God listens to you

There are times when the Bible shows us the heart of God. Today’s Gospel is one of them.

When the crowd asks Jesus, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?” Their words are laced with vanity, with cynicism.

They’re not like the father who’s desperate to have his son healed. Who cries out to Jesus, “Lord, I believe – help my unbelief!”

What they’re really saying is, “Impress me. Entertain me.”

So where the do we see the heart of God in this? We see it with how Jesus responds.

Jesus isn’t distracted by their vanity. Or their cynicism.

Jesus doesn’t tell them to come back with an honest request, when they have the courage to actually say what they mean.

Instead, Jesus hears the desperate need that they’re hiding behind that veneer of vanity and cynicism. He hears what they are afraid to actually say.

Jesus hears their fear of what other people will think. He hears their fear of disappointment – of having someone fail them or betray them. Again.

Jesus responds not to their words, but to their needs. To the hidden, heartfelt plea that they’re afraid to even put into words.

This is the heart of God.

God loves us so much that He gives us what we need, not what we say we want.

God doesn’t turn us away because of our prayers, or how we pray, or our attitude, or what we ask for.

God loves you so much that He doesn’t listen to what you say. God listens to you.

God sees through all of the externals, even in our prayers, to answer not what we asked for, but to answer our needs. To answer us.

God understands our prayers better than we do.

Today’s Readings

“Nothing feels better than knowing God loves you, that he is always there for you, and that he will always take care of you.”

“God listens, understands, and knows the hopes and fears we keep in our hearts. So, if we talk to Him and trust in His love, miracles will happen. Talk to Him, He's available right now.”

“God is always available to you (A word of encouragement to comfort and strengthen you as you walk with the Lord”) By Shearon:

“I am available to you. My child, seek Me early before life’s circumstances, troubles, and problems crowd you out. Cease all struggling, and seek Me. Talk to Me. I love it when you seek Me early. Why wait until the world’s struggles prove to be too much for you to bear before you seek Me? You do not have to wait until your day of trouble to seek Me. Don’t you know I am available to you all the time?

Talk to your friend. Cease from the day-to-day chores, and just talk with Me. I know you have a lot on your mind. Do not allow the enemy to cause you to believe that what you’re going through is too insignificant to share with Me. If it concerns you, it concerns Me, besides, I already know. Yes, I know what’s on your mind, and when you are ready to talk to Me, I am available and waiting to listen. Because of My love for you, I won’t force you to talk with Me. I just wanted you to know that you didn’t have to wait until the midnight hour, and that I am available.

Yes, I am available to you all the time. I am available when you need understanding. I am available when you need guidance and direction. I am available when you need peace. I am available when you need someone to hold you. I am available when you need someone to talk to. And I’m even available when you say, “Lord, you don’t have to say anything, just listen.” I am your friend, and as your friend, I will always be available to you.”

Psalm 66:19 “But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.”

Psalm 91:15 “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.”

Psalm 116:2 “Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.”

Isaiah 65:24 “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”

Proverbs 8:17 “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.”

At Sinai the voice of God spoke from the midst of the fire, an event that foreshadowed the great advent of the King and Lawgiver Himself, when the Eternal Word would become flesh and dwell with us. Any theology that regards God as entirely transcendent (i.e., God is beyond any analogy with the finite) will have a problem with divine immanence (i.e., God is inherent within the finite), since the highness, holiness, and perfection of God will make Him seem distant, outside of us, far away, and unknown... Incarnational theology, on the other hand, manifests the nearness of God to disclose the divine empathy. Indeed, the LORD became "Immanuel," "God with us," to share our mortal condition, to know our pain, and to experience what it means to be wounded by sin, to be abandoned, alienated, forsaken. The "Eternal made flesh" bridges the gap between the realm of the infinitely transcendent One, and the finite world of people lost within their sinful frailty. We therefore celebrate the giving of the Torah both at Sinai and especially the giving of the "Living Torah" at Bethlehem with the birth of Messiah. We rejoice that God is indeed the King and Ruler over all, but we further affirm that God's authority and rule extends to all worlds-- including the realm of our finitude and need.

John J. Parsons

God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through... [ Read devo thought and prayer for this Bible verse ]

Expertise can't help you here.

My days are like an evening shadow, I wither away like grass.

