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God's presence
Living Water From the Rock
By Linda Rex
September 27, 2020, Proper 21—As human beings, we cannot escape the reality that our existence is dependent upon water—whether clean water to drink, rain for our crops, water for everyday uses such as cleaning and bathing, or many other needs. Today in America, many are experiencing the lack of water—fires out of control, or too much water—flooding in the southeast with the impact of hurricane Sally. Whether too much, too little, or just enough—water is an integral part of our human existence.
The story of humanity begins with the Spirit brooding over the waters, and then responding to the Word of God by bringing into existence the cosmos, the earth and all that lives on it. The earth was originally watered by streams coming up from the ground. From the garden in Eden flowed a river which separated into four headwaters, flowing into areas nearby. We may recognize some of the names—the Euphrates, Tigris, Gihon, and Pishon rivers.
After Adam and Eve turned away from God to the things of their flesh, choosing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, humanity declined into a place where even God regretted that what he had made had come to such depravity. When he chose to eradicate evil, he sent a flood—an inundation of water that swept away broken humanity and wiped the earth clean. But it was not God's heart for human beings to die—he desires life for us. So he made the covenant of the rainbow with us as his pledge he will never flood the earth in that way ever again.
When God brought his people out of Egypt from slavery, he brought them through the Red Sea. Moving the large body of water aside, he dried out the riverbed and made a passage for Israel to get to the other side. When they were safely to shore, he allowed the river to flow freely again, wiping out the Egyptian army which had pursued them into the water. Water, for God, is both a means of redemption and a means of cleansing, healing, and renewal.
Sadly, the Israelites did not seem to grasp the significance of what God was doing in their lives. They did not know God well, and did not believe that he loved them and wanted what was best for them. They did not believe, even though they had witnessed such a mighty deliverance. When they were in the wilderness on the way to Sinai, they grew thirsty. They did not simply trust God or turn to him when they grew thirsty, but rather they complained to Moses and demanded that he solve their problem by providing water. By demanding water from Moses, they were demanding proof of God's presence among them, something he had already made clear to them.
This continual refusal to believe, to trust in the living God as the Source of all that is good and right, marked Israel's and then Judah's relationship with God from then on. Even as their refusal to obey and serve God brought them into exile, they still worshiped idols and refused to submit themselves to the ways and covenant love of their Lord and Redeemer.
The prophet Ezekiel warned them to turn away from their rebellion and sin:
" 'Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct,' declares the Lord God. 'Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,' declares the Lord God. 'Therefore, repent and live' " (Ezekiel 18:30-32 NASB).
God did not desire their destruction. He sought their repentance—a turning around, a change of mind and heart—something which they could never achieve on their own. They needed to be saved from their hearts made of stone.
The living Word took on our human flesh to be for us the Rock from whom living water would flow. Jesus Christ lived our life, died our death, and rose again, ascending into the presence of the Father to send the Spirit on all flesh. The Rock, the cornerstone on which God would build his church, was struck in the crucifixion, and from him flowed the living stream of grace and mercy we all needed to be freed from evil, sin and death. And beyond that, through Christ and from the Father, came the living stream of God's very presence and power, the Holy Spirit, who by faith would come to us individually, to begin the process of transforming and renewing us into the image of Jesus Christ.
One of the remarkable things about water is its ability to alter hard objects like rocks. Place a sharp, jagged stone in running water and over a long enough period of time, it will become smooth. Large amounts of water flowing swiftly over land and rock will dig deep caverns and riverbeds, given time. Moving water in an extremely narrow stream at a very rapid speed can be used to clean or cut certain objects. There is great power in water—and the water of God's love and grace, His Spirit, does mighty things when it goes to work in us and in our lives. As we respond to God in faith, trusting in the finished work of Christ, the Spirit works in us to heal, restore and renew, to reform us into the image-bearers of God we were created to be.
It is fitting that the final image in Revelation is of the presence of God with man on the new earth. From the temple of God's presence flows a mighty river which provides healing for the nations. What a fitting picture of what God is doing even now beginning with the body of Christ, working in this world to bring about healing, renewal, and wholeness. Washed in the water of God's love and grace, the body of Christ in which God dwells is to be fullest expression of Jesus possible in this world, being a temple of living stones from which the living Water flows freely to bring healing to all people. We look forward anticipating the day when Jesus Christ will bring the kingdom of heaven into its fullness. Meanwhile, we participate with Jesus today in expressing by the Spirit God's faith, hope, and love to everyone around us.
Dear Abba, forgive us our hard-heartedness and stubborn resistance to your loving will and purposes. Thank you for offering us yourself, Jesus, as the Rock to be broken on our behalf so that we might be given a new heart and spirit, and turn to you in trust and obedience. Holy Spirit, please finish what you have begun, transforming our hearts by faith, through Jesus our Lord all for Abba's glory. Amen.
" 'Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.' And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us, or not?' " Exodus 17:6-7 NASB
"He split the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.
He brought forth streams also from the rock
And caused waters to run down like rivers." Psalm 78:15-16 NASB
See also Matthew 21:23–32 and Philippians 2:1–13.
Living in the Breath
by Linda Rex
I love it when I drive home from East Nashville and there is a sky full of puffy clouds just starting to glisten with colors from the sun setting in the background. Every time I see the sky, it looks different, and as an artist, I am always amazed by how creative God is as he paints the sky with clouds and color.
Is it possible that our God spends each moment making our world a beautiful and stunning work of art, using all the elements he put into motion millennia ago? What if he intentionally breathes into our world each moment, bringing into our existence his new life in some new form or fashion? What if, while his mercies are new every morning, so are his sky, his clouds, and the breathing of his breath of life on all he has made?
Before Jesus came, it seemed the Spirit's active intervention in human affairs was only in inspiring particular prophets, priests and kings to do a specific work in preparation for the coming Messiah. But the silent, unobtrusive, self-effacing Spirit was also holding all things together, even though humanity had chosen the path for all things to return to the nothingness from which they had been made.
During the long history of the nation of Israel, God was known as the Helper of Israel (Psa. 146; Isa. 41) In the coming of the Son of God into human flesh, we find Israel's Helper is present and real here on the earth in Jesus Christ. He lived, died and rose again, and in the ascension which we celebrated last Sunday, we find Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, with all humanity—even all things—reconciled to God in him. Our Helper is the Living Lord Jesus Christ, who is always at work in this world and in our lives and hearts.
