Inspired by Scholastica

                                                  New Bible Series When I went to grade school, we had a Bible History class, and often dramatized the stories. It made it more interesting than just reading from the Bible. Now a new television series called The Chosen has become very popular among Christians. It tells the stories from the Bible in a modern way with professional actors and modern script. It is a series about the life and ministry of Jesus and his apostles.   It is set in first century Judea and Galilee and was created and directed by filmmaker Dallas Jenkins. The Chosen makes the biblical characters very real and believable. It embellishes the stories in the Bible, yet remains true to the original translation. My favorite character is Matthew who is depicted as a dedicated young man who is disowned by his father for becoming a Christian and following Jesus. He has a hard time fitting in with the other apostles, probably because he was formerly a tax collector.

  Learning to Listen I recently read an article about listening and love. It emphasized that you cannot love another person unless you listen to them. It is a listening without judging, without evaluating, without telling the other person what he or she should do. Real listening is giving the other person attention, care, and understanding. It is not having our own agenda, but really listening to their needs. This takes time and energy. Most of us are so quick to say I know what you mean. I have felt that way myself.   Worse still is telling the other he or she shouldn’t feel that way. Each of us is unique and has protective coverings.   We only open ourselves to people who show honest concern. Really listening to someone is a rarity in this age of instant messages and immediate answers. We are used to switching from one idea to another without much attention. That makes intent listening all the more difficult. People pay over $100 an hour to have someone like a counselor or the

  The Gap-Filler Our love is always inadequate, never full or complete enough, but God fills in the gaps. We want to love God totally without any reservations, but we always fall short. As we start another year, I want to think this year I’ll do better, pray more, give of myself more, come closer to what I want to be. Then laziness creeps in, and excuses, and failures. I have to remind myself that God does not expect perfection. He can take our small efforts and magnify them, fill in the gaps. Just as a child learning to walk, with a few mishaps and falls, we are all toddlers in the spiritual life. Sometimes it’s two steps forward and one step back.   God is always there to assist us, to guide us, to pick us up when we fall. We, of course, have to show a willingness to grow, to reach out. We need to really place ourselves in God’s hands and ask for his guidance and forgiveness. God always listens to our longings and reassures us when we are afraid. He often does this through oth