No. 36 Peach-trees and Hypocrites

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from thistles? In the same way every good tree bears good fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruit.  Matthew 7:15-20; Mark 8:15

This old earth is hostile territory; it is a war zone strewn with half-dead bloodied up bodies. God’s children shudder to see how powerful spiritually dead souls can be.

In the beginning, when peace and order pervaded pretty Eden, trees were created that produced seeds after their own kind and the fruit thereof.

Pride and arrogance were wedded and their intercourse gave birth to hypocrisy. A diabolical deluge of two-faced monsters swarming the face of the earth like maggot infused fruit infected everything in their path, even the Bride. Beware! Step aside.

This Mark sits calmly on the front porch neither outraged, nor horrified, nor even fretting.

Some prophets are false, some fruit is bad. This Mark is never confused by it all, but simply glances down at good fallen fruit that relieved burdened branches and carefully selects the ripest juiciest most colorful to fill its mouth with delight.

Does your local priest, pastor or prophet consistently produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness and self control?

Do you?

No. 37 Follow the Leader

To another He said, "Follow me." but he said, "Let me first go bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Matthew 8:22, Luke 9:60

This Mark is one reason why the road to immortality is the one less traveled.

Even goody two-shoes would have a tough time walking away from dad, especially if he needed burying, especially to run off with another man. It takes more than being nice to become immortal.

Jesus Christ shined the spotlight on this Mark when He said things like, “Those who leave brother and sister and father and mother for My sake will be rewarded in the kingdom of heaven,” and “If you don’t love Me more than your family, then you are not worthy of Me.” Allegiance to the immortal Triune God must be pure and exclusive. Nothing less will do. Remember: it’s God. Love your family, but be willing to disconnect from them.

When John the Baptist, and Jesus proclaimed that we must Repent, they simply meant that we need to stop shooting arrows into the air with our behavior, our choices, and our attitudes. Hit the mark. Repent! Be penitent again and again to get it right. Be sorry for not even trying to hit the Mark; be frustrated for missing, and try again. Do it!

Follow the Leader; talk up the kingdom of God and how different that is than all the un-united nations of this world. ‘Let the dead bury their own dead’ is not a nice thing to say. This Mark chooses life over warm fuzziness.

Dinner before dessert.

No. 38 Fear

Do not be afraid. Matthew 8:26, Matthew 10:31, Mark 4:40; Mark 6:50; John 14:27

Do not let your hearts be afraid when people come after you to hurt you, do not be afraid when you have no money or job, do not be afraid when you see Jesus walking on water in a storm. Do not be afraid when he extends his hand to you to come out of the boat with Him.

Even though I have never seen anyone walk on water, I have seen aspiring immortals be that brave. I have seen them make God smile.

Remember, someday, maybe tomorrow, we aspiring immortals will have to fly to meet Jesus in the air. We mustn’t be afraid on that day or we won’t make it. That would be a shame. That would be like the virgins with no oil who waited all that time and in the end weren’t ready.

Practice fearlessness. You will need to get good at hitting this Mark; there is no doubt about that. Even if you are not among the aspiring immortals that fly up from earth to meet Jesus in the sky, then certainly you will want to be fearless on your deathbed.

When it’s time to go, pray that you will be alert. Lift your head high and try to hear the angels beckoning you.

Practice fearlessness. Be brave when you have lost your job, or when someone you love falls ill, or when your beloved leaves you, or when your enemy prevails…temporarily.

Trust God with all your heart and might. This is how to practice fearlessness. This is how to practice walking on water.

Practice martyrdom. Be a witness to faith.

No. 39 Help Wanted

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Matthew 9:37-38

"His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever He tells you.'" Jn 2:4

But doesn’t the Lord of the harvest already know that He should send out laborers? Why ask?

Asking the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers is a gentle way of telling you to become a laborer of the harvest. What other prayer comes with an auto-answer? “Send me.”

This Mark brings God’s children into the family business.
Laborers of the harvest are farmers; they cultivate the soil around the plants, they fertilize and weed. They make sure the plants have enough water. They kill evil, parasitic bugs that threaten to destroy the harvest.

