John 6:9

Shark Valley Visitor's Area, Everglades National Park, July 2013

There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?
John 6:9

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Mother Theresa

And, of course, those small things are great things. Perhaps not by the measure of the world, but in God's calculus they matter most. The prevailing thinking far too much of the time is that the problem is too big, so I will ignore it. The smallest act of kindness done in Jesus' name is to embody Christ before the world. It matters. It always does and always will. For it makes Christ known.

Juvenile Alligator, Everglades National Park, Florida, July 2013

With my voice I cry to the LORD;
with my voice I make supplication to the LORD.
I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
Look on my right hand and see — 
there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for me.
I cry to you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living."
Psalm 142:1-5

When life becomes lament, the psalmist reminds us that the Lord remains our steadfast refuge. The Lord cares. The Lord hears our cry. Hope abides!

Luke 6:43-44

Fruit Tree Garden, Kona Kai, Key Lardgo, Florida, July 2013

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit.
Luke 6:43-44

Fruit flourishes with proper care and fertilizer. 
If we want the fruit of our lives to embody a gracious and loving God; if we want to bear witness to the hope freely gifted to us; if we want to be imitators of Christ as the dearly loved children of God that we truly are - we must put the greatest priority on how we choose to nurture the faith that produces such fruit. 

Good fruit is no accident. 

Disciple and discipline share more than a few letters...

Matthew 18:20

Key Largo, Florida, July 2013

For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.

Matthew 18:20

We are called in faith into community for one another.

I am not arrogant enough to suggest that one vision of what that community looks like is enough for God. What is enough is God's promise in and through Christ Jesus to be present when we gather in God's name. We are more perfectly the image of what God intends for us together, then we could ever be alone. Some of us pastors fill our waking hours dreaming of what new communities God is asking us to form where the lost may be found, and the spiritual sojourners may gather.

Ephesians 1:8b-10

Woodpecker, Key Largo, Florida, July 2013

With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 
Ephesians 1:8b-10

In Christ, the lost have been found; the scattered, gathered together. Shall we not declare it to those near and far? The Lord welcomes all!

Colossians 3:8-11

Poisonwood Tree, Islamorada, Florida, July 2013

But now you must get rid of all such things — anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
Colossians 3:8-11

In Baptism we die to ourselves and rise to live Christ. In what ways have you lived into your new self today?

Philippians 3:10-11

Waterlily, Key Largo, Florida, July 2013


I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:10-11

Because Christ lives, we live, grace having found us  through the resurrection of Jesus. The questions is: Do people see this new life  in us?