Feeling unforgiving? Un-merciful?

Matthew 18:23-35 (ESV)

²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.^{[a] 24} When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.^{[b] 25} And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant^[c] fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii,^[d] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,^[e] until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

With a heart that is unforgiving and un- merciful, I ask you… aren’t you the one imprisoned? Maybe your prison isn’t four walls but it is a heart that is bound. Bitterness. Anger. Angst. In reality, aren’t you the one being tortured?

God, please help me be merciful as You have been merciful to me.

2 Chronicles 7:14………… IF and THEN

Several weeks ago I asked God what He would have me do about certain situations that I am in or while praying for others. I don’t know about your prayer life but looking back I have found myself to be very presumptuous in my approach to the throne of God.  Maybe that’s because I have direct access as His child.  Maybe it’s because He clearly calls me to “Come” and I do frequently and comfortably.  I presume He’s heard me and I move on, not sticking around for the answer or meditating too much on the matter.  Because of this mentality, I was taken back when I heard a…”wait a minute, I’m not done talking to you”.  (To my dear non-believing friends, no I haven’t starting hearing voices – it is a heart – listening thing).

The conversation went something like this: “So you want to be serious do you? I have one comment for you. A verse really.  Same one I’ve shown you Karen  several times. So, being you’re wanting a serious conversation and all now, I want your undivided attention. The instructions are in the verse. Turn off the electronics and pay attention…or are those things too important for you? Do you really want to hear from Me?” 

Ok, not the response I was expecting. I’ve mulled it over a few days, in case God wanted to think about it some more and come up with another option, or changes His mind. Let me check… uh…no. He wants my attention right now. He pointed me to a verse that He says is the answer to what i am seeking.  To do this, I will unplug and focus on the directions  in that verse.  No TV, FB, nor tweet in my immediate future. I need to tune out to tune in. Unplug to plug in.Turn off to …ok thats all I got. Here’s the verse, specific to me…

If  (Karen Ketchie) my people  who is called by my name, will humble  themselves (herself) and pray and seek My face and turn from their (her) wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive (Karen’s) their  sin and will heal (her) their land.

I don’t know about you but in my land are many aspects of life that I could use a touch from my Father. I WANT to be heard. I want those ‘lands’, those areas in my life that I pray and seek God’s intervention, comfort and guidance… healed.  I am seriously praying on behalf of many  having life changing events going- right this very moment. I get on my face and cry out to Jesus, for me. For them.

Do you need something healed? Restored?  Touched? Answered? It is a simple scientific equation…cause and effect. If and Then.  IF you humble yourself.  IF you pray and seek His face.  Seriously. IF you turn from your wicked ways.  That right there is a show stopper for many of us. Game over. We want what we want. I want what I want.

THEN. After that He says THEN. After I do those things He’ll……… well my lands may be different from yours. But whatever they are, He’ll heal them. Physically? Financially? Emotionally? He’ll answer. Whatever it is that I need to hear, Lord I’ll listen. Help me believe (said a friend) and be fervent in my prayer. So, between Jan 7-31 I’ll be out of pocket.

a pebble in my shoe

Saturday I was feeling a little stressed and went for a run to shake out the kinks, do some praying, and listen to some awesome music. I set a goal for myself for 4 miles. Beautiful day for a nice, easy run. Good plan right?

I was about 2 miles into the run and felt a pebble in my shoe. At first…no big deal. I was enjoying the scenery, music and talk time. My focus was clear.

After a few minutes though I began to get irritated. My thoughts were interrupted; I missed the lyrics of a song, and I was no longer paying attention to the conversation with my Father. All because I was now focusing on this stupid tiny pebble in my shoe!  I thought to stop running and sit and remove it but knowing if I did, I’d just quit. It was my state of mind. I’d lose sight of completing my goal. I became mad at myself for letting such an insignificant thing knock me off track. I now wasn’t praying, I wasn’t enjoying the beauty around me, and certainly not de-stressing! I was now irritated.

God knows me. He knows what triggers my frustrations. He knows what and who makes me feel secure. I told Him I was sorry for being so easily distracted by an irritant. Obviously not for just the pebble in my shoe, but for the things that I allow to stress me out. Is there something in your life that has your focus off what is important? Can you no longer enjoy the journey because of something, or because of an event, or a person?  Feel trapped because of circumstance, finance, relationships? Go run to your Father. He’ll carry you on this journey. The pebble in your life might be insignificant but that’s what you’ve focused on. Or it may be a huge burden or a life changer. For some of us, the pebble may even have to remain. But just maybe if we ask God to reveal our true feelings about it we may find there is resentment, frustration or a sense of having given up? Ask God to show you these things  and for you to trust in Him, surrender to Him. It may even alter your attitude and offer peace along the journey.

