life “The priest answered them 'Go in peace Your journey Has the LORD'S APPROVAL'” Judges 18:6 How about you Could you have seen SOME of the wonderful outcomes Of some of the twists and turns Of your life Could you have predicted How something That seemed so great Could end up bringing An UNEXPECTED sad circumstance LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE And only the LORD KNOWS Where we are going And how we are going To get there ONE thing I know is That wherever we are in life LIFE is about the giving And receiving OF LOVE Along the way SHARING our successes and failures In life=WITH each other And life is a CALLING Toward a deeper holiness “It is because Of him(GOD) That you are In Jesus Christ Who has BECOME for us WISDOM from God That is our RIGHTEOUSNESS- HOLINESS-and REDEMPTION” 1 Corinthians 1:30 TODAY=on this feast Of Saint Augustine Let us acknowledge LIFE'S UNPREDICTABILITY And let us REMEMBER As Augustine himself showed us It is NEVER TOO LATE For conversion It is never too late To become a Christian And DISCIPLE OF CHRIST For that is-in life's unpredictability What we are CALLED to BECOME: A disciple OF GOD And Jesus Christ In this world A calling Toward a deeper HOLINESS In our SEARCH FOR GOD-for truth- And For love In this crazy mixed-up world That we live in Robert P. Wallman 8-27-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Amy Welborn

GOD'S MERCY IN EVERY SITUATION

GOD'S MERCY= IN EVERY SITUATION Our God Is a MERCIFUL God To us In EVERY situation ALL we have To do IS to continue To TRY and do Our very best And work our way BACK to God (If we have lost sight of him in our lives) “FILL us at daybreak With your kindness That we may shout For JOY and gladness All our days” Psalm 90:14 All we have To do Is to look to The story of Saint Monica- The patron Saint and mother Of Christian families To KNOW that GOD'S MERCY abounds In every situation No matter How desperate your situation It couldn't be any worse Than Saint Monica's God's MERCY In every situation “David said to Gad 'I am in deep distress Let us fall Into the hands Of the Lord For his MERCY Is great But do NOT let me Fall into human hands” 2 Samuel 24:14 The FAITH of Saint Monica GIVES all parents CONFIDENCE in God That God Will never forsake Their children No matter how disappointed We are-in the choices The child has made For Augustine Had turned his back On his faith And became a womanizer And even fathered a child “BLESSED are the merciful For they will be shown MERCY” Matthew 5:7 Monica had already FORGIVEN Augustine-for his wayward life style Because she believed God LOVED Augustine UNCONDITIONALLY And he did Just as he CONTINUES TO LOVE ALL of us And our children Despite our wayward lifestyles “LOVE is patient-love is KIND- …..... It always PROTECTS-always trusts- Always HOPES-always perseveres- LOVE NEVER FAILS” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Just as Monica's love Was for Augustine Just as our love is For our children And just as GOD'S LOVE Is for us- HIS very own children “Yet to ALL Who did receive him To those who BELIEVED In his name He gave the RIGHT To become CHILDREN OF GOD........” John 1:12 Well eventually MONICA'S FAITH was rewarded As Augustine- TURNED backed to her And to God And he went on to Become the BEST KNOWN And most influential Christian Since Saint Paul All because of Monica's FAITH And great belief In the MERCY OF GOD GOD'S MERCY IN EVERY SITUATION Let us all CONTINUE to pray Because we all need God's MERCY at daybreak And at all times During every single day OF OUR LIVES Robert P. Wallman 8-26-15 Ps Inspired by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Deborah Meister

