Like a Mustard Seed

Richard Rohr – What the Mystics Know

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.  It starts small, but it keeps growing.  So keep growing.

Matthew 13:31-32 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.

For much of my life I have been searching for ways to become closer to God.  With this thought , Rohr helps me know that I just have to keep going through life and it will happen.  There is nothing I can do to make it happen, but it will happen.  Rohr says “For the Kingdom to happen, however, we have to walk the entire journey.”

Keep walking the entire journey.

Richard Rohr – What the Mystics Know

To pray is to build your own house.  To pray is to discover the Someone else is within your house.  To pray is to recognize that it is not your house at all.  To keep praying is to have no house to protect because there is only One House.  And that One House is everybody’s Home.

Psalms 133:1-3 “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”

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What would life be like if everyone lived together in unity and this house was everybody’s house?

Richard Rohr – What the Mystics Know

How do we keep forgetting that as Rohr says, “We are reflections of the invisible God (Gen. 1:27).  He also says “And our only way to know God is through this humanity.  This is our only road to a little enlightenment.”  Since we are created in his image, then it makes sense that we can come to know him through experiencing our humanity.

Genesis 1:27 So god created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

We are reflections of the invisible God (Gen. 1:27).  And our only way to know God is through this humanity.  This is our only road to a little enlightenment.

We must never think we are building up God by putting humanity down.  We would, instead, be insulting God, blaspheming, to set ourselves against God’s creation.

Psalm 139:13-14 NIV

[13] For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. [14] I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Genesis 9:6 – Whoever sheds human blood, but humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.

2 Corinthians 4:4 – The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

James 3:9 NIV – “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.”

Part One of What the Mystics know by Richard Rohr is titled: “The enlightenment you seek already dwells within you.”

When talking about enlightenment,  Rohr asks “How do you awaken the Center? By thinking about it?  By praying and meditating?  By more silence and solitude?  Yes, perhaps, but mostly by living — and living consciously.”  I believe this fits in with the new topic of “Mindfulness.”  Being aware of everything that is going on around us.   

The following scriptures talk about experiencing God or enlightenment:

1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV

[16] Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

1 Corinthians 6:17 NIV

[17] But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Acts 17:28 NIV

[28] ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Acts 17:27-28 NIV

[27] God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. [28] ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Colossians 1:27 NIV

[27] To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27 states that the mystery that God makes known is that Christ is within us.  The journey is to seek to experience this Christ within us every minute of our lives.  A journey I hope we can take together.

I am reading a book by Richard Rohr called “What the Mystics Know” and will be sharing some thoughts about what he says.

Part One of the book is “The enlightenment you seek already dwells within you.  His first question is “How do we find what is already there?

His premise is that Christ is within us and we need to look inward to truly become one with him.  To answer this question Rohr states that, “How do you awaken the Center? By thinking about it?  By praying and meditating?  By more silence and solitude?  Yes, perhaps, but mostly by living — and living consciously.”

So, to experience the presence of Christ within us we need to live consciously, in tune with the current trend for “Mindfulness.”  This reminds me of the book by Brother Lawrence about “Practicing the Presence of God.”

In my experience it is not easy to always focus on the presence of Christ within me but I keep working on it.  I hope you keep working on it during your journey as well.

Small Group January 11, 2024

You Say, by Lauren Daigle

I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up

Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low
Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know
Ooh-oh

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And you say I am held when I am falling short
And when I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe (I)
Oh, I believe (I)
What You say of me (I)
I believe

The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity
Ooh-oh

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And you say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe (I)
Oh, I believe (I)
What You say of me (I)
Oh, I believe

Taking all I have, and now I’m laying it at Your feet
You have every failure, God, You have every victory
Ooh-oh

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don’t belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe (I)
Oh, I believe (I)
What You say of me (I)
I believe

Oh, I believe (I)
Yes, I believe (I)
What You say of me (I)
I believe.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

April 19, Page 114

I LOVE YOU regardless of how well you are performing.  Sometimes you feel uneasy, wondering if you are doing enough to be worthy of My Love.  No matter how exemplary your behavior, the answer to that question will always be no.  Your performance and My Love are totally different issues, which you need to sort out.  I love you with an everlasting Love that flows out from eternity without limits or conditions.  I have clothed you in My robe of righteousness, and this is an eternal transaction: Nothing and no one can reverse it.  Therefore, your accomplishment as a Christian has no bearing on My Love for you.  Even your ability to assess how well you are doing on a given day is flawed.  Your limited human perspective and the condition of your body, with its mercurial variations, distort your evaluations.