The apostle John shares in his epistle: "we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). There is an Intercessor present with the Father, intervening for us moment by moment in every situation and circumstance. There is no reason any of us should fear coming before God and sharing ourselves fully with him, even if we have fallen short in some way. We can trust Jesus Christ is praying for us, interceding for us, and helping us no matter how bleak things may look to us at the time.
Here we see the amazing goodness and love of God at work. It was not enough that he would give us his own beloved Son in this way, to help us and to intercede for us. But he also gave us Someone who would be even more intimately involved in our world, our lives, and even in our very being.
Jesus said before he returned to his Father he would send another Helper like himself (John 14:16–17). This would be an Advocate who would intercede on our behalf with God and with others. Jesus returned to his Father and sent us this Helper, the Holy Spirit (John 16:7) to be with us forever.
If the Spirit has been present and involved with creation and our cosmos since the beginning—hovering over the waters and acting when the Word spoke all things into existence—what was so special and necessary for the Spirit to be sent by Jesus? If God has sustained all things for all these millennia, then why did Jesus have to go so the Spirit would come?
We need to pay attention to the details here. This universe would not exist except for the grace and mercy of the living God. The breath of God, the Spirit, gives life. (Acts 17:25; Psalm 104:29–30) Apart from God, all things return to nothingness. The life-giving Spirit is ever and always at work in this cosmos to breathe God's life into all things.
God in Christ reconciled all things to himself, whether the things he has made, or every one of us human beings—nothing is excluded (Colossians 1:19–23). Even the evil which acts as a parasite on all that is good and holy was taken up in Christ and overcome. Jesus is the Victor over sin, death, and the evil one!
In Christ all things were made new and are being made new—in and by his Spirit at work in the creation. The decay into nothingness has, in Christ, been reversed. And part of that reversal involves us as human beings. We were created for intimate relationship with the God who made us out of nothingness. But we turned away from this God to the creation and to one another, as though we had no need of him. We fell into the evil one's trap of trying to be lord of the universe ourselves. But God has other plans for us.
Before any of this came into existence, God intended for us to be his image-bearers. We were to bear his image, not only in our relationships with God and with others, but also by having the very presence of the living God within us—in our very hearts and minds. We were to be the bearers of God's living Presence, the Holy Spirit. And remember, where the Spirit is, so are the Father and Jesus Christ. So God himself was to dwell, or take up permanent residence, within the human beings God would and did make.
God, in Jesus Christ, took on our humanity, in its brokenness, shame and rebellion. God encountered the worst of who we are, even within his being in Jesus, and was not altered in the least. No, in his life, death and resurrection, he translated us from the kingdom of darkness into his kingdom of light. Jesus forged a perfected humanity in which the Spirit would permanently reside. And when he ascended, he poured out from the Father his Spirit on all humanity, so all could receive and participate in this perfect gift.
So we find ourselves in this place, living on this amazing earth, wondering where our next meal will come from, how we will pay our bills, and what to do about the fight we had with our spouse this morning. And we pay so little attention to what really matters—we are living in God's presence, breathing in the very Breath of God himself. We are God's children, made in his image, redeemed in Christ, meant to have an intimate relationship with him, and to live in the truth of the humanity forged for us in Christ.
There is a way of living and being we were created for—a humanity we see in Jesus which lives in total dependence upon the Spirit and in perfect obedience to the Father. We can embrace this truth of our being and fully participate in the relationship with the Father by the Spirit Jesus brought us into, or we can stubbornly hang on to our independence of God and our rebellion against his ways of living and being. God protects our freedom to choose.
Either way, the Spirit never ceases to breathe his life into us and the world around us. God's mercies continue to be new every morning. Every sunset sky is a new expression of God's creativity. And we never stop having an Advocate and Helper in Jesus, and in the Holy Spirit who also intercedes for us when we cannot express the deepest yearnings of our heart (Rom 8:26).
Our Abba continues to hold a seat for us at his table, loving us unconditionally as he does, and he expectantly watches at the door for us to come over the horizon so he can run to meet us. We have nothing to fear, and everything to hope for. Life in the Spirit through Jesus with the Father forever—it is ours right now.
I don't know about you, but I'm heading home—there's nothing in this world worth hanging on to. One day it will all be gone and all that will be left is what God intended in the first place. I'm thinking his plan is a lot better than mine, and a whole lot more fun in the long run. And the best part? Having these amazing relationships and this loving family to hold and embrace for all eternity. Now that is something worth going home for.
Abba, thank you for drawing us to yourself through your two hands of love, Jesus and the Spirit. Thank you for saving us a seat at your table and a place in your heart. Grant us the grace to surrender to your will and your ways, and to turn away from ourselves and the world around us, and to turn to you in faith, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
"You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the ground." Psalm 104:30 NASB
Putting New Wine in this Old Wineskin
By Linda Rex
Recently I spent several hours in the emergency room because my heart was in atrial defibrillation and would not go back to a regular rhythm until I had been given several medications. I do not know yet what the real reason for this episode is yet—I have a couple tests the cardiologist wants to put me through first. But I do know that having an event like this in my life has given me an opportunity to simply appreciate the moments I have left, as well as the relationships God has blessed me with over the years.
Going through this is also helping me once again to face the over-fifty reality that I'm getting older and my health is not what it used to be. Genetics, lifestyle consequences, you name it—it all adds up to, I can't do everything I used to be able to do. My mind and my will may want to do certain things, but my body just can't take it anymore, whether I like it or not.
When I worked at the care center I used to laugh with the seniors about this. We'd agree that just like a fine wine, we don't get older, we get better and more refined with age. It's not that getting older is so bad, it's just having to live with the body that goes with it—it just doesn't work like it used to and that's no fun.
Sometime in the midst of my musings over my forced rest from any stress or exertion, my morning reading included the passage in Matthew 9 where Jesus talked about not patching an old piece of clothing with new cloth, and not putting new wine into old wineskins. For some reason this really stuck out in my mind, probably because our lectionary passage for Sunday is the story about Jesus turning water into wine.
Jesus had this deal about wine. I think it's pretty funny that Jesus would do an "in your face" type of move like turning the water used for ritual washing into wine for drinking. How like him! And he didn't just make enough for the day's meal. He made more than one hundred gallons! There could be some serious inebriation going on with that amount of wine at the wedding. But that didn't seem to matter to him.
