John 16, 16-20
 
Once and for all time Jesus demonstrated that pain does not have the final word.  Stretching his arms out wide to humanity and ultimately to heaven, our Lord consciously lived and prayed through the physical pain of torture and crucifixion, a mental anguish of coming to terms with the reality of human sin, and the deep spiritual pain of rejection and seeming abandonment.  But by remaining faithful to God through all the pain and hurt that hatred, bitterness, disconnection and hell itself could throw at him, Jesus noted with his body how (faith-full) pain inevitably gives way to (surprising) joy. This is what Jesus prefigured for the disciples when he spoke to them before his passion. This is what Jesus speaks to us as we face down the physical, emotional and spiritual pains of our lives.  What “Unbearable” pain is in my life?  Through its waves of anguish will I the joy of Christ-like resurrection that reaches far beyond the lowest chambers of hell?  Holy Spirit, help me notice my pain turning into joy.   
                                                                  
 O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things. (Psalm 98:1)
                                                                                                                
Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is. .. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of man, and His compulsion is our liberation.
CS  Lewis, Suprised by Joy                                         
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

​ 
Acts 16, 22-34
  
Paul and Silas were initially welcomed in Philippi, but things quickly became ugly when the crowds turned of them. They were attacked, stripped, beaten, flogged, ‘thrown’ into prison and shackled in the innermost cell of a crude prison. Even a fraction of this maltreatment could lead any ‘healthy’ Christian to sink into despair. But what did Paul and Silas do? They prayed and sang hymns to God in the dank darkness of the jail, igniting the fire of the Holy Spirit in the midst of all the prisoners there, allowing each one to warm their hands and hearts in hope. Perhaps it was the movement of the Holy Spirit in the darkness of the prison caused the earthquake!  Whatever the cause, the effect of the earthquake, that unfastened chains and opened doors in the prison that night, led directly to the wounds of the Apostles being dressed, and the conversion and baptism of the jailer and his entire family before morning.  When I am facing challenges or persecution will I, like Paul and Silas, have the ‘guts’ to pray, and sing hymns to God? Holy Spirit of God help me have the courage and presence of mind and heart to pray and sing hymns to God when I am facing overwhelming circumstances. 
                                                                  
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.  This is glory for all his faithful ones.  (Psalm 149)
 
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man [or woman] the only true life.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 John 15:26-16:4

 
The Holy Spirit of God is given to us not primarily for our own comfort, healing and edification. Rather, Jesus told his disciples that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, the Advocate, comes to humanity to testify on behalf of Jesus, “God Saves”,  who spent his life’s time and his life’s blood to redeem the world from despair and death into hope and life. According to Christ Jesus, my life’s mission is not so much to feel good, or to be good, but to point to the over-arching Good that is God’s truth and love as expressed in the life and times of Christ Jesus. Then, when I (like Jesus!) face rejection from the institutions and information highways of the world, I will not flounder –or ‘stumble’ in Jesus’ words –but will know and remember in times of distress and persecution that God’s Good Mercy is over and above all that the world can throw at me.  Am I ready at every turn in life to testify to the Grace of God expressed in Christ Jesus? Holy Spirit of God, help me testify on behalf of Christ Jesus.    
                                                                  
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.  This is glory for all his faithful ones.  (Psalm 149)
 
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man [or woman] the only true life.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 John 14:23-29
 
When the Holy Spirit of the Trinity, expressed by God the Father and God the Son, finds a home within me that is expansive and generous enough to receive them, then I am never lonely, never at a loss for help, and never dead with despair. No matter where I am or whom I am with, I can take solace in the fact that in my heart of hearts the lively and lovely, pure and perfect, Holy Spirit is ‘at home’ and I am able to respond to the world with Grace and Mercy, Peace and Wisdom.  How can the Holy Spirit truly come to rest in me? Jesus counsels us to love him and keep his word. As much as I align my soul with Christ Jesus, that much He and his Father through the Holy Spirit can rest within my heart, mind, soul and strength.  Am I willing to be obedient to the word, the instructions, of Christ Jesus, and so welcome the Holy Spirit of God?  Come, Holy Spirit of God, and be at home in me.    
                                                                  
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.  (John 14:27)
 
Live in me, Lord Jesus, live in me,
Live in me, Lord Jesus, live in me,
There’s a race that must be run,
There’s a victory to be won,
Every hour, by the power. Live in me.
Anonymous
 
Check out this booklet in PDF ,  My Heart Christ’s Home, by Robert Munger  https://www.usna.edu/Navigators/_files/documents/MHCH.pdf
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 John 15:9-11
 
Jesus does not teach me how to belong to the world – how to work my way up the ladder of comfort and success. Jesus teaches me how to belong to him while living within the world – and grow up into the Love and truth of his name, “God Saves”.  Rather than comfort, fame and success, Jesus teaches me counter-culture ways of being that include dying to self, forgiveness, and the discovery of the depths of mercy.  As a follower of Jesus, I become a square peg in the round holes of a world dedicated to relativism, and may or may not be useful to a society that is increasingly questioning the value of life and of light – and of Christ Jesus. Why am I surprised when I am rejected by society’s institutions because I am committed to a Culture of Life with every fibre of my being? Will I embrace my identity as a beloved child of God and wherever I am, stand squarely in my identity as a disciple of Christ Jesus? Holy Spirit, teach me how to belong to Jesus in this present world.
                                                                  
It is he that made us, and we are his. (Psalm 100:3)
 
Tonight, tomorrow and the next morning, we must put ourselves in the perspective of re--finding Jesus.
Jean Vanier, Followers of Jesus   
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei