“I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”   Psalms 34: 4   An example of this verse is the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who calls out to Christ to have mercy on him. Though he is told to be quiet, he cries out even more loudly. Jesus responds asking them to call him here. So, they do, asking him to take courage. “He is calling you.” Jesus asks him what he wants, and he distinctly tells him, I want to see again. As I wrote this, I had to use a magnifying glass to read the cross references in my Bible. We middle-agers can now get glasses or have cataract surgery to help us see better – but not so in that day. David who wrote the above Psalms, did like Bartimaeus did and writes, “I sought the Lord and He answered me.” To seek here is to trust in the mercy of the Lord. No matter if others try to quiet you, saying your needs are not important or you’re not an important enough person to bother God. But God hears us and answer...

  “Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant,”  Matt. 20:26 When I read this passage, I think of the “less thans.” I think of when my son got his first driver’s license at seventeen. His driver’s license was vertical vs. the standard horizontal one we all get showing that he was a minor. It got me thinking about all the people we consider minors in our lives – the ones without the glamorous jobs or impressive careers — the bus boys, janitors, data entry clerks, fast food workers, and caregivers. Yet, could we survive without them? Who would clean our buildings, clear our tables, make our fast food, and care for the sick? When you’re struggling with getting something corrected on your insurance, it’s the low data entry clerk who has the power to type in the correct numbers. This passage shows there are no minors in God’s kingdom. In fact, we are told to be like children – true minors. These are the firsts in the Kingdom of God. God honors the minors, those c...