Transformed Mind

1 John 1:5-2:10 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to kno

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.   Let me stop right there. What was wrong with their eyes? They didn’t recognize him? Seriously? These were two of Jesus’ disciples. Theologians have many explanations, but as I was thinking about it I thought, “How many times do I tune out that which is right in front of me?” I’m particularly good at filtering out crying babies, which is pretty handy on flights. Or maybe think back to your school days where your mind drifts into a long day dream and you completely miss the entire content of the class. Deeper though, think about a time when there’s been suffering in your life, in that gut-wrenching place of grief, disillusionment, and darkness.

  Valentines Day & Ash Wednesday (Feb 14), an interesting combo of holydays this year. Valentines Day of course we think of love and romance, a time to express emotions, hand out little cards, boxes of chocolates, and for some reason a fat baby with wings and a bow and arrow. Love in scripture goes deeper than some of the superficiality we get on the commercialized day of Valentine, for it proclaims, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, a time of self denial, fasting, prayer, and the giving of oneself to contemplate God’s ultimate act of love that culminates on Good Friday. It’s a time to think of our own mortality. During the imposition of ashes whereby a person makes the sign of the cross on the recipients forehead you may hear the words, “All are from dust, and to dust all return.” It’s a sobering thought. And working in a hospital I really think about this quite a bit, death. 

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." - John 5:39-40  Book of Kells image Jesus here is talking to the Pharisees, the religious folk of his time and isn't too happy with their arrogant blindness. It's the equivalent of being a PhD in political science, writing articles for professional journals about current political affairs, pouring into students the knowledge you've obtained and then one day a living US president walks in and you have no idea who they are. He says, "Don't you know who I am I'm the one you've been writing articles about, those economic policies were my doing, everything that's right with this country has my fingerprints on it. My staff have been pushing my agenda for years to get things done." And nothing, you're clueless. You actually think this guy is pulling your chain