FUMC Ventura

Thursday, March 1st, 2007

Today's Focus: Christ's way
Today's Prayer Focus: Continued support
Today's Scripture: John 14:1-7* (NRSV)

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

I am currently in a Continuing Education experience. This experience has been a wonderful experience. It tries to teach and train us to become competent leaders in this ever changing diverse world.

I have been involved in multicultural dialogues before. When I was part of the Taiwanese American ministry, I have sat in and participated in the bi-generational dialogue where the immigrant generation and the American born generation attempt to talk to each other in honest ways.

However, each time I attend these dialogue, I have felt that we were talking over each other's heads, not understanding exactly what they other is feeling.

I am at a stage in my life where I have almost given up my desire to be part of that community of faith. However, I have not given up fully. This is because there has been quite a burden on my heart because I am Taiwanese American. This passage that we're reading today reminds me of my burden and reminds me of Christ's willingness to share my burden. I thank God for that.

Jimmy's Prayer; Continue to show my thy presence O God, and lead not me astray. Amen.

Tuesday, March 6th, 2007

Today's Focus Question: What does this passage teach us about the love of God?
Today's Prayer Focus:
Today's Scripture: Isaiah 55:6-13 (NRSV)

Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

The first image that comes to mind to me is the image of rainy day. I see rainy days as days of renewal where old is washed away and a new life is born.

I believe what the passage is trying to say to me in regards to this image is that whenever God's love is poured out towards us, there's a sense of renewal in our lives. I believe that if we're really accepting of God's renewing spirit, every time that we receive the rain, we will be renewed and our ways will change for the better.

All of us have something in our lives that we can change, every one of us can use God's renewing spirit once in a while. The Good News is that the Love of God can transform our weaknesses into strength, and our shortcomings into a new thing.

I've shared this with a number of people that I have come across, a few know that whenever I am due to preach, I get very very nervous. I cough extensively because I am so nervous. However, the sense of renewal comes after I take a deep breath when I first reach the pulpit. I can just feel it whenever I get up there. The same sense is given us when we ask for God's renewing spirit.

Jimmy's Prayer: Continue to renew me Oh Lord, so I can be a better servant for you. Amen

Wednesday, March 7th, 2007

Today's Focus Question: What does this passage teach you about the Kingdom of God?
Today's Prayer Focus: Pray for a sense of stability
Today's Scripture: Luke 12:22-32 (NRSV)

He said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you--you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

The first image that comes up when I read this passage was the image in the movie, Harry Potter. Remember the banquet hall where all the students at Hogwart were sitting and eating. And when Dumbledore claped his hands, all the food appeared and the kids all dug into the food.

That's what I believe it is to be like in the kingdom of God. Where all things are provided and all things are great. But sometimes, this image can become a fantasy to us. We may not be able to see it in the lives that we're living. That is when our faith in God's faith comes.

I believe God is teaching me today that despite the number of times that I do not see this image of abundance in my life, it doesn't mean that I am no longer within the Kingdom of God. It just means that circumstances have led me to be blind from it.

Jimmy's Prayer: Continue to open my eyes, oh Lord, so I can see the many blessings that you have given me in my life. Amen.

Thursday, March 8th, 2007

Today's Focus Question: What does this passage say to you about the love of God?
Today's Prayer Focus: Loving others.
Today's Scripture: 1 John 4:7-12 (NRSV)

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

The first image that comes to mind when I read this passage is the image of fog. Living in Ventura like I do, I see fog very often. The fog would come from the ocean and cover the air like a blanket.

The reason for this is that I see God's love as being a blanket for our air. God's love encompasses me so completely that it starts to transform my love towards others. When I start to realize how great God's love is for me, my love towards changes. I will realize that I need to be less judgemental and more forgiving.

That's what God's calling me to be today. To be less judgemental and be more loving. I invite you to do the same.

Jimmy's Prayer: Thank you God, for being loving to us. I pray that you will continue to remind me to love others as I do for myself. Amen.

Friday, March 9th, 2007

Today's Focus Question: What does this passage teach us about the voice of God?
Today's Prayer Focus: Listen carefully.
Today's Scripture: 1 Kings 19:4-12 (NRSV)

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.

Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."

He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

The first image that comes to mind when I read this passage is the image of a great wind. Living in California, and as one travels through the "grapevine" a lot, I have felt the great wind whenever I pass through the grapevine. It is frightening.

I believe that the voice of God can be the same way. The voice of God is frightening sometimes. It sometimes comes at a time when we least expected. We may be surprised by the voice of God. I remember many times in my life when the voice of God came and I said "woah, what was that?" God's voice can be frightening and loud.