Changing water used for ritual washing into wine to drink—there are a lot of ramifications to what he did when he did this simple miracle. When he talked about the importance of not putting new wine into old wineskins, he was talking about something similar, but totally different as well. The first things most commentators point out about both is that Jesus was pointing out the reality that the old way of the Jewish temple worship was to be superseded by the living Messiah, who would be both our sacrificial Lamb and our High Priest. The old way of approaching God and worshiping him was being replaced with the new way of the ministry of the Spirit through Christ.
But it struck me this week that there was a lot more going on here than just the removal of an old sacrificial system through the coming of the Messiah. Indeed, Jesus did a lot more than just create a new way of worshiping God. What he did in sharing our humanity, dying our death and rising again was so much more than just that.
We learn in Ephesians 1 and elsewhere that before time God intended humanity to share his life and love as his adopted children. But as we were, we could not hold the majesty of the life of the Trinity within us in the way that God wanted us to. We could not share in the divine life the way God intended us to. Truly, God holds all things and nothing exists outside of him. But there was a lack in our human capacity to relate to and grasp the spiritual realities we were created to exist within. We could only see ourselves as alienated from God and unworthy of his love. In many ways our humanity was like those old wineskins. If God would have tried to pour into us the fullness of his glory and love would we not have been broken? For surely God offered us his life, but we rejected it.
Jesus in coming into our humanity, dying and rising again created for all of us a new wineskin, and then sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in human hearts. What amazing love God has that he would do whatever it took so that we could share in the divine life and love! Now, as Jesus said it would be, we have the amazing gift of the indwelling Father and Son in the Spirit. New wine in these old wineskins that have been made new so they could contain that new wine. Instead of those old clothes that are patched and worn, God gave us new wedding clothes.
And there I am, back at the wedding again, where there's an overabundance of wine. Surely God's Spirit is limitless and God has poured out on us the tremendous precious gift of his Spirit who brings all God's blessings into full expression in us and in our world as we participate actively in the divine life and love. Drink in of this wonderful luxury—God's Presence in us and with us at every moment, as we are held in union with God through Christ, and experience loving communion with God and one another in the Spirit. That's some wedding!
Thank you, Father, for inviting all of us to the wedding of your Son to his beautiful Bride, and for creating in Christ a new humanity to be filled with your divine Presence in the Spirit. How wonderful that we all may live each moment in anticipation of the day when we can sit at this wedding feast in glory, but thank you also that even now we sit in glory with you through Christ in the Spirit and can drink in of that heady glorious wine of eternity each and every moment of every day. In your Name, Father, Son and Spirit. Amen.
"Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." Matthew 9:17 NASB
"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, 'The old is good enough.' " Luke 5:37–39 NASB
Harmony in the Home
By Linda Rex
When my children were little, I was looking for a way to guide them into healthy ways of thinking and being without being punitive or constantly having to scream at them. I began to read about parenting with grace and found lots of different ideas on how to go about participating with Christ in my children's growth and maturity.
It was a struggle because I was a single mom. I didn't have the luxury of saying, "Just wait till your father gets home!" I was the one who had to call the shots and draw the lines in my home if I wanted my children to have the benefits of living in unity with who they are in Christ. I have two strong-willed children who are very intelligent and gifted in their own way. It was a challenge to keep ahead of them on so many levels.
I've tried a lot of different tactics over the years, but for a while one of the practices I came upon was that of a family charter. I sat my children down and together we came up with a list of rules for the house that had to do with respect. It was important to me that my children learn to respect God, themselves, each other, the authorities in the world around them, and their belongings.
These house rules were pretty simple and had consequences that the children picked out themselves. Once we had agreed on the important things to bring peace, kindness and harmony to the family, we would each sign the charter.
If I felt things were getting out of hand at home, we would meet again to discuss the charter. Occasionally we might make some changes. The consequences might very from one family meeting to the next, but most just stayed the same.
One of the things we agreed upon was that we would guard our tongues. We agreed that we would not use foul language in our home, or say things that were nasty and hurtful to each other. My children decided the appropriate consequence for violating another family member's ears and heart with unkind words or foul language was to clean the toilet. My children would take great delight in catching me using a mild expletive because then I would have to do toilet duty. Of course, they didn't have equal delight in being caught themselves.
After a while my children became frustrated with the family charter and no longer seemed to need it to guide their everyday behavior. So I did not use it in the same way, though I left it up for a while as a way of reminding us of what we valued as a family.
But I have often reflected on the whole idea of joining together as a family to agree to live together in harmony, peace and kindness. Is not this the definition of "koinonia"—of the "perichoresis" that God calls us to live in with the Father, Son and Spirit?
To teach my children to live in harmony with others in a way that involves love in unity, diversity and equality is to teach them to live within the truth of who they are as children of God. This is to teach them to live in agreement with who they are as God's children, made in his image, redeemed by Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. To live in harmony with who we are as God's children is to live in the truth of God's kingdom here on earth even now through Christ and in the Spirit.
So when we begin to turn the air blue around us with foul expletives, or we begin to slide into some other form of hurtful behavior, we need to reconsider just who we are affecting with our words and behavior. Jesus said that what we do to one another, we do to him.
If indeed we sit in heavenly places in Christ right now, as Paul said, and we already have been brought out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light, then everything we say and do is somehow bound up in Christ. For in God, through Christ and in the Spirit, we live and move and have our being.
Changing the way we act and talk is not a simple thing we can do if we just try hard enough. It is much more effective to begin to grow in awareness of Christ in us and in others, and to come to realize and live in accordance with the reality of the Spirit's constant presence in us and with us. This is the spiritual discipline some people call "practicing the presence."
This discipline involves being sensitive to God's real, abiding presence with us each and every moment of every day, and engaging God in constant conversation as we go about our daily activities. The mundane activities of life begin to have a different tone when we do them in God's presence, knowing he is aware of every nuance of thought, feeling and desire.
We also become more and more aware of the real presence of God in one another. We begin to see Christ in our neighbor and the Spirit of God at work in people we didn't used to consider being "good" people. We begin to experience the real presence of God in everyday experiences and conversations. This is the kingdom life.
This is living in the reality that we are already participants in the kingdom of God. We already share in God's kingdom life with one another—unless we choose to continue to participate in the kingdom of darkness. And we all know the consequences of continuing to live in the darkness of sin and death—because we see them being realized all around us, and even in our own lives. And we know the pain and horror that goes with them.
