Are You In Debt???

I am confident that every single person reading my words right now knows a thing or two about being in debt.  We can all come up with our own examples . . . in fact, I am again confident that each of us can come up with NUMEROUS examples of debt.  Whether it be debt via credit cards . ..  or debt in regards to a house mortgage or a car payment . . .  or debt for other loans  . . . .  such as student loans for college; etc.  All of us can think of debts that we have had over the years.  While some debts are unavoidable . .  . other debts we should avoid getting into at all costs possible.  For example, trying as hard as we can not to be in debt to credit card companies.  I even looked up how much "debt" the United States debt is and the source at least that I found stated it was somewhere around $19.26 Trillion dollars!!!  All of us are in debt to someone in one way or fashion, it would seem.

Even in St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, we hear:  "Brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." (Romans 8:12)  As stated above, all of us have been debtors at one point or another.  Very often . . .  if not every single time, come to think of it . . .  we do not want to be in debt.  Nobody wnats to be in debt, do they?  Whether we just got done paying off a credit card, only to find ourselves having to use that credit card all over again.  Or just when we get done paying off the car . . .  something goes terribly wrong.   Just last year, I remember, I had just finished paying off my car  . . . . which, of course, is a wonderful feeling, wouldn't you agree?  And then within a month or two, the car that I had just finished paying off was hit by another driver and it was destroyed.  Thus, get a replacement vehicle and get back on that monthly car payment "merry-go-round" all over again.  None of us wants to be in debt is the bottom line but sometimes we end up being in debt whether we want to or not.  This is the point that St. Paul is making to the Romans.  Some of us are in debt to our bodily urges . . . . whether it be the urges for:  food; or drink; or drugs; or sex; or urges even for what we wear or what we own.  Sometimes we become so caught up in these things that before we know it we get fixated, if you will, focused on our material needs such as food; drink; etc.  This is the point that St. Paul is making.  Let us not get so caught up with the desires of the flesh that we become a prisoner to our own desires.  Isn't that was an alcoholic is, for example, a prisoner to his or her need for a drink?  But there are so many examples that we can use.  Don't become a debtor to things of the flesh.  We are human, yes, but we are more than simply humans . . . . we are spirit as well.  Focus your energy . . .  Focus your desires . . .  Focus your attention  . . . .  to things of God instead of things of earth.  Don't become a debtor to things of this world because they are passing away.  Our true treasure awaits us:  to spend eternity with Our Heavenly Father.  

Join St. Margaret Church on Sunday, July 17th, 2016 at 9:30 AM as we celebrate the Eighth Sunday after Trinity.  Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in both the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Listen as God speaks to you through His Word.  Join together with your Brothers and Sisters in Christ as we worship Our Heavenly Father as His Family.  And also receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ at Communion time.

St. Margaret worships at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

How Good is Your Memory?

Do you ever have a problem remembering something?  I know I do.  It's strange that I can remember something from forty years ago and yet I can't remember what I went into the kitchen to get just now.  Some things stick in our mind and other things not so well.  It seems like some things that I would like to remember, I have trouble remembering.  Other things that I would actually like to forget, I hang on to those things.  If you have problems remembering, you are not alone.  It seems like the disciples had problems remembering as well.

In the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark, we begin this chapter by listening to St. Mark recount how Our Blessed Saviour fed the four thousand.  Now, remember that back in the end of Chapter Six of this very same Gospel, we hear about the feeding of the Five thousand.  In my humble opinion, the most wonderful thing about this incredible miracle is actually not the miracle itself . . .  although feeding four thousand people with a few fish and a few pieces of bread is simply amazing.  No, what I always like to point out is what leads to this miracle.  After seeing the vast crowd gathered around Him, Our Lord says:  "I have compassion on the multitude."  In order to have compassion, you first have to take notice of someone's need.  In other words, we have a God Who is not distant.  We have a God Who is not far away.  We have a God Who takes the time to notice how we feel.  We have a God Who actually cares about His people.  Our Blessed Saviour was concerned that those who traveled from a distance would be in need of food.  

I know that all of us can think of someone in our life who cares for us . . .  whether it is a relative, or a neighbor, or a close friend, or a coworker.  We all have someone in our life that takes the time to notice when we are down.  Or that one person in our life who does simple things to show how much they care.  Perhaps they call you for no other reason just to see how you are doing.  Or they are the person you can always depend on in time of need . . . . when everybody else has given every excuse under the sun for not being there for you.  For those people that are always there for you, don't you feel like you would also like to be there for them as well?  That's how it should be for God.  God is always there for us.  Even when everyone else turns their back on us, God is always there waiting for our return to Him.  God is always faithful to us . . . . despite the fact that we are not always so faithful to Him all the time.  We should always remember the wonderful things that God has done for us.  In this, though, sometimes we are forgetful.  We forget everything that God has done for us because we get so fixated on the things of the world that grab our attention.  

Make a point to improve your memory, at least, in regards to the wonderful things that God has done for you in your life.  Never forget the faithfulness of God.  Yes, God is faithful to you when it is us that should be faithful to Him.  Never forget that.

Join us for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 2016

Sixth Sunday after Trinity, July 3rd, 2016

When I was growing up I remember clearly our city had a local TV host who showed old "monster movies" every Friday night such as the werewolf  .. .. . or the mummy ... . or Count Dracula.  These would be the old movies from the 1940's or 1950's, keep in mind so they wouldn't be gory like horror movies are today.  Anyway, I remember watching "Frankenstein" when I was a young boy.  And, of course, the premise is that Dr. Frankenstein brings a man back from the dead and raises him to life again.  I am sure we are all familiar with the story line either through reading the original book or watching countless movie versions.  Now the reason this example comes to mind, I suppose, is that sin seems to be a lot like Frankenstein's monster because it keeps coming back to life again in our lives.  In the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, we hear:  "For he that is dead is freed from sin."  Now, this seems to be pretty clear-cut.  But for human beings sin seems to be like a weed that keeps coming back and back and back again.  We spray weed killer and the weeds are gone for a while but then they come back again somewhere else.   Sin is that weed in our life that keeps coming back and back and back again.  The only way we can get rid of sin in our lives completely is to focus our life on Christ . ..  to center our life on Christ . . .  Further on in Chapter Six of the Epistle to the Romans, we hear:  "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."  If we imagine the example of a drinking glass or a pitcher or any sort of container, we know that as long as the container is filled up, you can not fit anything else in.  Thus, if our life is filled up with sinful behaviors:  hatred . . . anger . ..  lust . . .  envy ...  . whatever sin that plagues us on a regular basis . .  . replace those sins with thoughts of Christ.  Replace those sinful thoughts with thoughts of God.  Fill up your heart with the love of God.  If your heart is filled with God-centered thoughts, there will be no room for thoughts of hatred, envy, anger, etc.  If your heart is focused on God and on things of God, it will not have any opportunity to be focused on anything else.

Join St. Margaret of Scotland  Church on Sunday, July 3rd, 2016 as we gather together to worship Our Heavenly Father.  Join us as we listen to God's Word found in the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we receive the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Blessed Saviour at Communion time to nourish us and sustain us in our Christian journey.

St. Margaret worships at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, which is located at 8140 N. Township line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Mass begins at 9:30 AM.