The harvest of souls. We need help. Admit it, we need water, fertilizer, and protection from evil forces. (think:Church) Let’s give it to each other.

Most of us who focus on the Mark with our minds think that the Mark just sits there in the middle of this big chaotic world waiting for us to get ready, aim, and fire. Truth be told, when we walk up close and look at it, that blessed Mark of ours is actually a whole world in itself; it is a busy nucleus of life.

It is into that busy world that Mark 39 calls us. We must join the family business of tending fellow souls.

Job opening. Apply within.

No. 40 Marching Orders

Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment, give without payment. Take no gold ... Matthew 10:7-9

Do I hear you shout, “This Mark is not meant for me! How can I cure the sick and raise the dead? This Mark was addressed specifically to the disciples who were given special powers.

We can’t cast out demons, not even little ones or raise an ant from the dead. Evangeline, quickly move on to the next Mark before you lose me.”

Evangeline sits in her chair calmly waiting for the hysteria to subside, then replies, “There is one God whose commands are the Mark. Fret not, we can hit this Mark with obedience!

Cure the sick with wisdom and wharever talents God gives you. Cure with prayer.

Raise the dead in spirit even if you can’t raise their bodies. Awaken them to immortality. Cleanse the lepers. Cleanse the loneliness of the leprous condition, the outcast diseased, the ugly, or the morbidly obese.

Cleanse them with your friendship and watch them blossom.”

You have the power to cast out demons, use it! Some demons shrivel up with neglect; others dissolve in the presence of holiness. The strongest can only be annihilated by prayer and fasting. Do it.

Make sure you do it all without accepting money or its counterpart: glory, or even in expectation gratitude in return. There is no Mark that you cannot hit if you want to enough.

Remember, we aren’t just trying to make it to Tahiti; we are desperate refugees who risk our lives and our egos to become citizens of the Kingdom of God.

No. 42 The Love Mom Mark

The fifth commandment demands that we honor mom...every day. 

They need more wine.  (Jn 2:3) Woman what does your concern have to so with me? (Jn 2:4)  Whatever He says to you, do it. (Jn 2:5)

One man said he would do it and did not, the other refused, but regretted it and and went. Which of the two did the will of his father? (Mt 21:28)

Look your mother is seeking You. Who is My mother or My brothers?  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and My mother. (Mk 3:33-35)

John, behold your Mother. (Jn 19:27)

This mark says to do what she asks, whether you want to or not.

Never leave your mom vulnerable. Care for her. If you must go, then find John and turn her over to him.

No. 41 The Shrewd Dove

See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  Matthew 10:16

We sheep are munching grass while wolves lurk about seeking to eat us alive. Still true after all these years!

Jesus tells us to be as innocent as doves. That’s easy! Cling to the Mark during the tornedo.

But we are also to be as shrewd as venomous snakes. How can this be? How does a lamb turn into a snake? Oh me, oh my!

Fear.
Taking my hand a kind angel guides me to the context of this Mark.

‘Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of Me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit speaking through you.’

The Holy Spirit who dwells in us is the shrewd one. Let’s be shrewd by repeating what the Holy Spirit gives us to say or do to the wolves!

Don’t get comfortable, watch out for wolves. Make sure you can hear God speak in your heart.

Stay alive!

No.43 The Mark of Faith

...and you will be hated because of Christ but endure in the faith to the end.

When Peter walked on the water for a moment and suddenly started to sink,

Jesus admonished him saying, "you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Jesus said, "truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt... You will say to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea, it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer and faith, you will receive.

You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? (Jesus was frustrated because they couldn't heal a  boy possessed.) Matthew 10:22, Matthew 14:31, Matthew 21:21-22, Mark 9:19-23, Mark 11:22-25, Luke 18:1-8

What we think of as miracles, are not abracadabra magic acts. They are the effects of faith; the result of trusting God. Jesus trusted so well that He expected to receive whatever He requested, and He did.

The Mark of faith lies deep within a forest of doubt, of cynicism and skepticism. To hit this Mark requires the ability to maneuver your arrow through many obstacles. We must learn to think wisely with the heart, to willfully diminish the value of sight and reason, and venture beyond frivolous imagination, fear, and intellect.

