June 2016 - Page 3 of 4 - Shepherd of Faith

When the time of Pentecost was fulfilled!

When the time of Pentecost was fulfilled……Acts 2:1-11. Read that verse and meditate on it. Do a lectio divina – see how it speaks to you.

This is how that verse spoke to me on Pentecost Sunday this year – it spoke volumes about the universal language of love. We all spend most of our lives in “search of” our purpose in life. Of course, we all have different gifts and talents and recognizing them sometimes leads us to understand the answer to our question of purpose. However, my thought is the first, common and simplest answer to the question of purpose is to love. Love God, love our neighbor, love life.

In Acts 2:1-11, we hear about the Holy Spirit coming down upon the disciples and their speaking in tongues. Despite the many different languages represented in the crowd, everyone was able to understand what was being spoken. We wonder how that could be possible. We put way too much emphasis on the spoken word when the reality is that the light that shines from a heart filled with the love of Christ is itself a universal language, a language understood by all.

In the Gospel of John 3:16, we are told “no greater love than this has man than to lay down his life for his friends.” Furthermore, in John 20:19-23 we hear Jesus telling his disciples “as my father has sent me, so I send you.” So we know that Jesus came to show us great love. We also know that God loved us so much that He sent His ONLY son for the salvation of the world. As the father has sent him, so he sends us – TO LOVE. First, we are called to love God – to love Him through worship, praise and thanksgiving. We are called to love Him by keeping His commandments. Second we are called to love our neighbor as Christ loved us; to put others first just as Christ did; to sacrifice at times for the benefit of others. Third, we are called to love life. How? In two ways: first, by accepting our circumstances with trust in the Lord knowing that all things work for good for those who love Him and second, by appreciating and caring for all of God’s creation. We must respect and acknowledge the dignity of every life – human or otherwise.

So………what is your purpose in life? To use the gifts God has given you to foster love in the world; to communicate with all the world through the language of love! God bless you!

Why waste time, I wonder?

The self proclaimed “bird nerd”, that’s me. I have always had a “thing” for birds. I was fascinated with cardinals and blue jays when I lived in the city, a place where pigeons, or should I say “rock doves” were the majority. Once while on vacation in Vermont, I visited a bird sanctuary and was struck by the elusive hummingbird and then while hiking in a dry forest in Puerto Rico, I was surprised to catch a glimpse of a hummingbird sitting in her nest. I was actually able to photograph the eggs in the nest after she took flight. Awesome for sure! Now, living in the country, I spend a lot of time sitting outside watching the bird feeders and bird houses I’ve strategically placed within view. I have been blessed to have hummingbirds feed out of the palm of my hand, to watch 32 different varieties of birds feed at the feeders and to be host to black-capped chickadees, house wrens and cardinals nesting in birdhouses and trees nearby.

The bird feeders I have not only attract the birds but they also attract squirrels and so I’m told, bears. Yikes! The bears, however, have not been as much of a nuisance as the squirrels have been. Every morning begins the cat and mouse game between the squirrels at the feeder and my two australian cattle dogs, Foster and Mellow. I often wonder, as I look out my window each morning, why squirrels feel the need to risk their lives hanging in various positions from trees trying to grab the bird seed when there seems to be an over-abundance of acorns at their disposal in the woods. All they have to do is walk half a step and they’ll find one acorn, if not many. I think to myself “running around like little acrobats when what they need is right under their noses.” Did it hit you like it hit me? That’s us! That’s humanity! That must be how God sees us!

You see, to me the squirrel seems to be moving around on auto-pilot – used to the mischief, used to the routine and it fails to see that God provides an easier way for it – a more peaceful way, a less resistant way. Think about it – we are like the squirrel – finding it difficult to stray from our routine, in search of happiness in places it will never be found. We complain often of not having time to relax or to be at peace, while at the same time scheduling and finding MORE things to do. We refuse to sit still one moment. How difficult it is for us to sit in silence and meditate and yet how rewarding it is. What are we afraid of? I recently read that one of the things it could be is the fear of actually LIVING Truth. We all walk a good walk and talk a good talk when it comes to our beliefs, but are we living in obedience to the Truth? Knowledge of our disobedience is probably what keeps us from being still. Oh how we love to point the finger and hate to look in the mirror!

Imagine what God sees from His vantage point. He sees us, the “squirrels” moving around on autopilot, losing our peace in search of peace, when all the while it’s right under our noses. Peace is within us, it’s not “out there” somewhere. It’s in our every breath – focus inward without fear and you’ll find it! God bless you!