Fix My Eyes

What the people want is very simple. They want an America as good as its promise.

 

                                                  ~ Barbara Jordan

 

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

                                                  ~ Philippians 2:5-8 (The Message)

     Many lawyers have crossed my path this week. All in suits. Some full of their positions, some with a great sense of humor, some good teachers, some a great composition of what they think it should look like.  All representing the law, what is right and justice.  There is one that stood out because he took the time to explain, answer questions, tell us a little about himself.  He gave up the persona and just spoke from his heart.  And he was heard by a widely diverse group of people who are all there to serve and do the right thing.

     Remember who you are as you approach another.  Jesus knew who he was, yet he was able to live as one of us, show mercy, be angry, and speak from his heart- in truth and with love.  If I could sometimes stop working on our strategy and just speak from my own heart, so much more might be accomplished and the listener might be able to hear the voice of God shining through. If I only could keep my eyes fixed on Jesus.

Lord, help me to keep my eyes fixed on you.

 

     Because of Him,

      Linda

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM-Bf9gE0gw

Fix My Eyes

Grace Wins

It is one of nature’s ways that we often feel closer to distant generations than to the generation immediately preceding us. 

     ~ Igor Stravinsky

 

Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.

   ~ Romans 13:1

 

   I am looking at the scripture and wondering what world we live in right now.  Children getting less direction from home and parents putting the burden of education on the schools, drivers disregarding the simplest of laws with regard to stopping at intersections, traffic lights, right of way, adult educators using words in classrooms of higher education that, while it is their right, sets no standard of excellence.  

     It is no wonder that many of my friends are on the average 12 years older than I.  The thing is, there are less and less of them as I grow older.  They have moved into Heaven.  I am so grateful for the friends I have no matter what their age.  And I also notice a growing number of friends that are 12 years younger than I am.           That makes me aware of my responsibility as much as having older friends to rely on.  I must live the life, use the right language, be kind to those who are unkind as to challenge my patience.  

     Including government officials.  Temptation is evident both in the groups that try to buy campaigns and the ones who accept the donations, in the law, in the lobbyists.  But I must remember my own rule about pointing a finger and be about the business of doing the right thing as unto the Lord, not as unto my fellow believers or non-believers.  No “look at me!  I am a good example.”  That usually comes right before I fall on my face.  

   God is God and all authority rests theirin.  And when we fall, grace wins every time.

     Walk in the grace of God, be ready to extend a hand, or take one.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ9dvAWNvsw

Grace Wins – Matthew West

 

Because of Him,

Linda

With Liberty and Justice

God-devotion makes a country strong;
    God-avoidance leaves people weak.

   ~ Proverbs 14:34

Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein. 

       ~ Proverb

 

     This week’s course at Touro Law School was quite an eye opener.  It confirmed what I suspected; we need civics back in the classroom at all levels.  We do not know our heritage, our history, our Constitution, our country’s laws.  This I heard in a room where nearly every speaker spoke of faith as a foundation of the law, from the Deans past and present, from the former Presidents of the American Bar Association, from the Associate National Director of Regional Operations for the Anti-Defamation League. 

 

 “How can you make a decision like that and take communion?”  “How can you make that choice and sit in temple?” These questions and more underscored the need for faith without saying one word that could be construed as proselytizing. There was no altar call, no direction for everyone to lower their eyes or to clasp their hands and yet…the presence of God was all throughout the week at Touro.  We spent time in the court, in the holding facility seeing prisoners be booked and processed.  So many of the folks “on view” had fallen into their own pit.  So many know no other way.  To see the faces of the loved ones waiting for arraignment was to see a map of pain and history.

 

     All in all, my respect for the job that officers of the law do every day grew by leaps and bounds.  Those who are committed to upholding the law, doing justice and showing mercy and doing no less that what God directs.

     Take some time and read the Declaration of Independence, or the Preamble to the Constitution,” with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence…”  Pray for our country and for our neighbors.

 

Because of Him,

Linda

Walking Humbly

A lie has speed, but truth has endurance.

          ~ Edgar J. Mohn

 

I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

        ~ Romans 12:3

 

     This week is mostly spent at a local law school.  I am taking a Summer Institute for educators in Civic Law and the Constitution.  I have met some incredible human beings who think of themselves as “just one person trying to make a difference.”  

•       Karen Korematsu is the daughter of an American citizen detained in an internment camp because he was of Japanese heritage.  She carries her father’s message and wants us to all realize that if you live by your principles, you can make a difference.
•      Bob Wolfson is the Associate National Director of Regional Operations for the Anti-Defamation League.  He wants all hate crimes to stop and is in the business of teaching law enforcement officers how to handle such crimes and the people affected.

I am around several dozen educators of all backgrounds who want to make a difference. The founders of the school made an impact on me as I walked in the door and saw this:

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We all have the ability to make an impact because God first made an impact.  God has given us so much including the foundation of the law and the spirit of the law.  The trick is not to get to “heady” about what we have done.  Because without God, none of it would matter.  

     Today, walk in the grace that has been given you, humbly with the God who loves you so much that you were empowered to make that difference.

 

Lord thank you for all those ordinary people doing extraordinary things in your name.

     Because of Him,

     Linda