However, there are those times when God's voice can not be heard unless there is silence. Most of the prayers that I have heard from my parishioners center around, "Where is God, and how can I hear God better?" We live in a busy world, and sometimes, the voice of God can be hard to hear.

This passage teaches me that I need to be quiet in order to hear the voice of God. I need to give myself some time through out the day to listen, and to reflect. This is harder than I think, so I have to be intentional about it.

Jimmy's Prayer: Oh God, please help me listen more carefully. I thank you for trying to reach me no matter where I am. Amen.

Monday, March 19th

Today's Focus Question: How does this passage inform you about the love of God?
Today's Prayer Focus: Being loving so that our children can be.
Today's Scripture: 2 John 1-6 (NRSV)

The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, in truth and love.

I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning--you must walk in it.

The first image that jumps out at me when I read this passage is the image that a mother is doing something that shows love to the world. She is partcipating in a local homeless shelter, caring for the homeless while her children is next to her, watching her and smiling.

The love of God, I believe, is shown by one of us who have been touched by the same love shares it with another. Yet, how is this passed on? I saw a video on small group ministry this past week and I was deeply touched that one of the message in there was the fact that we can best demonstrate for our children our faith and our love by doing it, not talking about it. I have great hope for my daughter, yet, at the same time, this hope must also transform myself into a more loving and gentle person to others in the world.

That is what God is calling me to do today. I hope I can live up to the great expectation that my daughter has for me.

Jimmy's Prayer: Help me O God, to be a good father by showing your love to others. Amen.

Tuesday, March 20th, 2007

Today's Focus Question: 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 (NRSV)
Today's Prayer Focus:
Today's Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 (NRSV)

But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived,what God has prepared for those who love him"-- these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God's except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else's scrutiny. "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

The first image that comes to mind for me when I read this passage is a person, presumably Christian, donning a cross in his left hand and a bible in his right hand, shouting out to the world, "repent now, for God has forgiven you and given you the Spirit. If you repent, you will have the spirit "so that you may understand the gifts bestowed on you by God!""

The reason I have image in mind is so often on television and in mass media, the main message of Christianity is "I have it, and you don't." I cringe everytime I see that. And sometimes, I catch myself saying that, "Well, that person is not Christian, so that's why he, or she, doesn't get it." What do we, Christians, really get?

Yes, the letter tells us that when we receive the spirit of God, we will be able to discern the gift of God in our lives. These gifts, I believe, are from God, and therefore, used for God. Thus, I find it very ironic if I start to display this and broadcast this in order others see that I have it, and they do not. When I do that, these "gifts" that I "have," are no longer God's, but they are mine. Thus, the gifts cease to be the gift of God.

I believe God is challenging me today to think of my gifts as gifts, but not my gifts as mine. Give all the glory to God.

Jimmy's Prayer" Teach me to glorify you with gifts that you have given me, O God. Amen.

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007

Today's Focus Question: What does this passage inform you about the call that you have from God?
Today's Prayer Focus: Keep at it.
Today's Scripture: Exodus 3:1-4:17 (NRSV)

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain."

But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you':

This is my name forever,and this my title for all generations.

Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.' They will listen to your voice; and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; let us now go a three days' journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.' I know, however, that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go. I will bring this people into such favor with the Egyptians that, when you go, you will not go empty-handed; each woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman living in the neighbor's house for jewelry of silver and of gold, and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; and so you shall plunder the Egyptians."

Then Moses answered, "But suppose they do not believe me or listen to me, but say, 'The LORD did not appear to you.'" The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A staff." And he said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw the staff on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses drew back from it. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out your hand, and seize it by the tail"--so he reached out his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand-- "so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

Again, the LORD said to him, "Put your hand inside your cloak." He put his hand into his cloak; and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. Then God said, "Put your hand back into your cloak"--so he put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored like the rest of his body-- "If they will not believe you or heed the first sign, they may believe the second sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or heed you, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground."

But Moses said to the LORD, "O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." Then the LORD said to him, "Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak." But he said, "O my Lord, please send someone else." Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, "What of your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he can speak fluently; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. He indeed shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him. Take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs."

The first image that comes to mind when I read this passage is Moses trying to convince God that he isn't good enough. I could see how Moses' arms are flailing, his eyes avoiding God's gaze, trying to get out of a major event.

I received my call to become a minister when I was a Junior in college. Back then, I did some arm flailing, some eye contact avoiding, and even excuse making. After a while, I just thought, well, forget this, I'll just say yes and God won't bug me anymore.

