Hosea 14:2-10; Psalm 81:6-11,14 and 17; Mark 12:28-34

we are told
to love the Lord
your God
with all of your heart
with all of your soul
with all of your mind
and with all of your strength
and to love
your neighbor
as yourself

Who is the God you love?
How do you love yourself?
How do you love your neighbor?

Jeremiah 7:23-28; Psalm 95: 1-2, 6-0; Luke 11:14-23

If today
you hear
God’s voice
harden not
your heart

Are your ears and heart open to God’s voice?

Dt. 4:1,5-9; Psalm 147:12-13,15-16,19-20; Matthew 17-10

coming
to fulfill
the law
of love
he sets
a course
with His life
and words
calling us
to follow
the God
who lives
close to us
as close
as our heartbeat
and our breath
warning us
not to forget
what we have seen
nor letting our memory slip

How do you experience God near to you?

Dn3:25,34-43; Psalm 25:4-9; Matthew 18:21-35

in our poverty
we come to God
no prince
no prophet
no offering
no first fruits
no sacrifice
only contrite heart
and humble spirit
asking only
for kindness
and mercy
as we see
our nature
in Divine Truth
and seek only
to live
in God’s Goodness

How do you come to God?

2Kings 5:1-16; Psalm 42:2-4; Luke 4:24-30

letting go
of all expectations
judgment
and attacks
we seek
the Living God
in all
that is Present
to our soul
that thirsts
for Light
and Truth
in the familiar
and unfamiliar
in stillness
we behold
God’s face
and rejoice
giving thanks
from our hearts
with song

Can you let go of your expectations of where you will behold the face of God?

Exodus 3.1-8a, 13-15; 1 Cor 10 10.1-6, 10-12; Luke 13.1-9

barren tree
alone
untended
what chance
of bearing
until one
who knows
reaches in
with compassion
and patience
mercy and kindness
tending
and
giving the food
and drink
of Life
through pressing root

ignited
in a flame
that burns
but will not
consume
witness to the
Truth
His Life given
we are redeemed
from destruction
standing in
I AM
bearing
God’s fruit

Are you tended and fed by God?
Do you accept God’s mercy and kindness?
Do you accept God’s healing?

Micah 7:14-15,18-20; Psalm 103: 1-4,9-12; Luke 15:1-3,11-32

with open arms
You welcome us
even as
we have
squandered
our inheritance
You are kind
and merciful
pardoning
and redeeming us
showing us
the way
even as other
do not see us
as deserving
You celebrate
and rejoice
sharing all
You have
with undying love

Have you experienced God’s welcoming?

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13,17-29; Psalm 105:16-21; Matthew 21:33-43,45-46

we treat
what is
only given
to care for
as our own
denying
a share
denying
a harvest
living in
jealously
of a brother
he is sold
yet God
in mercy
uses
even our sin
to save

How has God used His mercy to save you?

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the woman who trusts in human beings,
who seeks her strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
She is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands on
a salt and empty earth.
Blessed is the woman who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
She is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to her ways,
according to the merit of her deeds.

In whom do you trust?

Jeremiah 18:18-20; Psalm 31: 5-6,14-16; Matthew 20:17-28

though plots
of destruction
surround us
our destiny
is safe
with God
protector
of our soul
living
beyond time
we place
our trust
in God’s
eternal
Presence

Where are you safe?