“Distracted or Focused?” by Sam Miller

“Distracted or Focused?” by Sam Miller

Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great."…Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness. He then said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession." "O Lord GOD," he asked, "how am I to know that I shall possess it?"…He answered him, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon." Abram brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up...When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants, I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River the Euphrates." Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. John 15:4A, 5B

Jesus said to his disciples: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits, you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So, by their fruits, you will know them." Matthew 7:15-20

Piety

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant forever.

Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly. (Psalm 105:1-2, 3-4)

Study

Talk about off the wall! There I was, trying to get a handle on the Scripture message for today and all of a sudden, all I could see was that all of the readings had the numbers 1 & 5 in them, whether a chapter or verse number, all of them!! So, I naturally “googled” the number 15 and found this:

The number 15 is used as a symbol of rest. It is actually the rest from all sins that Christians have made. The 15th day of Nisan, the first Hebrew month, is the day of rest for all Christians and also for children of Israel. The 15th day of the 7th month in the Hebrew calendar is considered to be the rest day. It represents the new Millennium that will come, in which all people will have rest because of their sins made in the past. However, Jesus Christ will offer salvation to all people.

Other facts about the number 15 in the Bible: The Book of Peter contains materials from 15 books of the Old Testament. The women, who have been mentioned most frequently in the Bible, were Miriam and Abigail, and they were mentioned exactly 15 times. There are many words in the Bible that are made up of 15 letters, such as righteousnesses, administrations and many others. In the Book of Matthew 15 promises were given to Christians.

According to the Bible, the number 15 is considered to be not only a symbol of rest but also a symbol of restoration, healing, and deliverance.

Back to the “ranch” - The Lord told Abram not to fear, He was Abram’s shield and his reward would be very great. “Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.” To “seal the deal”, God entered a covenant with Abram to give his descendants the Promised Land! Yes, I skipped over the rest of the Q&A session where God was convincing Abram that the land would be the inheritance of his own heir, not the steward of his house. Abram trusted the Lord but still needed assurance, on more than this occasion.

The Gospel’s Alleluia verse, from John 15, speaks of bearing much fruit (This is the passage of Jesus being the vine and we, His people, the branches.)

“Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit because without me you can do nothing…If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.”

I believe Abram asked to remain in the Lord and his reward WAS great indeed!

Much fruit? Good fruit? Either way, I know I can’t produce any useful fruit without remaining in Jesus, standing in the rich soil that is nourished by His Word and trusting in His presence and guidance all ways!!

Action

Dear Lord, may my focus remain in You that what I say and do will bear good fruit. In Jesus’ name, I pray! Amen!!