It may seem difficult if not impossible to hit this Mark the way Christ expects us to, but that’s what separates the Gold medalists from the audience. We need self denial.

It did not take faith to see luminous Jesus on Mount Tabor, with Moses and Elijah by His side. The disciples saw Him with their very own eyes.

What took faith was for Jesus to ask His Father to reveal His sonship to the disciples, and He did. That was the kind of faith He wants us to demonstrate. Saints become light-filled too.

Jesus expects us to have such faith; nothing less will do.

No. 44 Killers Big and Small

Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear Him who can destroy soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

The sweet crunchy coating of an M&M gives the chocolate a form to contain its chocolaty goodness. It’s not the coating I am after when I pop them in my mouth. Don’t get me wrong, I love the colors, the shapes and the crunchy bite through it, but in the end it’s all about the chocolate.

It is mind-boggling to realize that the body is only the shell of the person inside who is essentially invisible heart and mind. What a task master this body can be! So demanding! Such a voracious appetite it has to feed all those muscles, organs, and senses!
This body requires so much attention, is it any wonder that the notion of someone killing it is the very scariest thought possible. And yet, for aspiring immortals with faith, the murder would only release our spirit, heart, and mind straight to the heavenly Father and His happy world, not such a terrible consequence.

Each embodied day the real me inside either loves God with obedience or fearlessly and stupidly neglects Him. When my demanding body dies, my thoughts and feelings will live on wherever God sends it, even if to hell.
Hell is as real as grief and anger, hatred and bitterness, rancor and hostility. This Mark tells me that I should be more afraid to live in misery forever, than I am of a murderer. The invisible part of me, has so much more to lose than the shell of me.

To fear God is to respect Him. To respect Him is to love Him. To love Him is to obey His commands. If you miss this Mark, none of the others matter. It is the first commandment for a very good reason.

BOO!

No. 45 Kiss and Tell

What Christ says to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Matthew 10:27

 Even at the risk of people thinking you are deluded when you tell them that God told you something, do it.

Ask anyone: would an all-knowing, wise friend who lives with you, never speak to you? Especially if he knew that he could make your life easier and help you to successfully accomplish your mission and his? Of course not, that silent person wouldn’t be a friend and he wouldn’t be wise either.

The Spirit of God who lives inside our hearts and minds is a talker. He is quick to guide and to advise. After all, He is ‘the Wonderful Counselor’ and He is published in the all-time Best Seller, the Bible.

This Mark gives us permission to kiss and tell.

Be alert for the Holy Spirit who lives in your heart. You know it is He who speaks and not your imagination when the message is clearly not something you would say, or if it is a brilliant solution to a concern.

Christ, in the form of the Holy Spirit, is not you; He is Other. In times of confusion or distress you may need to ask Him to speak through the Scriptures; otherwise be alert for His whispers in the dark. Magnify Him.

Don’t worry about those who think you’re deluded, or even who think that the message is not as great as you do. That doesn’t matter at all. What matters is your relationship with the Holy Inner Voice. Respect Him. Do whatever He tells you.

Don’t be shy; go get your bullhorn!

No. 46 Love Christ Out Loud

Everyone therefore who acknowledges Me before others, I will also acknowledge before My Father in Heaven, (Luke says, 'before the angels of God') but whoever denies Me before others, I will also deny before my Father (and/or angels of God) in heaven.  Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8

Usually the most complimentary and the most damning criticisms about you and me are said behind our backs. We haven’t got a clue about what people really think of us and what they tell each other about us.

Jesus also talks about you behind your back. He talks about you being too embarrassed to wear a big gold cross, and about how you don’t pray before you eat in a restaurant and about how you don’t give Him credit when He makes a miracle happen for you.

Or, Jesus tells His Father and the angels with glee that you talk on and on about Him without a care in the world that some others think you are deluded, or just silly or if those words about Christ permanently remove you from the inner circle of a friend or a client, or your boss.

Sometimes loving Christ out loud is a good way to get flogged, tortured or beheaded. Aspiring immortals who are affected by those over-reactions are not just acknowledged, they are commended. They are saints for hitting this Mark regardless of the consequences.

Confidently proclaim that the crucified Jesus Christ is still alive, and that you have His back.

