The Systematic Slaughter of My People

Dear Mayor Daley,

My mother always loved your father. She said he would take care of black folks. She said that Daley Sr. would have a good paying job for black people, one they could earn a living off of so there was enough money to take care of their families. I have not seen those traits in you. Your inactive nature towards the black community is shameful. The number of schools failing due to parents living in total poverty is terrible.  Maybe she was lead down the path with your dad and you knew the truth about his feelings towards blacks. I would like to think the child is not continuing the sins of the father. Having the projects torn down because you and your dad took the point of view, no money to the low income blacks, don’t take pride in nothing over there. Up lifting the poor does not reflect badly on the society as a whole. There are many countries that pride themselves on caring for everyone, equally. Why we are singled out and given the shaft I just don’t know. I know you want to show yourself as a fair and equal politician. I commend you for coming out to march against the violence and being a strong supporter of Father Michael Pfleger but I am just totally floored and disappointed to see the figures in the paper about CPS. You are in charge of our children’s education and you have chosen to allow them to be at the bottom of the barrel. I am so disappointed in you. I had hoped for so much more from you. I think I might have voted for you when I returned to the Chicagoland area in 1989.  Wages have stayed stagnant for the minority and you have done nothing but put them in harm’s way. Money, money, money is what the problem is. You’ve been to the neighborhood; you know what’s going on. There was always a social class structure with the people of color in your city. When you (father/mayor) built the projects it was a blessing. When you neglected it, it became a curse. When you took people who have been oppressed and neglected for years and moved them into the middle class black communities, they were not able to sustain the huge economic drain on the community that large amounts of black people would need. So you let the schools and neighborhoods fail. Chicago is built on neighborhoods. I just have to ask, what were you thinking? Did you really think good was going to come out of this? Now you have utter chaos in the black community and white community is wondering what can/are you going to do? I have no answers, just questions, why, how, what were you thinking?

Dear Police Superintendent Jody Weis,

Our schools need help. We are sitting ducks. Your police officers are sitting ducks. You have allowed children, CHILDREN, TO DICTATE TO YOU WHAT TO DO. IT IS TIME TO BRING IN THE NATIONAL GUARD AND PUT YOUR FOOT IN THE BEHIND OF THESE CRIMINALS.

Your actions show no concern for human life in this community. Get this city in order OR turn it over to someone who can do it. National Guard is to be used in such extreme situations. Let them guard something they can be proud of, our community. I am so disgusted with you and Mayor Daley. You show huge support for a faith based solution but not willing to put the force behind it to make it work. We need legal guns running something RIGHT now. Right now. Right now. My children are traumatized at our school. They are in the same locale of the most recent shooting on 65^th and Drexel. They are traumatized beyond measure. How do you think they feel now? How are we supposed to teach our students under this pressure? God will judge what you do to handle this situation. How dare you show such disregard to the black community? Katrina will be nothing compared to the national black slaughter of our children. How dare you sit by and do nothing. Crime is down. Who cares, we are dying out here. We are dying out here. Help us please.

Sincerely and with much respect for your positions of authority.

Accountability

Uncomfortable and inconvenient that's what accountability is. I have done as well as I can possibly do under the circumstances that I feel I was faced with. My decisions may not have been the right ones but I made them. I stand alone in that knowledge. I know that under scrunity my work will show to be flawed. I can only imagine that I hit the button twice. Now I have to pay 1200. for her overpayment which was my fault. Then tomorrow, I go to the lawyer and have the financial stuff looked over and my ability to manage it these last four years, which again will show to be lacking. I did my best at the time. I could have made different decisions but that happens to be the one that I made.

Matthew 25

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

 ¹"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  ⁶"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
 ⁷"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
 ⁹" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
 ¹⁰"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
 ¹¹"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
 ¹²"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
 ¹³"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

The Parable of the Talents

 ¹⁴"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents^[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. ¹⁷So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his

master's money.  ¹⁹"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
 ²¹"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
 ²²"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
 ²³"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
 ²⁴"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
 ²⁶"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
 ²⁸" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. ²⁹For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ³⁰And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

The Sheep and the Goats

 ³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  ³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
 ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
 ⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
 ⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
 ⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
 ⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
 ⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Give Me Wisdom

