Do you remember as a child ... listen to ... or reading nursery rhymes?
Some of them were a little freighting ... at least they were to me.
Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
See how they run. See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer's wife
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a sight ... in your life,
As three blind mice?
The carving up of three blind animals ... mice or not ... is not a real uplifting story before bedtime.
Now ... The Three Blind Mice Nursery Rhyme ... has been around since 16th century.
And according to tradition ... the Farmers wife represents Mary the 1st .... The Roman Catholic Queen of England ... also known as Bloody Mary.
And the three Blind Mice ... who were carved ... ... represent the three Anglican martyrs ... Hugh Latimer, ... Nicholas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer, who she had burned at the stake ... for not recanting their beliefs.
But as a Child ... all I could picture were 3 mice ... who could not see ... being carved up with a big butcher's knife...by a crazy lady.
Now with that picture in your mind ... your mom says ... sweet dreams honey......... Not happening.
Then there's the famous Mother Goose Rhyme .... Humpty Dumpty.
Remember Humpty Dumpty?
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
Did you have a Humpty Dumpty when you were a child.
To me ... he looked like an egg ...with a face on it ... with Legs and Arms sticking out.
Yet ... according to the story ... when he fell ... no one could put him together again.
Supposedly this Nursery Rhyme is based on an English drink called ... a "Humpty Dumpty" ... which was a 17th Century Intoxicating English drink ... made with Brandy boiled with Ale.
It would probably be difficult to sit on a wall after a few ... "Humpty Dumpties".
Well Shortly after our Children were born ... my wife Lee found a book called ... the Christian Mother Goose.
In the book ... Instead of three Blind Mice .... there were three Kind Mice... who by the way ... did not have their tales carved off.
And there was Humpty Dumpty as Well:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
Humpty Dumpty shouted Amen
God can put me together again.
O' Beloved ... we should look at life ... with joy in our hearts.
A glass that is not half empty... or half full .... but one overflowing.
A life bearing good fruit ... good fruit in all that we do ... and in all that we say.
A life that can shout Amen!
For God can put me together again.
We are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
Set apart for good works... so that we will lead lives worthy of our Lord.
Our hope is not of this world ... or in this world ... our hope is in .... Christ Jesus.
And Paul shares this hope in Christ ... to the Colossian Believers ... and to all ... that call themselves .... followers of the Christ.
Hear Paul's prayer: BIBLE ".... that you will may lead lives worthy of the Lord, ... fully pleasing to Him, .... As you bear fruit in every good work ...and as you grow in the knowledge of God; .... May you be made strong with all strength that comes from his glorious power, ..." END (Colossians 1:10)
A life bearing fruit in every good work ...is truly ... Living life ... to the fullest. (Pause)
So many people ... have much activity in their lives .... yet little ... or no progress.
For all the busy-ness in each of our lives .... "Are you getting anywhere?"
"Are you going anywhere?"
"Is there a purpose for it all?" (Pause)
Beloved......Purpose ... Purpose ... gives meaning to our lives.
It gives one the ability to say, .... "I know .... why I'm doing ... what I'm doing!"
And ... the Question needs to be asked:
Are you living ... or are you ... just ... existing?
There is a difference; ...... there is a tremendous difference.
Living has been defined as ....... "vigorous, alive ... full of life."
Existing is described .... as quote ... "to have being."
To that of just being there... (Pause)
How many ... are sadly ... just existing ... and not truly ...living life?
So many wake up, .... and follow a routine ... each and every day.
They go about their busyness, .... but they have no real sense of purpose ... in their lives.
Their happiness .... their fulfillment of life depends largely .... On others .... On life circumstances.
If they were completely honest, .... they would admit that ... inside, ......they are empty ...... they are not filled to the brim ... with life.
(Slow) Now.... I am not saying ... that we all have to live lives of liberality, .... with a new, .... wild change every day.
However, .... we can learn to live lives ... that are full of vigor and livelihood .... rather than being content with just .... "being." Of just .... existing.
The inspired word of God ... gives us three ways to begin to live out ... this glorious life.
First and foremost, ... Beloved: Carpe (Car-pa) Diem... Seize the day.
(Slow) ... Seize each and every day.
If you surveyed these United States, .... probably most people would say ... that they want a life ... that will ... "Seize the Day.
No one wants life .... to be mediocre.
We want our lives .... to be full.
We want everything we can get .... out of every single day.
Yet......We are wrapped up in deadlines, .... commitments, .... problems and priorities ...... and it just does not ... seem to happen.
And therefore.... We do not ... "Seize the Day".
Yet .... There are ways to "Seize the Day", .... to seize each and every day .... of your life.