IN A DARK WORLD=GOD IS THE LIGHT

IN A DARK WORLD= GOD IS THE LIGHT We do the BEST That we can To avoid The dark times In life But the TRUTH is We all have Dark times In life In those dark times In a dark world GOD IS THE LIGHT “For you darkness itself Is not dark And night shines As the day” Psalm 139:12 “You Lord- KEEP my lamp burning My God TURNS My darkness into light” Psalm 18:28 The dark times In life Are unavoidable They come To us all The loss of health The death of a child-parent- Or family member-or a friend Financial difficulty THE LIGHT of God The LIGHT of Jesus SHINING on us Makes the difference Whether we can go on Or not “THE LORD is my light And my salvation Whom shall I fear? The Lord is The STRONGHOLD of my life- Of whom Shall I be afraid” Psalm 27:1 “WHEN Jesus spoke again- To the people-He said 'I am the LIGHT Of the world WHOEVER follows me Will NEVER walk In darkness But will have THE LIGHT OF LIFE” John 8:12 And that is the DIFFERENCE Between those of us Who can move forward WHEN dark times come And those who cannot ACCEPTING THE LIGHT OF GOD Some people Want to BLAME God When darkness and pain Befalls them And some of us KNOW That dark times fall On us all At one time on another And that we can STILL move forward With and in THE LIGHT OF GOD In this dark dark world God is the light Jesus is the light They show us HOW we can still LIVE in The GRACE of God “For the law Was given through Moses GRACE AND TRUTH Came through Jesus Christ” John 1:17 “The night is Nearly over The day Is almost here So let us Put aside The deeds of darkness And put on THE ARMOR OF LIGHT” Romans 13:12 God is the light Jesus is the light In a dark world What makes All the difference Is that We are CONVINCED That God In the person of Jesus KNEW the darkness Of this life And survived And because of this Because of him EVERY dark space In life Has become A SOURCE OF HOPE- REDEMPTION-and LIGHT He is the LIVING HOPE That darkness brings He is the PROMISE OF NEW LIFE IN US Robert P. Wallman 8-25-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Father James Behrens, O.C.S.O.

NOT JUST WHAT=BUT HOW

NOT JUST WHAT-BUT HOW I think our God Our Lord Is the God of Surprises Have you ever seen A mother nursing Her child What a GENTLE sight It is an INTIMATE ACT Of human love And that reminds me Of the religious art Down through the ages Of the infant Jesus At the Virgin Mary's breast What a precious picture Jesus came to us SWEET-innocent-and dependent On his nurturing mother “Rather- We were GENTLE among you As a nursing mother Cares for his children” 1 Thessalonians 2:7 And NOT only Was Jesus and his mother-GENTLE- But so is OUR GOD “The Lord said- 'Go out-and stand On the mountain In the presence of The Lord For the Lord Is about to pass by Then-a great and powerful wind Tore the mountains apart And shattered the rocks Before the Lord But the Lord Was NOT in the wind After the wind There was an earthquake But the Lord Was not in the earthquake After the earthquake Came a fire But the Lord Was NOT in the fire And after the fire Came a GENTLE WHISPER” 1 Kings 19:11-12 Of all the places God could meet Elijah It was in THE GENTLE WHISPER Which is a REMINDER TO ME IF our Lord Can be gentle with others If our Jesus Can be gentle with others And they are To be our ROLE MODELS The least that we can be To others-IS GENTLE WHEN we bring THE WORD OF God To them It's not only what we say It is HOW we say it And we should Pass on God's WORD-God's MESSAGE In GENTLE LOVE Paul tells the missionaries That this is how The Word of God Should be brought WITH GENTLE-TENDER LOVE Towards others Speak to others With gentle words It is just not What we bring To the table But HOW we bring it “A gentle answer Turns away wrath But a harsh word- Stirs up anger” Proverbs 15:1 “WHAT do you prefer? Shall I come to you With a rod of discipline? Or shall I come in LOVE With a GENTLE spirit?” 1 Corinthians 4:21 I know what I prefer How about you? Dear Lord-I pray-WE PRAY That you place your words On our tongue-and that we always BE GENTILE AND LOVING In bringing your word To others Robert P. Wallman 8-24-15 Ps INSPIRED by an article in LIVING FAITH MAGAZINE by Jennifer Christ