To hit this Mark is to love Jesus out loud.

No. 47 No Offense

And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me. Matthew 11:6; Luke 7:23

Throughout Christendom there exist soft angels who coo and spread warm fuzzies. They sing poetry in soprano voices and are beloved. Their poetry exudes honey-sweetness.

Many years ago a friend of mine was in extreme pain, dying of colon cancer. To comfort her I sat by her bedside and read the Bible. It was a horrible thing to do. I looked for the warm fuzzies, but they were nowhere to be found. Every passage I went to spoke only of God’s judgment. I tried the psalms...nope, went over to the Gospels...yikes! Back to Isaiah and other prophets! Double yikes! Where are the warm fuzzies when you need them? This woman was suffering enough without having to listen to this! After two or three hour-long sessions I wrote my sick friend a letter of apology because I wanted her to know that I really wanted to comfort her, and I was sorry for all the harsh things I was reading. She forgave me, and then she died. She took no offense, and was blessed.

I was reminded of that occasion l when reading a few of my Marks aloud to another friend. Her son is ill with demon-addictions and I hoped to give her words of strength to share with him. I was looking for the warm fuzzies. Again, I found critical words instead. I was sorely troubled.

Later that day, I set out to write the next Mark blog. it was this one, about ‘offense’! What a holy coincidence!

When we are offended by Scripture, is it because we have missed the Mark in the same way as when we are spiritually dead ? Is that’s what it feels like to be out of God’s will for us?

Probably. Yikes!

No. 48 The Reality Check

Those who are ashamed of Me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26

What! Once again the Bible shocks me. For this Mark I was driven to the Greek translation to see if there could have been a mistake. There it was, the word: ‘Ashamed’. Doubtful this was right, I went to every Bible I own; they all read, ‘Ashamed’. Who could be ashamed of Jesus and His words?

Shame-on-you is said to naughty children and criminals. Jesus is perfect. why would anyone be ashamed of Him and his words?

Suddenly, I remembered Jesus toppling tables in the temple. Then I heard Him say things like:
You salt that lost its flavor!
Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Looking at a woman with lust? Damned adulterer!
No one knows the Father, but Me.
He who is not with Me is against Me.
Woe to you scribes Pharisees, hypocrites... serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell!
I won’t take the children’s bread and throw it to dogs...like you.
And He cursed a fig tree for not producing figs ... out of season.

Slam the Book shut. Okay, I’ve read enough. Jesus wasn’t sweet and meek. He could be harsh and arrogant.

Calling it like it is, is not retaliation. It is cold hard truth. Dont ever be ashamed of the truth. It is Reality.

God made reality. Be flexible. Accept it.

No. 49 Honor Mom and Dad

Honor Your Father and Your Mother Matthew 15:4, Mark 10:19, Luke 18:20

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

It is tough to be invisible! No wonder Jesus had to perform all those miracles to demonstrate God’s authority over nature! Just try to get any attention at all when you’re invisible. But there are advantages too. Omnipresence.

God’s challenges aside, because He is invisible the command to honor father and mother is particularly crucial which explains why this Mark comes from the Big Ten. In fact it is the link between those of the Ten Commandments that refer to our relationship with God and those that refer to our relationship with each other.

When words are prayed or chanted by souls who don’t honor their visible fathers and mothers then the invisible Father wonders whether they would still mean those beautiful sentiments if they could see and hear Him.

As with visible fathers and mothers, the invisible Father knows that from time to time, He too must say something that His child doesn’t want to hear, or command something that His child doesn’t want to do.

That’s why we need to practice by honoring our visible father and mother no matter how we may disagree with them.

Hit this Mark and honor our Father in heaven too. Two gold stars for one perfect shot.

Hallelujah!

No. 50 The Cross Road

If anyone wants to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross (daily) and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will find it (will keep it for eternal life.) For what profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?  Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23, John 12:25,26.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. One leads to a field of pleasures and gladness of heart. The other, wanting wear for it is dark and mysterious there, leads to the bitter cross.

Every morning I awake anew the little me inside beseeching my legs to take the road less travelled by. And I cry, but a cross lies there! Why would I?

Trust me, says the dark path. Accept your pains mild and severe. Follow Him there.