Jesus Christ is the gate to the kingdom of God, and his Spirit of life flows through us all. May we all live in this truth of our being, in grace, peace and harmony with one another. May God's kingdom be fully realized here on earth as it is in heaven. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thank you, Holy Father, for binding us together with you in love through Jesus and by your Spirit. Grant us the grace to live in the truth of our being, in the harmony, grace and peace you bought for us in your Son. May we live in warm fellowship and love with you and one another forever, through Jesus Christ our brother and by your precious Holy Spirit. Amen.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4–7 NASB
by Linda Rex
What would it be like to live life without any consequences?
Sometimes I think that this is what we all secretly want—to be able to do whatever we want without anything bad happening to us or others. It's too often that I see or read about someone who closed their eyes to the consequences of something they were doing, even though they were hurting themselves or someone else. It is like when my babies played hide and seek by putting their hands over their eyes, thinking they couldn't be seen, but standing in full view of everyone.
Do we truly believe, down to the core of our being, that we live life unobserved, all alone in the universe—just us and no one else?
Humanly speaking, I think it's really hard to believe that any more, considering how many satellites circle this planet and how many cameras observe us as we go through our lives. Now we even have to worry about some hacker watching us through our technology. There's just not much privacy any more.
But there is something in each of us that wants to live life as though there are no consequences. Life without any repercussions—no one caring what we do or don't do: why is it that we want to live this way?
There is a time and place where each of us will be called to wrestle with the reality of life beyond our human life. There is an existence that goes beyond our next breath. We may not know what it is, but it is more real than the hand at the end of our arm.
Recently I followed the series "Proof" as they explored the possibility of scientifically determining if there was life after death. It is interesting when human beings try to quantify and scientifically evaluate spiritual realities. If it is not something that can be experienced, tested and evaluated according to the scientific method, then it is considered unreal. And yet there is something down deep inside that drives us to seek out the truth about life beyond this life.
We are more connected than we realize with the One who created all of us. Like the philosophers of old, if we do believe in God, we want to put him up in a heaven somewhere so we don't have to deal with him until our life comes to an end. Then hopefully, he'll be nice enough to let us live with him in that place, wherever it is.
But God isn't the God who is separate from us—outside our cosmos somewhere. Rather, all that God created is held in him—he is God with us. As the psalmist wrote—wherever we may be—God is there. There is no escaping God's presence. (Psalm 139)
Even more than that, God was not satisfied just to uphold the universe and all creatures in his loving hands. He took on our humanity and became one of us. He lived in our humanity, died and rose again as Jesus Christ. In doing that, he is connected to each of us in a union that is so intimate and close that we cannot escape it. And God sent the Spirit to awaken us to the reality of Christ in us. God has ensured that nothing can separate us from him ever again.
Oh dear. This means that whatever we do, think, or say is done, thought or said in God's presence. And everything we think, do or say has consequences. We don't live in a vacuum—even if we are standing on a mountaintop with no one around. God is present. God is real. And God knows, sees, and is a part of whatever we are thinking, saying or doing and we are a part of what he is thinking, saying and doing.
This puts a new spin on everything. Whether or not there are consequences really isn't the point any more. Because now it's all about relationship. We are intimately connected with the true spiritual reality and Source of our being. We live and move and have our being in him. We exist moment by moment in the reality that God lives in us—we share our being with the Lord of the universe.
And now Jesus Christ defines our true humanity. Consequently, we do not exist here on our own terms but on his. And that's the rub—we do not want anyone dictating to us how to live our lives. We want to live without consequences.
So at some point we each have to come to terms with the true reality in which we now live—Christ in us, the hope of glory. We can continue to cover our eyes and try to deny this spiritual reality, living as though there are no consequences. Or we can open our eyes to the truth of the deep love that surrounds and fills us, and begin living in harmony with the true reality we are held in. We are free to choose.
And we live even now with the consequences of that choice—experiencing a sense of separation, loss, loneliness and hunger we were never meant to experience—or walking in intimate fellowship with the One who made all things, experiencing his joy, peace, love and grace day by day. We can begin now to participate in the heavenly realities we hope to share in for all eternity. May God grant us the grace to choose wisely.
Dearest God, thank you for sharing your very life and breath with us, and for coming so near as to share our very life and breath as human beings. Awaken us, Holy Spirit, to the reality of Christ living in us. We need to know you are real and present every moment. Grant us the grace to live in this true reality moment by moment, day by day. Through Jesus and by your Spirit we pray. Amen.
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." Galatians 6:7–9 NASB
Seriously, God?
by Linda Rex
Seriously, God? audio by Linda Rex
Recently I've been reminded of the importance of taking each day as it comes. Last week I had made plans to take some time off to catch up on some things at home. When I'm busy doing ministry, sometimes other important things get left until later when I can get to them.
So having made these plans, I took my mom to her doctor appointment. From there, we ended up in the hospital for several days. It seems that it was a good thing that I took time off, but God had something else he wanted me to do during that time. It was more important that I be with my mother than it was to get those other things done.
I've never thought that much before about how arrogant it is for us to assume that we know what we are going to do with each moment of each day before it ever happens. Really, when I think about it, I can't help but realize that I have no control of what's going to happen to me or to those whom I have made plans with or for. I can sketch out a pretty good to-do list, but what gets done is another story all together.
I don't know whether you have had the experience of having your day all planned out and then having it go a different direction entirely. Like the time I made a simple trip to find food during my lunch hour, and ended up in conversation with a police officer about the lady who had backed her car into mine but insisted that I was at fault. That day was a complete disaster in many ways, but in the end, it all worked out.
When we come to see that all of life is holy and caught up in the life and love of God himself, we find that the everyday things are full of encounters with the divine. Life isn't just something we do on our own, under our own power, but is a relationship we share with Father, Jesus and the Spirit. We walk, moment by moment, in a way that takes into account the reality that we are not alone, but are participating in Christ's life in this world.
We can act as if we are all on our own, without anyone having any say in our decisions or in our activities or relationships. Or we can act as if all of life involves a sharing with God. In other words, we quit going through life as though we are alone. It's not just I now. It's we—our divine Dad, our divine Brother, our living Breath—all share life with us, in us and for us. We're never alone.