Bring your performance anxiety to Me, and receive in its place My unfailing Love.  Try to stay conscious of My loving Presence with you in all that you do, and I will direct your steps.

Bible verses

Jeremiah 31:3 I appeared to them from far away.  People of Israel, I have always loved you, so I continue to show you my constant love.

Isaiah 61:10-11 Jerusalem rejoices because o what the LORD has done.  She is like a bride dressed for her wedding.  God has clothed her with salvation and victory.  As surely as seeds sprout and grow, the Sovereign LORD will save his people, And all the nations will praise him.

Psalm 31:14 -16 But my trust is in you, Lord; you are my God.  I am always in your care; save me from my enemies, from those who persecute me.  Look on your servant with kindness; save me in your constant love.

Psalm 107:6-9 Then in their trouble they called to the Lord, and he saved them from their distress.  He led them by a straight road to a city where they could live.  they must thank the LORD for his constant love, for the wonderful things he did for them.  He satisfies those who are thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Questions:

1.  What spoke out to you in the song, the devotional, or the bible passages?
2. What are some areas in your life that you think you “might not be enough?”
3. Have you had times where you thought that you could not feel God’s Love?
4. What do you think about the devotion author saying, “Sometimes you feel uneasy, wondering if you are doing enough to be worthy of My Love.  No matter how exemplary your behavior, the answer to that question will always be no.”
5. Where do you find your identity?  What would it look like if you only found your identity in God?
6. Any other thoughts or comments from the information or the discussion?

Mark 11

Mark 11:7-9 NIV

[7] When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. [8] Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. [9] Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna! ” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Jesus enters Jerusalem not on a mighty steed as one would expect for a king, but on a colt which be more for a commoner.  The people were still expecting a king like David to rescue them from Roman oppression. Instead, the Son of God humbles himself yet again.

Mark 11:12-14 NIV

[12] The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. [13] Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. [14] Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

Are you bearing fruit in your life?  James 2:26 NIV

[26] As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Mark 11:24-25 NIV

[24] Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. [25] And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

We must forgive in order to receive forgiveness. Sounds easy but can be incredibly difficult. It is truly incredible when people forgive huge atrocities like the Amish nearby who comforted the mother and wife of the man that shot and killed their young girls. I can barely forgive trivial sometimes even imagined wrongs against me like being cut off while driving.

ark 10

Mark 10:14-15 NIV

[14] When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. [15] Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Children laugh, on average, 150 times a day. Adults laugh, on average, only six times a day. Jesus tells us to be more like children.  Children trust through innocence but aging has a way of making us cynical and jaded. The challenge is for us to trust innocently.

Mark 10:43-45 NIV

[43] Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. [45] For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

It can be difficult to maintain a servants heart. Too often I think more of myself when I should be thinking of others. It is truly better to give than receive.

Mark 10:51-52 NIV

[51] “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” [52] “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

How often we can look without truly seeing. Is the truth right in front of you but you are blinded by worldly things so you cannot see it?

Mark 9

Mark 9:23-24 NIV

[23] “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” [24] Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

What an interesting statement from the father: I do believe; help me with my unbelief.  I am often caught between belief and unbelief. Fortunately, I have a family, a small group and the Bible to help me with my unbelief.

Mark 9:37 NIV

[37] “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Having grandchildren gives this passage extra meaning for me. They are such a delight to be around. So inquisitive. So loving. And so ready just to be with “Grampy.”  They are always welcome wherever we are.

Mark 8

Mark 8:11-12 NIV

[11] The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. [12] He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.”

People who don’t believe are still asking for a sign today. Just like the Pharisees they wouldn’t believe a sign if they saw it. Truly blessed are those that believe without seeing a sign.

Mark 8:18 NIV

[18] Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?

Are you receptive to what the lord wants to tell you?  Do you take time each day to listen to what the lord has to say?

Mark 8:29 NIV

[29] “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

This is the question that everyone must answer: who is Jesus of Nazareth?  What is your answer?

Mark 8:34-35 NIV

[34] Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. [35] For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

Taking up the cross in those days meant to struggle and die in a horrible manner.  What area of your life do you struggle to submit to Jesus?