NOW

The Fifth Agreement
"Go and spread the news of the Kingdom of God"
(Luke 9:60).
"Rusty" Schweickart was one of three American Astronauts
on the Apollo 9 space mission. After his return, he had this
to say about the experience:
"When you fly in space and you look in at the earth, it is
indeed an incredibly beautiful place. I can't tell you what a
difference it makes in the way you feel, and in the way you
relate to the earth after that experience. When you fly around
it again and again, the world comes to you in a different way.
You see it in a different way. It doesn't come in through the
head. It comes in through the heart."
Today's Gospel is a Lesson that can only be fully experienced
through the heart. Jesus and some disciples are traveling
along a road when they encounter a would-be follower who
says, "I will follow You wherever You go." Jesus replies,
"Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the
Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head" (Lk. 9:57-58). Then
another man comes along and Jesus says, "Follow Me!" The
man replies, "Lord, let me go and bury my father first." To which
Jesus answers, "Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty
is to go and spread the news of the Kingdom of God." And to
still another would-be follower, Jesus says, "Once the hand is
laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the Kingdom
of God" (Lk. 9:59-60,62).
Jesus is talking to the would-be disciples about priorities. He
says that those who have given their faith must also give their
life -- not when it becomes convenient to do so, but now; not
after worldly interests have been attended to, but now. "Go and
proclaim the Kingdom of God," Jesus says, meaning right now.
Place your life under the Rule of God now, and attend to all your
family interests and all your worldly interests within that context.
It was for those would-be followers, just as it is for us now, not
enough to understand this intellectually. Jesus was telling them
just as He is telling us that the only place we can accept this
commitment is at the deepest level of our beings. In other words,
not through the head, but through the heart."
(Sunday Sermons Online)

GOD POKES US

Romans 13:9-10
The commandments, “You shall not commit
adultery,” “You shall not
murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall
not covet,” and whatever other command
there may be, are summed up in this one
command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.
” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore
love is the fulfillment of the law.

God pokes us: "Love one another as I have loved you."
He prods us: "If you have two coats give one to the man who
has none. "Then He turns up the heat: "Love your enemies.
Pray for your persecutors. "Higher it goes: "Give to the man
who begs from you . . . feed My lambs . . . feed My sheep."

KEEP THE TRASH OUT

A wise person is hungry for knowledge,
     while the fool feeds on trash. —
Proverbs 15:14 (NLT)
What we look at matters. What we pay
attention to matters. So we better guard
ourselves from consuming trash. Instead
of watching garbage on television, use
your eyes to fill yourself up on God’s
Words. Don’t listen to trash talk; instead
listen to inspiring Bible classes.
It’s been said “you are what you eat.
” Perhaps a more accurate statement is
we are very much the product of what we
see, hear, and think.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

A CRISIS

The brokenness of our nation’s immigration system has
implications for many of the values that we hold dear –
but now, more than ever, these policies are simply about
life and death.

Last week, more than 1,000 refugees drowned in the
Mediterranean Sea. The current refugee crisis is widely
considered to be the worst since World War II, as tens of
millions of people flee violence and war. But the United
States – the nation which has long proclaimed itself the
shining city on the hill, whose Statue of Liberty yearns to
give refuge to “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free” – is doing far less than its fair
share in accepting refugees.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration is conducting more
deportation raids against mothers and children fleeing the
Northern Triangle in Central America – one of the most
dangerous regions on the planet. There is mounting
evidence some of those being targeted for deportation
never received due process or legal representation. Some
unaccompanied children such as toddlers do not receive
any legal representation whatsoever, instead standing
alone in front of an immigration judge to represent
themselves. This mockery of American justice means that
mothers and children with legitimate claims to asylum are
being sent back to their deaths.

As Christians, we have a special responsibility to stand up
for the widow, the orphan, the sojourner, and the poor.
Many Christians across the country are providing sanctuary
to the undocumented and welcome to the refugees coming
to their communities. If there was ever a time when gospel
witness for the immigrant and the refugee was needed, it
is now.

In faith,
The Sojourners Immigration Team

CARING

PEOPLE DON'T CARE HOW MUCH
YOU KNOW UNTIL THEY KNOW
HOW MUCH YOU CARE
GOD CARES ABOUT YOU!

BE ON GUARD

Jesus said, “Take care! Be on your guard against
all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist
in the abundance of possessions.”
Luke 12:15
Voice
Perhaps the moral ambiguity of money is most
plainly evidenced in the popular belief that money
itself has value and that the worth of other things
or of men is somehow measured in monetary
terms, rather than the other way around.
William Stringfellow
Prayer
Creator God, though you called your human
creations "very good," we frequently call money
"even better." Heal us of our addiction and teach
us how to love.
(Verse & Voice from Sojourners. sojo.net)

WHATS YOUR ANSWER

Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan,
who gave his support to Trump, said
Tuesday that Trump’s recent attack on U.S.
District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel was
“the textbook definition of a racist comment.”
Textbook racism, said Ryan — but he has yet
to withdraw his support.
Trump has doubled down on the comments
about Curiel, who is the presiding judge in
lawsuits filed against him by former students of
his Trump University. “I’m building the wall, I’m
building the wall,” Trump said. “I have a Mexican
judge. He’s of Mexican heritage. He should have
recused himself, not only for that, for other things.”
Many have pointed out that Judge Curiel is a
highly respected American jurist born in Indiana to
parents of Mexican descent.
So the question becomes — both for Paul Ryan
and for all of us — what should “the textbook
definition” of racism mean for the election of the
president of the United States?
THERE'S THE QUESTION AS A CHRISTIAN
WHAT'S YOUR ANSWER

FULL RESTITUTION

 Verse
When a man or a woman wrongs another,
breaking faith with the Lord, that person incurs
 guilt and shall confess the sin that has been
committed. The person shall make full
restitution for the wrong, adding one fifth to it,
and giving it to the one who was wronged.
Numbers 5:6-7
Voice
And one day we must ask the question,
"Why are there forty million poor people in
America?" And when you begin to ask that
question, you are raising questions about the
economic system, about a broader distribution
of wealth. When you ask that question, you
begin to question the capitalistic economy.
(Martin Luther King Jr.)
Prayer
O God of justice, give us the vision and
strength to work toward a society that
welcomes those on the margins into the
center.
(Verse & Voice from Sojourners. sojo.net)

YOUR PRESENCE KNOWN

Scripture:
The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims [God's]
handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the
earth, and their words to the end of the
world.
Psalm 19:1-4

You have made your presence known to
us, Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, if
only we will look and listen for you. Help
us to see your thumbprints on the leaves
of the trees and the faces of our neighbors.
Help us to hear the echo of your voice in
the rush of the wind and the joy of sudden
laughter.
IN TIMES LIKE THESE I SAY AMEN!!!!!!!!!!
AMEN!!!!!!

IN EVERYTHING

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

Our Heavenly Father extends an open-ended invitation to
call on Him. And we should. In big things and little things,
in matters consequential and trivial, we should go to the
Lord who stands ready to hear.
THE PRAYER:
Dear Father in heaven, may I always be appreciative of
Your invitation to hear my prayer, and may I always be
ready to come to You with my praises and petitions. This
I ask in my Savior's Name. Amen