Acting as if we are in a real relationship with God means being in an ongoing conversation with him. It means that no matter what we do, we do it in companionship with God.
We may think that is a little awkward, especially when there are parts of life we would prefer to keep to ourselves. But as the psalmist says, there is no place where we can hide from God—he's everywhere at all times. (Psalm 139) Perhaps that is why humans often prefer to believe there is no God at all, because if there really is a God, and he is really God, then he knows all our secrets and not only that, he has the right to tell us how to live our lives.
This is why it is offensive to some when we say that Jesus Christ has taken on our humanity, and has made us truly human, the way we were really meant to be. Because that means that Jesus Christ defines humanity. That means God gets to tell us what it means to be human.
To live in opposition to what God designed a human being to be is to live in opposition to ourselves and everyone else. Living in a way we were never meant to live means that we are living a lie. And we reap the consequences of living in that way.
We are all living in God's presence moment by moment. We can enjoy that encounter with the living Lord, and take pleasure in sharing life with him. Or we can expend a lot of effort attempting to live life under our own power and even in opposition to him. He's allowed us to do that—but he never meant for us to do that. He doesn't want us to suffer the consequences of living that way.
So I think from now on, my to-do list needs to have an "If the Lord wills" clause in it. Since I'm on mission with Jesus in the world to share with everyone the love of God in Christ through the Spirit, I think I need to reevaluate my priorities as I make my daily lists. It's a challenge to remember this, but here's to taking some small steps in living life in companionship with God this day and from now on.
Thank you, Lord, that all of life is lived in your presence through your grace and love. I thank you that Jesus is all that we were meant to be as human beings, and that you have empowered each of us by your Spirit to live in relationship with you through him. Remind us each day to walk with you in joyful companionship and reverent love. For Christ's sake, amen.
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'" James 4:13–15 NASB
A Vacuum of the Soul
by Linda Rex
I was reading "Crossroads" by Wm. Paul Young this week and was caught by the picture of a desolate valley with a dry riverbed running through a broken-down temple. This empty place was meant to be filled with running water, which would have given life to all the plants and animals that lived there. This picture of a broken, desolate human soul was profound.
It took me back to the beginning in the book of Genesis where we see that God placed a garden, the Garden of Eden, at the headwaters of four major rivers. This river was a source of life to the garden and to all the areas around the garden. When Adam and Eve chose to decide for themselves what is good and evil rather than trusting God and eating of the tree of life, they found themselves no longer able to access this river of living water in the same way.
And humanity has been seeking to fill this vacuum in our souls ever since. We find so many ways to try to inject some life into our souls. We seek life through relationships, sexuality, wealth, fame, and a myriad of other fruitless efforts. Instead of freedom and life we often find ourselves even more empty and enslaved to demanding taskmasters such as addictions, obsessions, depression and despair.
The prophet Ezekiel predicted one day a temple would be built from which a river of water would flow—one that was so strong and so wide that it could not be crossed. This river of water would flow out and bring healing and restoration to the salted desolate places.
It is instructive that the final picture we have of the summation of all things in the book of Revelation is a picture of God and the Lamb Jesus Christ being the temple from which flows the river of life. God has made his dwelling place with us as human beings and will never leave. His life, the Holy Spirit, forever proceeds from God's inner being through Christ to all people.
Jesus, when he came, said that he would give the gift of a fountain of living water within our souls for those who are spiritually thirsty. He said this living water would overflow to others around us, so that they would also find their thirst quenched as well. Our souls were meant to be a place filled with the rushing water of the Holy Spirit, flowing in, through and from us, bringing life and renewal.
In the Epistles, we find that our bodies are temples where the Holy Spirit dwells. God with us. We were never meant to live with the emptiness and loneliness of going through life on our own without God. We were created to be filled with and overflowing with God's real presence through Jesus and in the Spirit. For this is true life, real life—knowing God and Jesus whom he sent. It is living in relationship each moment with the God who made us and loves us, and will not be God without us.
It can be quite fearful and challenging to stop and take a look inside. What things are we clinging to? What have we made monuments to in our hearts and souls, such that there is no room for anything or anyone else? What has taken the place that was meant for God and God alone? For this is what is creating that vacuum—that hunger that will never be satisfied. Here is where we must, like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, cast out all our idols and make room for God. What must we release our hold on so that we can wrap our fingers around the hand which holds us so tenderly and tightly? May God give us the grace to let go.
Dear Holy God, thank you for your gift of Living Water. We long to be nourished by your Holy Spirit, to be renewed and refreshed, healed and restored. Lord, today we release our control over our lives and let go of those things we cling to in your place. Forgive us for placing our trust in things and people other than you and for depending on ourselves instead of you. Wash these all away in the River of your love. In Jesus' name and by your Spirit. Amen.
"Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers." Genesis 2:10 NASB
"Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar….Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded." Ezekiel 47:1, 5 NASB
"Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4:13–14 NASB
"Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.' " John 7:37–38 NASB
"Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1–2 NASB
Coming out of Darkness
By Linda Rex
This morning as I padded my way into the kitchen early in the morning, my eye was caught by a shaft of bright light on the floor. Since it was still dark, I peeked out the window to see the source of the light. All was black, but up in the night sky hung a silver moon, big, round, and glowing with white light.
I have a fondness for moonlight. Perhaps it is my romantic side that calls to me when I see a huge orange moon rise over the horizon. I have to stop and take notice—God's playing with his creation—all the colors, shapes and creatures in constant motion, taking on new forms each moment of each day.
I think it is significant that God creates such beauty for us to enjoy at night when the earth is at its darkest. For it is an excellent illustration of what God does in the midst of the darkness in our lives.
Surely all of us know the experience of having some place, some event, some experience in our lives which we don't want anyone else to know about. There are places of shame, guilt, anger, loss and grief. We keep these hidden, out of view, sometimes even hidden from ourselves. It seems to be the safest, most painless way to live.
But God woos us with the moonglow of his love in the midst of our dark places. He doesn't allow us to wallow in shame or self-pity, but calls us to bring everything out into the light of his presence. Jesus, as the Light, is now joined with us and has sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts.
We are living in the Light now, but we seem to think we can hide behind the bushes with Adam and Eve. God never meant for us to live in fear of him. He meant for us to live in a covenant relationship of love with him, moment by moment living out our human existence in his presence. All that we do is a participation in his divine life and love.