Lo and behold, ten plus years later, I am still doing some arm flailing, some eye contact avoiding, and even excuse making. It's no longer about whether or not I am going to become a pastor, but it's rather trying to do something that God wants me to do instead of something that I want to do.

Moses has it all planned out, he wanted to sit where he is, do what he needs to do to be a shepherd, a nice home in the suburbs and no one would bother him. But God has other plans.

God is inviting me today to make sure that I keep my antennas wide open, to realize that sometimes in my life, God will call me to do something else besides what I am planning to do.

Jimmy's Prayer: Oh God, remind me to continue to listen for your voice and keep listening so that I can do your will. Amen.

Thursday, March 22nd, 2007

Today's Focus Question: What does this passage teach you about the Faith of God?
Today's Prayer Focus: Trust.
Today's Scripture: John 2:1-11 (NRSV)

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The first image that comes to mind when I read this passage is when I was younger, my mother would host dinner parties. She would be slaving over the kitchen and worrying that the food on the table would not be enough. She would sometimes ask us a number of times to see if we thought the food was enough. Looking back at it, it makes me chuckle a bit because the food that she prepared were more than we've ever seen in our regular meals, so of course, we're always saying, Yeah Mom, plenty!

This passage leads me to think about faith. But not my faith, but the faith of God. The steadfast faith of God that in all circumstances, celebration or otherwise, God will always be there. Jesus was at the celebration, in fact, he was so into this celebration that only a handful of people knew EXACTLY who he was. The people who were there at the wedding had no idea that he was the Messiah, he was God-incarnate.

Then, he performed the miracle. Yet, to the celebrants still, they did not know it WAS a miracle. Instead, they thought that it was the hosts who played a trick on them.

So often in our lifetime, we do not see God's working in our lives that we think God is not there. Instead, God is there, we just don't see God. God's doing little miracles in our lives that we do not see and do not realize. The faith of God is always there in the midst of our days.

This passage teaches me to change from being doubtful to being trusting, despite what I feel or see.

Jimmy's Prayer: Teach me, Oh Lord, to trust in your faith no matter what the circumstances of life may be. Amen.

Wednesday, March 28th, 2007

Today's Focus Question: What does this passage inform you about the ministry of God?
Today's Prayer Focus: Openmindedness.
Today's Scripture: Luke 9:1-6 (NRSV)

Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money--not even an extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them." They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

The first image that comes to mind when I read this passage was an image of a butterfly, going from flower to flower, leaving a trail of pollen. I do not know why this image popped up, but it did. However, it did take me to a thought that no matter where I go as an individual, if I had done anything at all, I will leave a mark in that community, or with a person.

The literal meaning of this current passage is not very appropriate, I believe in our time. I do not think I can just take off somewhere with nothing on me except for the clothes on my back, and expect to come back or go anywhere at all. It is just not practical. However, the question that is asked of me is whether or not I have left a mark with the community that I have been at.

Today's focus question, what does this passage inform me about the ministry of God? The ministry of God is a complex ministry that is different from community to community. The metaphorical message is that whatever we have taken away from the last community that we have been may not be applicable to the new community that we are at right now. Thus, God invites me to go into a community with nothing in my baggage, but be ready to receive whatever is given to me and shown to me in that community. That is what God is calling me to do today.

Jimmy's Prayer: Help me to be openminded, O God, so that I can receive whatever is given me anew each and everyday. Amen.

Friday, March 30th, 2007

Today's Focus Question: How does this passage affirm your sense of forgiveness?
Today's Prayer Focus: Forgiving heart.
Today's Scripture: Luke 7:36-50 (NRSV)

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him--that she is a sinner." Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he replied, "speak." "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?" Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly." Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

The first image that comes to mind is the image that my daughter, who is little more than 2 years old would do when she knew she did something wrong. She would snuggle up to either me or my wife (which she normally would not do for more than 2 seconds), and stay there until our anger have past. For some reason, it always works.

Although I understand that children that age do not understand the meaning of true repentance yet, but she does understand the meaning of being forgiven. We are no longer mad at her and snuggles with her.

Jesus forgave this woman, how? She defended her against her adversaries, those who put her down for who she was. Jesus' anger did not overstep the boundary of putting down the sinner. Sometimes, as I go through life, I catch myself condemning the sinner as suppose to condemning the sin. A true forgiveness means that I have to now defend the sinner against his or her adversary against his or her accusers. This is very hard to do.

I believe God is inviting me to do so today. To act like how Jesus acted to this woman.

Jimmy's Prayer: Oh God, help me to calm my prejudice against others. Help me be forgiving towards others as I have been forgiven by you. Amen.