Yes, I do have pebbles in my life and I am earnestly trying to be thankful for them. In a sense, they keep me hobbled and leaning on Jesus.

Object of Affection

All The Way by Chris Tomlin
This week’s lesson for my high school girls is ‘What is the object of my affection?’. If we love something, or someone, how do we act towards it, treat it, interact with it. If its a person, how do they know they are the object of my affection? Well, if you want more of that specific lesson, join us @ 11:00 sunday morning.
As I was walking this morning I was meditating on the lesson scripture (John 14: 21-24). In my ear was playing Chris Tomlin’s song All The Way,  that really brought home the point of Me being the object of God’s affection. He has affection for me. Yes, me personally. I receive the fullness of His Love. Not only through the surrendering sacrifice of Calvary did He show His love, but even now, still today, towards me personally. Jesus does not withhold the complete fullness of His love from me. I don’t get bits and pieces, dependent on my behavior and reaction.  If I don’t measure up,  when I fail, falter or simply don’t care- He doesn’t punish me by withholding His love.  I need to grow and  be more like my Father in that area of my life. I am the object of the fullness of the love of my Father and I tell you, that right there brings me to tears.

Welcome Back

I guess I needed a break from blogging. Apparently a long one. My dear adopted daughter Monica recently started blogging again and it pulled at some heart strings. So, not needing  to say more about the issue, break over.

Home from Haiti

We have returned home from Haiti with our federal disaster medical team. Just…wow. Humbling, amazing, sad, miracle…so many words. The Haitians we encountered shared stories of shattered lives and worlds, yet so gentle in our persence and thankful we were there. We treated around 3500 patients in 8 days. There won and lost the battle with births, deaths, limbs and sight.There were extremes on both ends of stories and life. Thats about all I can share right now as Tim and I are gonna rest for a bit and love on the family.

One. Just one friend.

I know its coming. The call. I’ve prepared. Im packed. Started my medicines. Have a family plan. Medically cleared and ready….I’m waiting. I’ve done all of this knowing ‘the call’ is any day. 

The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:2  For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.  The Bible, God’s word to us, says He is returning. Am I prepared for that? You bet I am. What do  I need to do to prepare for His return? He CLEARLY states that I need to have prepared for His return.  If you are not sure of your own heart and soul’s readiness, give me a shout and I’d be glad to share with you what the Lord Jesus has to say.

To my fellow believers: Earthquakes, fires, floods…whats it going to take? Do you love your family and friends enough to help them get ready? You offer your clothes to the homeless; send money and goods to Haiti, reach out to complete strangers….but yet you let your neighbors and family remain in the dark because it is uncomfortable to share the gospel?

Let me encourage you. Now is the time for boldness! One. Just one friend. Tell them how the Lord Jesus changed you……didn’t He?

KetchieThoughts…from Haiti

Our federal medical team is on ALERT and will probably depart to Haiti on Saturday. I will try to update when I can. Might be more along the lines of tweets, hopefully wll show on KetchieThoughts but as well as my FB.

not a good idea

As Clyde and I were on our walk this morning we passed a sight that caught my eye. In a neighbor’s backyard I saw a goat head-butting a horse’s..well, butt.  The goat got up on his hind quarters and butted the horse repeatedly.  I resumed my walk laughing thinking…”not a good idea”…

Sometimes we also choose to do that thing that is obviously ‘not a good idea’. It may be a spontaneous response. It may be a long thought out plan- just not a good one. If you act on it, more than likely you will later regret it.   I anticipated this horse to kick the snot out of this goat.

So before you puke your thoughts on someone, before you berate your spouse or child, before you snatch the parking place from the little ol’ lady, before you….. think it through….sometimes it is simply…not a good idea.

The profile of a likewarm christian

Francis Chan @ http://crazylovebook.com/ writes a chapter describing the lukewarm christian. Here is a snapshot:

• Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go.
• Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church…as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra $ and its safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver right?
• Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict.
• Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin, only saved from the penalty of their sin.
• Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with neighbors, coworkers or friends.
• Lukewarm people love others, but do not seek to love others as they love  themselves.
• Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” w/o it requiring too much of them.

Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ? Or do the words halfhearted or lukewarm fit better? Could the profile above describe you? Although painful at times it is necessary to examine ourselves- the Bible says to test ourselves. Our motives, how we love, how we treat others around us, even if we are in the faith.  The beauty of the cross is it’s offer of forgiveness. Begin anew this very day.