And.... the apostle Paul had this down to an art ... and he shared ... The way ... to seize the day... to seize life ...in his epistles.
Paul knows his sure-fire purpose for living.
Do you know .... the purpose ... for your life? (Long Pause)
What is the primary purpose of an ink pen?
To write, .... of course.
A $250 dollar, .... 24-karat gold-cross pen .... that is out of ink .... is nice to look at, .... but is a failure .... as a pen.
It does not fulfill ... its purpose.
When it comes time to endorse a check, ... you will bypass the empty solid gold pen ...... and go for the 29-cent Bic .... that works.
Just like the pen, ...... we will fail ... unless we know our reason ... for being, .... our purpose in life.
Paul proclaims his reason for living with these words: BIBLE "I want to know Christ ... and the power of his resurrection .... and the fellowship in sharing ... in his suffering, ...becoming like him ... in his death, .... and so somehow to attain resurrection ... from the dead." END (Philippians 3:10)
Simply put, .... Paul's reason for living ... is to be like Jesus.
Should this not be our reason .... Should this not be our purpose for living.... to be more like Jesus?
To be conformed ... each day ... just a little more into his image.
Also... in order, to seize each and every day, ... Paul tells us, .... to forget the past ...and press on to our heavenly goal.
Hear Gods Word:
BIBLE "One thing I do: .... forgetting what is behind .... and straining toward what is ahead, ......I press on toward the goal to win the prize ......for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." END (Philippians 3:13-14)
Beloved we must strive forward ....... press on to the goal.
So many people ... seem to be very busy ... always ...in a hurry.
They walk fast, ... drive fast, ... talk fast, ... eat fast; and after eating, ...they all too often stand up and say...... "Excuse me, but I've got to run."
Not every culture is like that.
Richard Twiss, ... a Lakota Indian, shared this insight, He Said:
"To the Euro-American ... time is quantitative; ... but to the Native American ... it is qualitative.
And this was evidenced: ...... by an older Native American man ...... who was living on a reservation.
When asked if he had lived on the reservation all his life, ...... he replied, .... 'No, ... not yet'."
An insightful answer .... For he had a lot of life ... yet to live .... with many more experiences to encounter.
Beloved, ... God has called us to finish the marathon of life .... and to finish well.
God proclaims in Isaiah, "I am he who blots out your transgressions, ... for my own sake, .... and remembers your sins ... no more." (Isaiah 43:25)
Praise God, ....... if the Lord God can forget our transgressions, .... then we should ... do the same?
We can learn from our sins ... from our failures ......but do not let them be a yoke around your neck.
My yoke is easy, and my burden is light saith the Lord. (Matthew 11:30) (Pause)
Beloved .... (Slow) ... Live in love, ...and love to live! REPEAT
Live in God's Love... live in his Agape love.
Love .... you know love.
BIBLE "Love is patient; .... love is kind; .... love is not envious ... or boastful ... or arrogant ... or rude. It does not insist on its own way; .... it is not irritable or resentful; ... it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, .... but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, .... believes all things, ...... hopes all things, ......endures all things. ...... Love never ends." END (1 Corinthians 13)
Is that love ... Is God's love flowing from your life?
It should be ... it could be. .... Yield to God's love.
Allow His love to permeate your very being?
Beloved ... The time we stop loving .... is the time we stop living.
And the time we stop living, .... well, .... then we will only exist .... and we will not .... Seize the Day.
Beloved ... "God is not like Love" .... (Slow) "God Is Love".
The Scriptures state: "These three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Faith ....... is the foundation of God's message.
Hope ...... is the attitude and the focus, ....
But love .... (Slow) Love is the action.
Beloved ... Love ... Christian Love ... always requires action.
When faith and hope are in line, .... you are free to love completely .... and then .... you can truly ...... "Seize the Day."
We can learn ... We must learn ...... to stop existing .... and to start living.
It is time to stop telling God how big your problems are .... and to start telling your problems ... how big .... your God ... is.
(Sing) Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
Humpty Dumpty shouted Amen
God can put me together again.
Let us fight the good fight.... let us finish the race. Let us finish well.
Beloved .... Carpe (Car-pa) Diem...
(Slow) "Seize the day"
Amen & Amen!
Help: If this Message has been helpful to you please consider sending a nominal donation to Epiphany Anglican Fellowship 135 Kalassay Drive, Post Office Box 375, Ligonier, PA 15658 and (Write on the Memo line - Web Support). We are a small but growing parish in the Laurel Valley Mountains of Pennsylvania. Blessings in Christ. Blessed To Be A Blessing.
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Message was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead" (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings Jeff.