So Jesus calls us into the light of his presence and reminds us that when we are truthful about who and what we are, we will live and walk boldly with him, no matter where we are at in our journey. If indeed, we are struggling with some character flaw or relational issue, he isn't amazed or appalled. Rather, he is concerned. He wants to help. He wants us to acknowledge our dependency upon him to do the right thing in hard situations.
His calling to us is to live and walk in truth, in relationship with the Lord of all, in the light of his presence. Even if we have fallen short in some way of Christ's perfections, the truth is that Jesus stands in our place. We can come boldly before the throne of grace because it is Jesus who is there already, holding for us the grace we desperately need. He's already paved the way for us to be forgiven.
As we live in this intimacy with God through Christ in the Spirit, doing all of life in God's presence in constant conversation with him and knowing his great love for us, we find that we don't want to do anything to mar that relationship. We dread the possibility of ruining that beautiful relationship. We don't want to grieve our divine Daddy, and we don't want to insult the Spirit of grace. Our brother is so precious to us that we wouldn't dream of hurting him—no, we'd rather die first. And so we find that we begin to live out of a new center. We find that old ways of being and doing begin to fall away.
Those things we have to continue to wrestle with, we find the grace for in the midst of this ongoing relationship with God in Christ. It's not about being good enough, and it's not about being saved or not saved. That was all taken care of a long time ago in the coming of the Word in Christ. No, now it's about living in the presence of God each and every moment, and yielding to the will and work of God as he conforms us to the image of his Son.
Transformation is something God is working out in each of us. Christ is there, and the Spirit awakens us to reality that the Light of God is now present with us, in us and for us. God loves us and always will love us. He won't forsake us, but has promised himself to us forever.
This is where darkness becomes light. For surely we would, if we realized, run to the Light and not away from it. Why hide when being in the Light is so freeing and so filled with joy and peace?
Lord Jesus, you are our Light. You are the one who comes to us in the Spirit and frees us to be all that we were created to be from before time began. Thank you, Father, that in your Son we are free now to live in the light of your presence every moment of every day. Thank you for this gift of life and of love. We love you and may, dear God, our lives bring you joy every moment of every day. Through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." John 3:19–21
More Than Just a Law
by Linda Rex
A while ago I wrote a blog "The Curses and the Ten Commandments" in which I talked about our assumptions regarding the nature of God and the curses and law he gave to Israel. I believe God's intent was to call his people to a deeper way of thinking and believing that involved a relationship of covenant love with him and with one another rather than to just obey a list of do's and don't's.
In my daily readings I'm in the book of Joshua now, and in chapter 8 I came across the circumstance where Joshua and the nation of Israel actually put into effect what Moses instructed them to do at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. It is interesting that it says that they did it "just as Moses the servant of the Lord had given command at first to bless the people of Israel." (v. 33) God's intent from the beginning was to bless Israel, not to curse them. His heart toward them was love.
Here at this place the entire law was read to the people of Israel and the strangers who were among them. The law of Moses was also written on stone at this place. Was this just the Ten Commandments, or was it a summary of all the laws we find in the Torah? I guess I would need to look back into the traditions of the nation to find out the answer to that question.
But the point here is that after the long journey in the wilderness in which the older generation passed away and the new generation came across the Jordan into the Promised Land, Israel renewed their covenant relationship with God. They heard what it looks like to live in a loving relationship with God and with one another. They were told what would happen if they chose to live out of sync with who they were as God's covenant people. The new generation was called to love God and love one another as they entered into their new life in their new land.
It is instructive that this event occurred after what happened at Ai. After Israel had crossed the Jordan River, God had toppled the walls of Jericho, allowing the Israelites to completely demolish the city. The Israelites were on such a high from their success that they took off to Ai and attacked that city as well. But there was a small problem—they didn't ask God first. And so they were routed at their first attempt and suffered a humiliating defeat.
What they didn't realize was that somewhere in the midst of their nation was a person who had violated the covenant relationship. This person had insulted the God who was the nation's Warrior by taking things from Jericho which had been devoted to God, and hiding them among his personal belongings. Achan had stolen from God. Sure, it was a little thing, but God is in the little things as well as the big things. All of life is open to and revealed to the God who lives not only in heaven but who also is omnipresent—around, in and with us moment by moment.
After this issue was resolved, then God gave the nation instructions on how to attack the city of Ai. And it was defeated, just as he told them it would be. God knew that if the Israelites took on the people of Canaan on their own, they would be destroyed. But in relationship with him, no one could defeat them. He was committed to their success, not their failure. But only as they participated in his plan for their lives. Only as they lived in loving relationship with him.
It seems pretty gruesome to us today to think that God would instruct one nation to destroy another nation. But he had his reasons and that's food for an entirely different discussion. Israel had a reason for her existence—to be the womb of the Messiah, and there were things that had to be done to prepare the way for the events of that sacred Bethlehem night when Jesus was born. All these people who lived and died were taken up in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus our Messiah—so God made it all right in the end.
The key thought here is though, God doesn't exist in a vacuum somewhere out in space or up in heaven, isolated from us as human beings. True, he is transcendent—completely other than we are, and we only know his immanence or nearness as he chooses to reveal himself to us. But he also chooses to be in relationship with us as human beings. He chooses to relate to us one on one. And he proved this by coming and existing in our humanity as the man Jesus Christ.
We are often so busy living our lives, doing what we do to survive, that we don't stop and sit in the stillness with God. We don't sense God in the quiet and in the active moments of our lives where he is truly present all the time. We, who were created to live in relationship with God and were given that relationship freely through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, live as though God doesn't exist. But he does—and we would know it, if we would just make room for him in our hearts and lives.
So, perhaps, like the Israelites, we need to take the time to sit and listen to the words of love God has for us in his Word and by his Spirit. Perhaps we need to climb up on our divine Daddy's knees and nestle against his chest and feel his divine Breath against our cheek.
Maybe we need to sense his presence with us as we mow the lawn and close that business deal. Just possibly, we might realize he's smiling too as we see our child score the winning goal for the soccer team. For he loves each and every one of us and he waits with open arms to embrace us and hold us close anytime we choose to run to him. Maybe even now would be a good time to begin this new way of living life—in close companionship with the One who loves us with a never ending love.