But look, I answer fast, at my friends over there! See them dancing in the sunshine, let me go to that field of sun drenched flowers to breathe its lusty fragrant air and to laugh.

And sorry I could not travel both.
Being one traveler long I stood.
Looking down the darker one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth; my mind could perceive that cross with me-and-He hanging there, misunderstood, disparaged, desolate, and finally, pierced to see if I am still alive.

Does this dark path offer me a thorny crown of glory? Ouch! Will fasting help me walk the road less travelled by?
And its little head nodded, eyes closed. “Walk slowly away from yourself and fields of flowers. Come and share the life of the Mark, who has the power to heal the sick and raise the dead, who walks on water to go to where He needs to be. It is He who the Father hears and grants every wish. Die to pleasure, for Him. There is work to be done on this planet of light and darkness. Eden to restore, battles with demons and death to win. The army is busy building bridges; go and help them.”

Every day I stop at this road diverged.

[Dear Reader, Please note the progression. First Jesus Christ asks His followers to be willing to acknowledge Him, then not to be offended by Him, not to be ashamed of Him, and finally to be willing to die for Him. Full and total commitment is not an option. This is the Mark of a martyr- saint who is willing to lose his or her life for His sake. No one knows if martyrdom will be demanded. All we can do is train for it by practicing self-denial.)

No. 51 Shortcut to Heaven

Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. Matthew 18:2-5; Mark 9:37, Luke 9:48

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” Mark 9:42

I rounded the bend and low and behold right smack in front of me was the biggest most beautiful Mark I had ever seen. This Mark glowed and pulsated like a rainbow’s heartbeat. Out of it faint melodic peels of laughter and singing could be heard. Giggles spewed forth like spring rain on dry thirsty earth. Oh the life that radiated from this Mark!

This is not a quiet regal Mark sitting on a mountain such as, “Love Your Enemy” a high target longing to be reached; this is a boisterous lively Mark. Woven through the life of it I heard rivers of song flowing. Numbed by its beauty I stared.

I turned my head and looked Jesus in the eye; He smiled at me and nodded as if to say, “Yes, it’s true.” I knew instantly what He meant. When I imagine Jesus on Mount Tabor so high and luminous, and when I see Him walking on water and raising the girl and Lazarus from the dead, and healing lepers, I become so discouraged. How could I ever, in a million years, fully integrate with the Mark? I fast and I pray, and I squeeze my eyes tight and hold my breath for five minutes straight and still I can’t be like Jesus no matter how much I want to.

But here I look and see many gleeful, pure and simple child-Christs and they call me into them to make me joyful also, and loving, inquisitive, and humble enough to trust the Lord without question, just as children trust me.

Innocent children salt this world with living Marks; gather them, treasure them, protect them and become like them, for they are the shortcut to heaven.

No. 52 Conflicted

If your brother wrongs you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won your brother, but if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church, and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be as a Gentile and a tax collector. Matthew 18:15-17

Here we sit all huddled together one enormous bodyof bodies balanced on a tiny Mark, contra monde, blind to each other’s faces.

Suddenly and unexpectedly I feel a gut-wrenching jab. I know just what to do. My heart invites the heart of my assailant into a quiet corner to unite.

Mmm, that didn’t work. What went wrong? I squirrel back into the center of the big body to fetch other hearts to join me in my quest for peace and harmony. Of course, they come. They will tell me if I am the one at fault or the other, heart to hearts. I may need adjustment and welcome it. “A scoffer who is rebuked will only hate you; the wise, when rebuked, will love you.” Proverbs 9:8” Instead our assailant joins none of us and we all feel other jabs upon jabs.

Mmmm. We hearts squirrel back into the center of the body and ask our Mother to come and help us; surely she will be more successful than we were. The Mother gladly follows us to our quiet corner, to meet the assailant with her seeing eyes.

“Oh!” She discovers, turning to us after a while of talking and loving. “Your assailant is not my child. He doesn’t know what harm he does to himself. Let us return to the Mark and pray for him. He is of the world; let him go in peace. Hush, don’t cry.”

Then she hugs us and we feel better.

The false brother keeps jabbing, but we don’t hurt so much anymore. Isn’t that strange?