What to do, what to do. My world has changed overnight. Woke up yesterday to my father gasping and gurgling, eyes rolled back and in a diabetic coma. Call 911, they come quickly, they give him a dextrose bolus and he begins to return to normal. What the heck is going on!!!! Why am I the one checking his blood all the time? Why doesn't he take any interest in his health? Why is he so distant about his health? So I think I am OK, I go to work. I get through the morning and I stop to tell my Asst. Principal that I will be out for two days and suddenly I break down and just start crying uncontrollably. Where is this coming from?  My principal comes in and gives me the hard talk, death, nursing home, power of attorney. She's been through this with her own mother.  He'll be mad but he will get over it. I don't want to have guilt racking me day and night on what I should have done, but didn't. Take Charge Carthan. Now I'm really bawling. No one ever mentioned death. I knew it was imminent, but I didn't think of it. So I am sent home for the rest of the week. Handle my business are my instructions. How do I mention nursing home? Long term health? I can't do it 24/7. What do I do? What are the cost? Can he hold out until November for me to change his insurance and get the long term health insurance? Should I make a decision even if he doesn't want to do it? How do I even start the conversation? Remember, I don't want to have been able to do something and not have done it. How do I do what I need to do? God help me. Give me knowledge and wisdom.

2 Chronicles 1

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

 ¹ Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the LORD his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.  ² Then Solomon spoke to all Israel—to the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, to the judges and to all the leaders in Israel, the heads of families- ³ and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God's Tent of Meeting was there, which Moses the LORD's servant had made in the desert. ⁴ Now David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. ⁵ But the bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon in front of the tabernacle of the LORD; so Solomon and the assembly inquired of him there. ⁶ Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.
 ⁷ That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."
 ⁸ Solomon answered God, "You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?"
 ¹¹ God said to Solomon, "Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have."
 ¹³ Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from before the Tent of Meeting. And he reigned over Israel.
 ¹⁴ Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, ^[a] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. ¹⁶ Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt ^[b] and from Kue ^[c]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. ¹⁷ They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels ^[d] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. ^[e] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.

Take time to grieve

What must I take time to grieve about? How have I been complacent and prideful? I must take time to pray over the people that I have lost and remember to ask God for his will in my direction. Lord, I miss the loss of my friend. I miss the fellowship. I move forward knowing that I have to forgive in order to be forgiven. I give of myself expecting nothing in return. My loss is too great to continue this stalemate. There is no winner here.Peace is what I desire.

Are You Married to the Lord?

So you blame your relapse on Sin City. You were all caught up in the nonsense and it just over took your senses. There's a reason why its called sin city. You have to remember that you are a man. A human being, born with all of the same carnal wants and desires of any other human being. Just because you have become the bride of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ does not mean you can go into the devil's playground and walk away scott free. That kind of life gets in under your skin. There is so much more nastiness and evil in places like that than you will ever know and I know you have seen a lot of sin but just imagine that there is still even more. You thought you were prayed up and safe but obviously you were not. Know your limits. I have never been to Vegas and never had a desire to go. When I drove through the state of Nevada on my way to San Diego for family counseling I knew there would be problems. Its a desert. The whole flipping state is a desert basically. On my way back I was involved in an accident. I saw a huge snake on the road, I tried to avoid it, I cut the wheel too much and I was suddenly in a rollover. The car went over and over and over. We finally stopped on the other side of the highway, facing the opposite direction of traffic. The protection of the Lord was on us. I had my seatbealt on. My daughters were two and four. The baby was just tossed about and wrapped in the covers and blankets I had in the back seat for them. I didn't know the importance of child safety seats then. My oldest was thrown from the car but not until we basically landed and she literally bumped out of the back window. All of the windows were shattered. I had cuts and bruises all over my body. When the car stopped I looked for my babies. I found one and couldn't find the other. I found her at the back of the car, eyes, rolled to the back of her head. I cried out in a loud voice to God, please Lord, don't take my baby. I kept repeating that. She started crying and I thanked God. We were in the middle of the desert, not a soul around. Suddenly, a car came, it was a family in a camper. They had water, towels and a cb radio where they could call for an ambulance. God is good. This was before cell phones. They took us to the nearest hospital then helicoptered us to a hospital in Reno. I was on my own, my husband was in rehab in San Diego, that's why we had made the trip in the first place. Thank God for insurance and American Express. I have no love for Nevada. God wrapped that car up when it was rolling over and we literally came out of that with bruises and minor cuts. I know the Lord is real, he saved me and my babies that day. For years I couldn't tell that story without crying. We were blessed. The car was totaled, it was brand new too. I knew then and I know now, material things can be replaced but a life is precious and worth more than anything. That's why I could care less about things. Thank You God for this new car now, but if you take it away, I will still survive. Thank you God for the house, the clothes on my back, the job, but if you take it away, I still have My Lord and Savior, the Almighty, The King of Kings, The Mighty Counselor. If I lose it all today I know that Jesus will protect me and loves me. My Lord is my Husband, My Lover, My Friend.