Our heavenly Dad, who not only lives in eternity but is also present in us, with us and for us at each moment, thank you for your great unfailing love. Remind each of us today how much you love us. Show us that we are precious in your sight. Teach us how to create room for you in our lives and hearts. We want to participate in all that you are doing—to share life with you now and forever through Jesus Christ and in the Spirit. Amen.
"He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel. All Israel with their elders and officers and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had given command at first to bless the people of Israel." Joshua 8:32-33 NASB


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The Peugeot RCZ
The Peugeot RCZ will be Peugeot's first car which does not use the usual zero or double zero numbering system.
Just two years after the concept car was first shown, the RCZ will be revealed for the first time to the public in its final form at the 63rd Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
The exceptional levels of interest expressed at the 2007 Motor Show convinced Peugeot that they had to turn this concept car into a commercial reality. Peugeot's stylists and engineers worked together to ensure that the final production vehicle was fully in keeping with the expectations created by the exterior styling of the concept car.
The first wish had always been to keep the purity of the original concept's styling, but also to ensure that the car would drive as well as it looks. In fact, some very ambitious targets were set in terms of driving dynamics and build quality, in order to give the car its own extremely strong identity.
The objective behind this compact 2+2 Coupé is for it to become an exclusive vehicle, full of emotion, aimed at enthusiasts who are particularly discerning with regards to driving enjoyment.
The choice of the name, RCZ, will be Peugeot's first car which does not use the usual zero or double zero numbering system.
The RCZ will go on sale in Spring 2010.
Find a new car now

subset: commoncrawl


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Doodly! The World's Most Powerful, Yet Simple-To-Use Doodle Video Creator Create Whiteboard, Blackboard, or the all-new Glassboard videos in seconds! Just Some Of The Awesome Things That Make Doodly The Most Widely Used Doodle Video Software On The Planet... Summary: Doodly is a program for creating whiteboard videos through a drag-and-drop interface. The final product appears to be filmed as if someone had drawn the whole thing by hand. Some people refer to this as an "explainer" video, as they're frequently used to produce videos on products, education topics, or for business training.
Social Media Tools That We RecommendFPTraffic Learn how to build, grow, and monetize Facebook Pages with the tools and information provided by FPTraffic.com! FPTraffic currently manages over a BILLION Facebook Page Likes. Find and Schedule Photos with a CLICK! Use FPTraffic to easily find, schedule, and post content on your Facebook Pages. Facebook has a scheduling tool, but with FPTraffic you simply create your schedule and then search through all our photo sources for content related to your Pages. When you find a photo you want to post to your Page, click on it and it'll automatically be added to your queue. FPTraffic is the best and quickest tool to find and schedule content to be posted to your Facebook Pages!
Valet The tools and strategy you need to grow your Twitter reach with active and engaged followers. The "Copy Followers" strategy is one of the keys to growing your Twitter accounts with Rewst. We make it as easy as possible to find the users that are going to be most interested and engaged with your content.
Rewst- Twitter Marketing Tool The tools and strategy you need to grow your Twitter reach with active and engaged followers. The "Copy Followers" strategy is one of the keys to growing your Twitter accounts with Rewst. We make it as easy as possible to find the users that are going to be most interested and engaged with your content.
Tracking, Email Marketing And SEO research Tool For YouClickMeter is a complete and definitive tool that allows you to manage redirection, track events and monitor the status of all your external links (traffic sources). ClickMeter allows marketing agencies and professionals to create and manage more effective online campaigns. It allows you to understand which one of your marketing/media channels or ads are most effective and provide the most value. It is a web-based marketing tool. This service has FREE plan to track up to 100 tracking links and up to 1000 events every month.
FlutterMail Email Marketing for small businesses. The fastest and easiest way to send beautiful emails and profit from the results. It's Made for Everyone. From web entrepreneurs to high street stores, gyms to non-profits, if you need to send emails we have you covered. Email Design is Easy. Our templates take the effort out of email design. You'll likely pay a lot less than with our competitors. We don't think large lists should be penalised. Growing Your Lists is Easy. Add a subscribe box on your website and get new subscribers joining 24/7. Send automatic emails to keep them interested. There's Nothing to Download. We're entirely web based. Everything is cloud-hosted on a fast and reliable network in the USA. You Can See Who's Reading. Within seconds after sending you can see who's opening your emails and clicking on your links. Very addictive to watch!
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Affiloblueprint is basically a collection of hundreds and hundreds of videos, which will be covering a wide range of topics ranging from building a website, writing content and ranking it as well. This course will be showing you exactly how Mark Ling built his own affiliate website completely from scratch and you can also follow all those guidelines in the videos and can create your own website as well. Moreover, to add up the value, each video lesson will also have some homework which has to be done by you. To be honest, the videos are excellent, quite easy to understand and to follow as wel. Recommended for affiliate marketing.
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Versace For H&M Jacket Worn By Kanye West & Swizz Beatz On eBay
While the Versace for H&M collection continues to rack up celebrity admirers, the price for pieces from the collection continues to rise.
As previously reported, the collection has gotten attention in Hip-Hop from celebs including Nicki Minaj who performed alongside Prince at the collection's NY launch.
Now with the products officially in stores nationwide, sellers are rushing to Ebay to profit off the popular collection.
Most recently a jacket worn by both Kanye West and Swizz Beatz has appeared on the online seller site.
And while it retails in stores for $129, it can be found online for $799.99.
The jacket features multi-colored leopard print and was worn by Ye during the Victoria's Secret Fashion show.
Check out Ye and Swizzy's Versace for H&M jacket below.
Is it worth $800?


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Browse Therapist Directory
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Hiring a therapist who specializes in paranoia is a strong stepping stone. The patient must learn first to trust the therapist and understand that the therapist is there to help them, and not cause emotional harm. It is commonly noted that cognitive behavioral therapy is often used to treat paranoia, because this type of therapy allows both the patient and the therapist to closely examine and address any behaviors that are linking the paranoid thinking and behavior. Individuals can work on their own to address paranoia by making lifestyle changes that will improve well-being and personal behaviors. When paranoia has symptoms like nausea, headaches and increased heart rates, medications may also be a good option. The patient?s paranoia therapist can help them will all these options and a success plan that will guide them into a more relaxed state of mind.
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SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The city school district has released the names of its two finalists for the principal's position at Shaker High School, with plans to announce the new hire on or around May 10.
