{"id":3125,"date":"2019-09-12T05:56:53","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T11:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/?p=3125"},"modified":"2019-09-10T09:09:49","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T15:09:49","slug":"bless-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/?p=3125","title":{"rendered":"bless"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Our friends started calling me Clark Griswold during this past summer\u2019s trip to Israel. Chevy Chase played the character in the old <em>Vacation<\/em> movies, but surely I\u2019m not in his category&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>It is true though: if you make one or two mistakes along the way, you gain a reputation. Directions are not my strength and quick decisions sometimes get me in trouble. On our second day in Israel, searching for a lunch spot during a drive from Tel Aviv to Caesarea, I made an improper turn that resulted in us going the wrong direction on a one-way curve. Four ladies in the first car we met pointed and yelled unintelligible words as I tried to pull the car as far to the right of the road as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Unable to retreat, I continued slowly around the curve and met a Barbara Streisand look-alike driving an expensive car. As she braked and started to shout, I lowered my window and mouthed: \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u2026\u201d The kind lady smiled, put her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, bowed her head slightly, and blessed me.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, I found a way off the road\u2026 but the damage to my image as a good driver was done. The Wilsons laughed uncontrollably in the back seat, but Susan was not amused. We quickly found a place to eat and I tried to change the subject.<\/p>\n<p>Why did Jesus teach us to bless rather than curse (even the ones who deserved cursing)? He wants us all to reflect our Father\u2026 who constantly blesses. On the road, I was in the wrong and deserved to be reprimanded (or even arrested), but the kind blessing of a stranger administered forgiveness. \u201cI did not come to condemn the world, but to save it,\u201d our humble Savior said.<\/p>\n<p>In a world full of lawsuits, retaliation, cursing, and violence, Jesus says: \u201cShow the Father. He is patient and kind and full of mercy. Bless those who don\u2019t deserve it; smile at those who scowl; love those who hate; be like the One who can set the prisoners free.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you\u2026 Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.\u201d Luke 6:27-36<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLove must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another before yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord\u2019s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.\u201d Romans 12:9-15<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our friends started calling me Clark Griswold during this past summer\u2019s trip to Israel. Chevy Chase played the character in the old Vacation movies, but surely I\u2019m not in his category&#8230; It is true though: if you make one or two mistakes along the way, you gain a reputation. Directions are not my strength and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3125"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3128,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3125\/revisions\/3128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}