Hosea 2:2-3:5 (New International Version)

Israel Punished and Restored

 ² "Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
       for she is not my wife,
       and I am not her husband.
       Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
       and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.  ³ Otherwise I will strip her naked
       and make her as bare as on the day she was born;
       I will make her like a desert,
       turn her into a parched land,
       and slay her with thirst.
 ⁴ I will not show my love to her children,
       because they are the children of adultery.
 ⁵ Their mother has been unfaithful
       and has conceived them in disgrace.
       She said, 'I will go after my lovers,
       who give me my food and my water,
       my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.'
 ⁶ Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
       I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
 ⁷ She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
       she will look for them but not find them.
       Then she will say,
       'I will go back to my husband as at first,
       for then I was better off than now.'
 ⁸ She has not acknowledged that I was the one
       who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
       who lavished on her the silver and gold—
       which they used for Baal.
 ⁹ "Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens,
       and my new wine when it is ready.
       I will take back my wool and my linen,
       intended to cover her nakedness.
 ¹⁰ So now I will expose her lewdness
       before the eyes of her lovers;
       no one will take her out of my hands.
 ¹¹ I will stop all her celebrations:
       her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
       her Sabbath days—all her appointed feasts.
 ¹² I will ruin her vines and her fig trees,
       which she said were her pay from her lovers;
       I will make them a thicket,
       and wild animals will devour them.
 ¹³ I will punish her for the days
       she burned incense to the Baals;
       she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
       and went after her lovers,
       but me she forgot,"
       declares the LORD.
 ¹⁴ "Therefore I am now going to allure her;
       I will lead her into the desert
       and speak tenderly to her.
 ¹⁵ There I will give her back her vineyards,
       and will make the Valley of Achor ^[a] a door of hope.
       There she will sing ^[b] as in the days of her youth,
       as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
 ¹⁶ "In that day," declares the LORD,
       "you will call me 'my husband';
       you will no longer call me 'my master. ^[c] '
 ¹⁷ I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
       no longer will their names be invoked.
 ¹⁸ In that day I will make a covenant for them
       with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
       and the creatures that move along the ground.
       Bow and sword and battle
       I will abolish from the land,
       so that all may lie down in safety.
 ¹⁹ I will betroth you to me forever;
       I will betroth you in ^[d] righteousness and justice,
       in ^[e] love and compassion.
 ²⁰ I will betroth you in faithfulness,
       and you will acknowledge the LORD.
 ²¹ "In that day I will respond,"
       declares the LORD—
       "I will respond to the skies,
       and they will respond to the earth;
 ²² and the earth will respond to the grain,
       the new wine and oil,
       and they will respond to Jezreel. ^[f]
 23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
       I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. ^[g] '
       I will say to those called 'Not my people, ^[h] ' 'You are my people';
       and they will say, 'You are my God.' "

Hosea 3

Hosea's Reconciliation With His Wife

 ¹ The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."  ² So I bought her for fifteen shekels ^[i] of silver and about a homer and a lethek ^[j] of barley. ³ Then I told her, "You are to live with ^[k] me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with ^[l] you."
 ⁴ For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. ⁵ Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.

The Greatest in the Kingdom

I must humble myself and remember that forgiveness is given and received. I must remember that I am constantly needing forgiveness. I am a child of God. I am wonderfully made in His image and God loves me. I must forgive with all of my heart as I would like to truly be forgiven. If kindness and mercy are shown to me, I must in turn, show kindness and mercy to someone else. Sincere, from the heart, over and over and over again.  I ask God to help me forgive those who have hurt me. I ask God to allow me to be sincere in my forgiveness, no matter how many times I must forgive for the same thing or something new. I too make mistakes over and over again. I seek forgiveness for my mistakes also. Each and every time I must forgive, from the heart and be sincere in my forgiveness and mercy to someone else. Help me to become more childlike in my forgiveness. Help me to see God's image in others. Let me see the good and not the bad. Let me see the love and not the hate. Let me love from the heart each and every time. HELP ME TO FORGIVE FROM THE HEART.