Those finalists, who will have separate full-day visits with interviews and "meet-and-greet" sessions with the public, are:
• Eric R. Juli, who has been the head of the Design Lab Early College High School in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District since 2011.
• Patrick D. McNichols, the principal at Roxboro Middle School in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District since 2010, with a year (2016-17) at Monticello Middle to install the International Baccalaureate Programme.
Both meet-and-greet sessions will be held in the high school's upper cafeteria from 5 to 6 p.m., with Juli's final interview and full-day visit to the district on Monday (April 29). The district will then host McNichols on Wednesday (May 1).
Those sessions will be videotaped and posted on www.shaker.org by Friday (May 3), and an electronic form will be provided for community feedback.
Prior to joining the Cleveland Metropolitan Schools, Juli worked for the Lawrence Public Schools in Massachusetts, including four years as the director of secondary curriculum.
Juli's resume also includes his educational background, with a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Syracuse University with a minor in education, then a master's degree in education and policy analysis, as well as certification, from Stanford University.
According to his resume, McNichols served as the principal of the Pride School at Heights High from 2008-2010 and in similar capacities in the Cleveland Metropolitan and Lakewood school districts.
McNichols -- currently at the combined CH-UH middle school housed in the Wiley building "swing space" while renovations are completed at Monticello and Roxboro -- has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University.
He earned his master's degree in history, as well as teaching and administrative certifications, from Cleveland State University.
The position will need to be filled once interim Shaker High Principal David Glasner takes over on July 1 as the district's superintendent for the 2019-2020 school year.
Glasner, who became the district's executive director of curriculum and instruction last July after serving as the Shaker Middle School principal for four years, stepped in at the high school amid controversy in November.
He was assigned to the high school after his predecessor, Jonathan Kuehnle, the Shaker High principal since July 2016, was placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of a review into a number of staffing issues.
Status updates on those cases were unavailable Thursday (April 25), but they included the handling of recent student complaints about longtime honors English teacher Jody Podl, who was placed on administrative leave in October.
District officials claimed Podl was cleared to return to work on Nov. 7, although this entailed meeting with students, parents and a facilitator in the Administration Building, and she subsequently announced about a week later that she was taking a medical leave.
Interim Superintendent Stephen Wilkins wound up apologizing to impacted students and their families shortly thereafter, as the Shaker Heights Teachers' Association filed a series of grievances.
There was also the departure of head football coach Jarvis Gibson after eight years, reportedly over criminal convictions against one of his assistants, who was working last season as a volunteer, according to the student newspaper, The Shakerite.
And after 23 years, varsity cheerleading coach Vikki Long, along with an assistant, resigned last October after allegations of "body shaming" a cheerleader who had requested a larger uniform.
Wilkins, formerly the assistant superintendent of business operations and human resources, will have served for one year as the interim superintendent following the departure of Gregory Hutchings, who returned after five years to Alexandria, Va., to take over as superintendent there.
Read more news from the Sun Press here.


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A national monument and one of the oldest houses in Swellendam, our beautiful Victorian bed & breakfast – right on the Garden Route – radiates an old-world charm and rustic elegance that has made it famous the world over.
Your hosts Stephen and Jackie offer a unique experience of 5 Star Garden Route guest house accommodation, including…
- Unrivalled hospitality
- Elegant hand-crafted furnishings
- Understated luxury
- An emphasis on genuine personal service and guest satisfaction
- Free Wi-Fi
- Superb value room rates from R685 pppn
- Probably the best breakfast in South Africa (don't just take our word for it)
- The latest guest comments we've received include: "This really was exceptional. No wonder people return year after year!"and "Fabulous place – gorgeous rooms – excellent local restaurants – shame we couldn't stay longer… next time " See all guest comments.
- Yoga and Wellness Retreats – highly praised, as you can see in this glowing review
- Treat yourself at The Bo Tree Salon – state of the art equipment highly qualified therapists
The Hideaway bed & breakfast on the Garden Route has a long tradition of excellent service, luxurious accommodation and wonderful food.
Jackie and Stephen are committed to maintaining and improving this heritage and are proud of what our guests (many of whom return year after year) have to say about us.
And don't worry – just because we have 5 stars doesn't mean we charge the earth. Take a look at our current rates, alongside our value add-ons. We're sure you'll be very pleasantly surprised.
Welcome to the Hideaway Garden Route bed & breakfast, we can't wait to greet you…
10 Hermanus Steyn St, Swellendam, 6740, South Africa


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Here is what you need to know.
Stocks are at all-time highs.Thursday's gain of 0.6% across the board ran all three of the major averages into record territory. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.1% near 2,311.
Trump changes his tune on the 'One China' policy. In his first phone call as president with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said that he would honour the policy that China and Taiwan both belong to a single country.
Trump's border wall would reportedly cost $21.6 billion. The wall would be built in sections and take more than three years to complete, Reuters reports, citing a US Department of Homeland Security internal report.
China's January trade data blew away expectations. Exports climbed 7.9% in US dollar terms while imports jumped 16.7%, making for a trade surplus of $51.35 billion, the highest since January 2016. The data may be impacted by distortions from the Lunar New Year holiday.
The eurozone and IMF have reached a common stance on Greece. Details of the agreement are unclear, and are being presented to Greece on Friday, Reuters reports. Greece's 2-year yield is down 130 basis points at 8.28%%.
British industry had a blowout December. Industrial production in the UK climbed 4.3% versus a year ago in December, well ahead of the 3.2% growth that economists had forecast, according to data released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics.
Oil is rallying on OPEC. West Texas Intermediate crude oil is higher by 0.9% at $53.46 per barrel after data released by the International Energy Agency showed a record high 90% compliance to the OPEC output deal in the first month, Reuters reports.
Investment in the marijuana industry isn't slowing down under Trump. Industry executives who spoke to Business Insider said they hope Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has been outspoken against legalizing marijuana, will focus his attention on Trump's priorities, like overhauling immigration, rather than picking a fight with legal marijuana.
Yelp is plunging after its revenue outlook misses. Shares sank as much as 11% after Thursday's closing bell when the company announced its first-quarter revenue would be in a range of $195 million to $199 million, below the $204.4 million that was expected by the Bloomberg consensus.
US economic data flows. University of Michigan consumer confidence will be released at 10 a.m. ET and the Baker Hughes rig count will cross the wires at 1 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is higher by 2 basis points at 2.41%.
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