No. 53 Bouquet of Bowes and the Gone

Truly I tell you, whatever you bind (tie together) on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose (release) on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Matthew 18:18

 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion?” Job 38:31

With His commands Jesus tells us what He likes and what He is like. When we conform to His likeness, we appropriate not only His characteristics but His authority and privileges. We are gods who co-create heaven and earth.

The concept that we, His followers and aspiring immortals, form unions and associations that will endure forever is nothing short of magnificent, but it is not unlike all of the other great expectations Jesus has of us, such as to walk on water and heal the sick.

I love my puppy, my parents, my pond, my books, my cherished friends, and my church. I have tied them to my life with pretty bows. With this Mark I am assured that we will be together forever.

Thank you God that those who have been mean to me, even hatred itself, and abortions, and arrogance, and rancor and bitterness, hostility and chaos, all that I can release; I push those away to be gone forever both in heaven and on earth, away as a helium balloon to be dissolved in eternity, never to be seen again.
Relief unimaginable!

To the extent possible by each and every one of us, let’s all cover ourselves with pretty bows of goodness for as long as we are on earth, and let the evil of the world slide off and fall away.

If everyone hits this Mark together, like we are told to, what a beautiful vacation spot this can be, until we go Home!

No. 54 Stars in Heaven

Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs. Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14

They call them rock stars, or Hollywood stars because they may as well be shining from a million miles away. They are unapproachable because they are widely beloved. A team of guards shields them from what could be a devastating stampede. The wall goes up to protect their privacy so it can be meted out. They don’t need to be elected; they only need to be glorious.

Jesus Christ fell into the super-star category because He healed. He showed His power over nature to demonstrate His relationship to the Creator of nature, and to fulfill His mission to restore mankind to its original healthy state, both physically and spiritually in relation to the Father. Jesus was a star who from time to time had to escape the crowds for all the same reasons.

Unlike any other superstar, Jesus took admiration away from the glorious on the earth, e,g, other stars, and gave it to children.

Jesus said that His upside down, inside-out world where children rank high and the powerful rank last, describes the kingdom of heaven. Childlike love, innocence, humility, joy are natural to the world where God the Father reigns supreme, and where each citizen is luminous, not because they were once talented, powerful stars but because of the natural innocent quality of their spirits.

Who would prevent a child from drawing near to Christ today?
“Not I!” said Brer Rabbit.
“Nor I” chimed in Peter Cottontail.
“Not me” shouts the little boy who lives down the lane.

No. 55 Keep the Commandments

If you wish to enter life, keep the commandments. If you love Me, keep my commandments. Matthew 19:17, Luke 18:20, John 14:15, 21, 23

You must therefore be careful to do as the Lord commanded you; you shall not turn to the right or to the left. You must follow exactly the path that the Lord God has commanded you, so that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you are to possess. Deuteronomy 5:32, 33

O Merciful Master, ...fill us with the fear of Thy Blessed Commandments, that we, trampling down our fleshly desires, may seek a heavenly citizenship, and may do, and consider those things that are well pleasing to Thee... Excerpt from The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom

The Mark is not only a small target waiting to receive your focused heart and mind. It is the well-spring of life; it is a beam of light shot out into a dark and perverted world where evil frequently triumphs.

Evil seeks to extinguish light so its dirty deeds will not be seen. Evil hopes in vain that persons made in the image of God will be corrupted and annihilated one by one until all of mankind is deemed God’s failure. Humankind is the enemy of evil even as God is the enemy of evil.

Evil seeks to destroy us and too often it wins. Sometimes we put up a fight, and sometimes we yield to it with no resistance at all. Evil wins when we are either driven to despair or made to join-in the works of darkness. Evil wins when we neglect the commandments of God. Only through strict obedience to the commandments can we ever defeat evil.

Aspiring immortals beware: Pride is the enemy-in-disguise that fools us into thinking we are righteous, when in fact we are dead wrong.

This is why we must be ever vigilant to keep each and every command every day, not most of them most of the time. We must aim to be like our Pure and Perfect God. Eve only took one bite of the fruit to initiate death. The bar is high; let’s practice jumping.

Awareness of our failures is key.