Matthew 18

The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven

 ¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  ²He called a little child and had him stand among them. ³And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
 ⁵"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. ⁶But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
 ⁷"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! ⁸If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

 ¹⁰"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.^{[a]  12}"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. ¹⁴In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

A Brother Who Sins Against You

 ¹⁵"If your brother sins against you,^[b] go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'^{[c] 17}If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.  ¹⁸"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be^[d]bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[e] loosed in heaven.
 ¹⁹"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

 ²¹Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"  ²²Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.^[f]
 23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents^[g] was brought to him. ²⁵Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
 ²⁶"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' ²⁷The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
 ²⁸"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.^[h] He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
 ²⁹"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
 ³⁰"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
 ³²"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' ³⁴In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
 ³⁵"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Respect

You beg for forgiveness, but you don't show respect.

I am watching the Book of Eli for the first time and I am impressed.
It began with one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies, Notting Hill.
Again I have to ask WTF
I forgive you for your ignorance about women, I know you dont have much experience with real women, but I find it hard to move forward and that is where God is the biggest factor for me. I am not ready to get into a situation where I am constantly downgraded, belittled and thought less of. I ask God for guidance and direction. Help me understand and forgive. Forgive where I am truly forgiving, not just saying I forgive but staying guarded and reserved.

Jesus, the Bread of Life

How do you respond to an impossible situation in your life? How do you remind yourself that Jesus is the Bread of Life. The Living Water. Jesus can satisfy all of our desires.

John 6

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

 ¹Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ²and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. ³Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴The Jewish Passover Feast was near.  ⁵When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" ⁶He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
 ⁷Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages^[a] would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"
 ⁸Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, ⁹"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"
 ¹⁰Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. ¹¹Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
 ¹²When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." ¹³So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
 ¹⁴After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."

Return to the Lord

Father God I feel that I am wandering away from you. I confess my sins to you and I ask for your help so that I may return to you with gusto. I thank you Lord for your forgiveness and love. Like a jealous lover , God I know you want my undivided attention , loyalty and affection. Return to me and I will return to you. That's what the Lord says. When I feel distant from you Lord I feel a strong desire to want to return to your loving and caring protection over my life. I need you close to me. Not my might or my power but God's Holy Spirit will redeem and refresh me when I feel overwhelmed. Father God when I face obstacles that seem insurmountable, I must turn to your Lord.

Zechariah 1

A Call to Return to the LORD

 ¹ In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo:  ² "The LORD was very angry with your forefathers. ³ Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty. ⁴ Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.' But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the LORD. ⁵ Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your forefathers?
      "Then they repented and said, 'The LORD Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.'"

The Man Among the Myrtle Trees

 ⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.  ⁸ During the night I had a vision—and there before me was a man riding a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
 ⁹ I asked, "What are these, my lord?"
      The angel who was talking with me answered, "I will show you what they are."
 ¹⁰ Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, "They are the ones the LORD has sent to go throughout the earth."
 ¹¹ And they reported to the angel of the LORD, who was standing among the myrtle trees, "We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace."
 ¹² Then the angel of the LORD said, "LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?" ¹³ So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
 ¹⁴ Then the angel who was speaking to me said, "Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, ¹⁵ but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.'
 ¹⁶ "Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,' declares the LORD Almighty.
 ¹⁷ "Proclaim further: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.' "

Four Horns and Four Craftsmen

 ¹⁸ Then I looked up—and there before me were four horns! ¹⁹ I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these?"
      He answered me, "These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem."  ²⁰ Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. ²¹ I asked, "What are these coming to do?"
      He answered, "These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people."

Submission

Father God you have shown me that you are faithful and trustworthy. I set aside my own biases when it comes to the subject of submission. I know that a lot of emotion and misunderstanding surround the word submit. So I read this text as if it is my first time reading it and I will try to see what Paul wants me to see in this message. I would like to grow in my submission to Christ. As Paul tells us, submit out of reverence for Christ. As I read it for the first time I see that the husband has more responsibility in this passage. Husbands love your wife. If the husband is loving, the wife will submit and respect her husband, so husbands, love your wife.


Ephesians 5:21-33
²¹Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

 ²²Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.  ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶to make her holy, cleansing^[a] her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰for we are members of his body. ³¹"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."^{[b] 32}This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.