Uh-

just found out my cousin (who lives in England) is in the art department of a bunch of shows??? And she worked oN DOCTOR WHO? AND HAD LUNCH WITH DAVID TENNANT???? and she just told me so casually because she's interested in the art, not the show? I mean, excuse me? She worked on SHERLOCK???? FOR A WHOLE SEASON?? She worked on Peaky Blinders and Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones??? And probably other things because she has a shitty memory and according to her everything is a blur?? AND AT ONE POINT SHE WAS LIKE: "oh and have you ever heard of Neil Gaiman?" And I was trying not to scream, because yes, of course I've heard of Neil, he's only my favorite author, I've only read like all of his books multiple times, and if you say you worked on Good Omens or the Sandman I'm going to lose it completely. So I said "yeah I've read a couple of his books," -you know, like a liar- "what about him?" and she goes "well I worked on one of his shows and he's brilliant i just can't remember which one" and i go "w-what do you mean he's brilliant? You're.. you're talking about his writing... his writing is brilliant, right?" And she cheerfully says "oh no I don't read books, I ment he was really nice and brilliant when I talked to him" and i go "WHAT DID YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT DID YOU TALK ABOUT" and she thinks for a moment and goes "oh! BRICKS" WHAT IN THE WORLD YES NO THAT MAKES SENSE YOU GET TO WORK AND TALK WITH NEIL FUCKING GAIMAN AND YOU TALK ABOUT BRICKS? NO THAT'S TOTALLY NORMAL I'M NOT MAD ".... it was what I was designing at the time, I needed to know what vibe the bricks should have. Anyway want to see the spinning fireplace I made for doctor who" WHAT THE FUCK.

@neil-gaiman do you remember any brick conversations by any chance

@staff if you [change] the [design] of the fucking [dashboard] i will kill you

edit. i want it on the actual post that i am not actually making a de-th threat against the staff. that's shitty. the caption quotes the fucking costco hot dog meme, which i originally said in the tags. if any staff member sees this please do Not take it personally

I'm not like other girls. I've somehow angered the Gods.

A Toothache Journey

After two emergency trips to the Dental Hospital in Bristol in October ’13, an emergency trip to the Dental Hospital in Belfast in November ’13 & four trips to my lovely dentist here in Derry, I have lost my toothache and my fear of dentists and gained a crown. If only heartache could be cured as easily. I so clearly remember sitting in the waiting area of Bristol Dental Hospital for that first…

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turn left is literally the most insane episode ever written. yeah the main character would kill himself if he didn't meet his best friend and the UK government is like 2 bad days away from putting all non-english people into labour camps. also all your favourite characters died trying to do what little they could. wouldn't that be crazy? anyway time for the daleks again

I desperately hope they keep the detail of sally selling Gabe’s statue because there is something so hilarious about that woman opening her front door, seeing that her ex-husband has been Medusa-ed, and going “you know I think he’d look nice at an art gallery”

It’d also be one hell of a divorce settlement and that’s what she deserves

Oh dear my gorgeous babies, I’m so happy they got the happiest possible ending they deserved 💜💜💜

I am so not empty inside

i refuse to believe that boycotting is hard. my favourite thing in the world is ordering maccies after a late night at work/a concert/getting drunk. yes i do miss it sometimes. but the other night i ordered from a small place near my house instead and it was the most orgasmic burger i've ever had in my life. i very rarely say this but fucking suck it up people are DEAD

this is such a negligible detail in the scheme of things but ever since my friend pointed it out i haven’t been able to stop thinking about how in natla aang just like. has his bison whistle. from the start. whereas aang finding the bison whistle in “the waterbending scroll” is such a subtle yet crucial moment because it reflects how even though sky bison are thought to be extinct, there are still traces and relics of air nomad culture existing in the world. just like the central object of that episode, katara’s waterbending scroll, is rightfully returned to her as a crucial part of her heritage that has been systematically exterminated, the bison whistle is yet another object that has been paraded around and reduced to a trinket on the market, rather than a meaningful cultural artefact. and the fact that aang is able to recognize and repatriate it for its original intended purpose is microcosmic of the show’s themes overall, of preserving one’s heritage in the face of cultural erasure and genocide. it’s central to aang’s arc, as well as katara’s, that they have an obligation to preserve their cultures at all costs in a world that is so intent on eradicating them. to cling to those traces with all they have and assert their practical value as they embody their unique cultural ideals through its practice rather than merely existing as a curiosity or exotic decoration within a hegemonic paradigm. aang in particular actively functions as a living testament to counter the imperialist assertion that his culture has no place in this world. and he does that through asserting his values, but also through practicing his culture in mundane, quotidian ways, such being able to properly make use of a bison whistle due to actually having a bison, or being able to learn off of the scroll due to being an actual waterbender. and so aang finding the bison whistle at that specific point in time is specifically significant as it concerns the central theme of the episode, and how that reflects the show’s themes as a whole.