"belong" Tagged Touchpoints

"belong" Tagged Touchpoints

Touchpoint: The Baptism of Jesus; watercolor image by Daniel Bonnell of the Baptism of Jesus

The Powerlessness of Jesus

“I’m not saying Jesus was or wasn’t God. I’m saying what we know is that Jesus was a man who saw deeply into the mystical oceans of connection and Divine love without ever claiming to be anything other than human, yet still one with God. Jesus was a man who acknowledged the frailty and resilience of humanity, yet embodied hope for us all, a man whose voice cried, “You belong” to the adulteress, the leper, the thief, and the Pharisee. His love and compassion unmasked their false identities and declared, “You belong.” Undeserved, unearned and seemingly out of nowhere, “You belong.” You belong, and have always belonged, and will always belong to the Divine Oneness of the Mystery we call God. What you’re seeking is knowing this and waking up to it – as it always was, and is and always will be. Even when you didn’t know it, you belonged.”
Touchpoint: Abide in My Love; mosaic image of two hands folding a heart

The Way to Complete Joy

“Jesus provided the greatest command for living a life of joy, friendship, and love. He basically said, ‘I am welcoming you to abide in the agape (love of God). Bask in it and breathe it in. Be in awe of it then welcome (agapao) others. Do this as you are abiding.’”
Touchpoint: Fishers of Men; watercolor of disciples with nets in the water beside a boat

Catch and Release

“Satan is called the Prince of the Air. Of the air! What a joke! Evil and all its negativity does not have power except that which is given. It demands a response and receptivity to give it breath. Until then, it is just air. Spirit is breath. The breath we breathe. Evil has lost an eternal battle and simply annoys us in its desperate, vulnerable state.”
Touchpoint: Worthy of Belonging. Image of people cut out of paper, clasping hands

The Divine Slam Dunk

“What we think may not be the authority, but it reveals what we have surrendered to. If we believe that we belong once we ask the Spirit to indwell, then prior to this moment, we did not belong. There would be prerequisites. What if we always belonged in our intrinsic nature? Changing our thinking, metanoia (repentance), is simply surrendering to the declared truth that always was.”
"I Am who I Am." Touchpoint: The 'I' in Team; image is the word "team" with an "I" painted over it.

The ‘I’ in Team

“No wonder Jesus said, “Come as a child. Come with the innocence of wonder and awe. Don’t be a stumbling block.” My mom used to say as I was leaving to go with my friends, “Don’t be a stumbling block.” She meant don’t do anything bad that might change their image of you as a Christian.”
Being and belonging Touchpoint, paper dolls in a circle clasping hands

Jesus ‘Buts’ In

Grace and peace from the Mystery in whom we live and move and have our being. Being and belonging. From the Revised Standard Version: You have heard it said … but I say to you” … and again “You have heard it said … but I say to you” … and again “You have heard it said … but I say to you ….” Matthew 5:21-37 Jesus … is a … “but-in-ski.” Following the law The passage this week is…
I Am Please with You Touchpoint

Therefore, Be It Resolved

“Make no mistake about it. This is a reversal from how God is often portrayed, talked about, pictured. We always think we have to do something first. We have to act first, and then, God as judge, will decide after we are all done whether to accept us or not. But this baptism story, and where it is placed in Luke’s Gospel is a reminder that we have it all backwards. It’s only Chapter 3 and Jesus has done nothing at this point in the Gospel of Luke to warrant God’s love and delight.”