Bible Study for the 20th Week in Ordinary time

This week’s memory verse: But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. — Acts 20:24

Pray the week: Lord, grant me the gift of perseverance. Help me to keep my eyes on You, not to look back, not to quit.

Reflection for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2016

Run, compete, and
do not quit.

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.

One thing you learn in Olympic competitions is that you never look back or across at you opponent during a race. You don’t do it on the track or in the pool. Doing so slows you down, it takes those few milliseconds off your timing and you end up losing.

In the world of sports, particularly like Olympic wrestling, if you are in great pain or can’t take it any more you can tap out. When someone taps out, they are surrendering to their opponent. They are throwing in the towel, they are giving up, and they are quitting the fight. They are saying you win, its over, I’m done, it’s finished.

These competitions are nothing compared to the battle Jesus waged on a daily basis. The writer of Hebrews tells us that if we are struggling and thinking about throwing in the towel, look at Jesus as the greatest example of someone who didn’t quit when the battle was hot, and his foes multiplied.

When we are faced with struggles we need to realize that throughout Scripture we see examples of people who tapped out. Adam and Eve had only one chance at tapping out to temptation – and they took that road. Noah did it with alcohol. Abraham did it out of fear. David did it when he gave into lust. Judas decided money was more important than God. Peter thought denial was the better choice. The crowd found Jesus’ word too hard and quit.

All though history and in our lives we tap out. The record of humanity is a horrible record of failure and tapping out.

But that isn’t the only the thing the Bible, or history, or our lives tell us. From Adam and Eve forward, right alongside every tap out and failure, God gave us His promise: Help is on the way. That promise of help was fulfilled in Jesus. Know that even before trouble comes, help is already worked out.

The thing about Jesus is His humanity. We can really be like Him. We can live as He lived. Look at all He faced and He didn’t tap out. The writer of Hebrews tells us He didn’t tap out even in taking up His cross.

Those who believe in Jesus, who follow Him – His saints too – the great cloud of witnesses figured that out. They too, once they found Him, refused to tap out. It is because of the joy we have – the great promise – that we must run without looking back and wrestle without tapping out.

Latest Job Postings as of August 11, 2016

Schenectady County Community College – current job opportunities

Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority – Maintenance Mechanic

The Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority has an opening for a dependable, hardworking person with an excellent performance and attendance record to be responsible for maintenance and repair for specified sites/buildings and upkeep of grounds.

40 hour work week @ $21.56/hour

The job responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Performs skilled repair and maintenance plumbing, carpentry and electrical tasks for buildings, apartments and equipment/small engines; Performs other tasks, such as masonry, roofing and locksmithing; Replaces/repairs wood and tile flooring, walkways and steps; Performs grounds keeping functions, such as mowing, weed cutting, snow removal and grounds cleanup; Replaces/repairs windows, doors, railings and ceilings; Unclogs sewers; Assists in apartment clean outs; Performs minor repairs on appliances and boilers; Handles on-call assignments after hours to perform repairs and other emergency maintenance functions; Uses a variety of manual and power tools.

Requirements: High school diploma or equivalent with at least 2 years’ experience in large scale building maintenance work. Must possess a valid driver’s license and clean driving history. Candidate must take the required Civil Service test when offered and score in the Top 3 in order to retain the position. Qualified applicants should submit a résumé by August 30, 2016 to:

SMHA
Att: Human Resources
375 Broadway
Schenectady, NY 12305

You may also fax your resume to 518-372-0812 or E-mail it.

Schenectady Community Action Program – Community Resource Navigator/Outreach Specialist.

Duties: Conduct comprehensive, efficient, and sensitive intake and assessment to customers, triage crisis needs and act as an advocate for customers with community based agencies, government agencies and others, modeling appropriate communication methods and successfully assist customers to obtain benefits and assistance to ameliorate the crisis. Conduct timely, efficient and active internal and external referral processes to alleviate crisis. Follow up timely on all referrals and document outcomes, determining appropriate next steps and appropriateness of referred services. Provide short term case management and ensure support so customer’s crisis is ameliorated for a minimum of 90 days. Refer customer to long term case management, utilizing in-house resources first. Timely documentation of outcomes.

Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services or related field with a minimum of 2 years of additional experience in the direct field of crisis intervention. Master’s Degree preferred. Knowledge of community based services, public assistance and other community resources and demonstrated skills in accessing these services appropriately. Must have the ability to learn quickly the resources available in Schenectady County, and be able to appropriately refer in-house working with other program support staff to ensure full access to SCAP’s services. Two (2) years’ experience providing related services to families and individuals. Sensitive to the needs of low-income and minority populations. Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills.

United States – State Department – Diplomacy Fellows Program

The State Department is currently accepting applications for the 2016 Diplomacy Fellows Program. Visit USAJOBS.gov to read the vacancy announcement and to start the online application process. Please note that the deadline to submit completed applications is August 31, 2016.

For more job opportunities look at those listed in our sidebar —–>

Bible Study for the 19th Week in Ordinary Time 2016

This week’s memory verse: But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. — Isaiah 40:31

Pray the week: Lord, your judgment is just and righteous. Grant that I may be prepared for Your return, expectant and faithful.

Reflection for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2016

Prepare, expect and
live it out.

And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.”

In an Ameritrades commercial a lazy husband is on the coach as his wife tells him to do one thing that day – establish an online investment account. He says, “Sure.” Then goes back to watching television. Finally he falls asleep only to wake up as his wife is pulling into the driveway. He jumps to his feet, rushes to the computer and opens an account in seconds. He jumps back on the coach as his wife walks in and asks: ‘Did you set up the account?’ His reply, ‘Of Course.’

It may be possible to wait till the last possible moment to establish an Ameritrades account, but there are some things that are far too important to take a chance on. It is like our athletes in Rio. To be ready to compete they had to train – years of training and lesser competitions just for this moment. They took no chances. So too for our relationship to God, we cannot wait and just take a chance on being ready. We must prepare ourselves and be ready for the moment – whether it be His calling us home or His glorious return. Would the loss of heaven be worth the risk of ignoring preparation?

Jesus spoke often of his return. There are over 260 chapters in the New Testament, and Christ return is mentioned at least 318 times.

In today’s gospel we find the first extended teaching on the Second Coming of Jesus and here He warns us to be ready. To prepare! Today we hear about three distinct characteristics of a “good waiter.” For us, waiting must not be a static state but a time of preparation, expectation, and faithfulness.

The first characteristic of a “good waiter” is preparation. As our athletes prepare not just their bodies but their equipment as well, we are reminded to “be dressed and ready.” Jesus’ servants are those who do not give in to the fatigue or frustration of waiting. Rather we are to keep ourselves joyfully ready no matter how long it takes.

The second characteristic of a “good waiter” is expectancy. No matter the time, Jesus’ servants have not given up on His return; have not said that it is so long that He’ll never come. The time of the Lord’s return is not our major concern. What is important is that we remain alert, expectant, and that we do not grow lazy in living our witness.

The third characteristic of a “good waiter” is faithfulness. The faithful one who stood ready is rewarded. The one who is not faithful is fearfully punished – that is Jesus promise. Too often we lose sight of that, as if heaven is a given no matter what. As with our athletes, the unprepared, the unfaithful, the one that doesn’t walk the walk will be really disappointed. Today is the day of salvation. It is the day for us to start living by preparing (prayer, worship, Scripture), expecting, and faithfully walking with Jesus.

Bible Study for the 18th Week in Ordinary Time 2016

This week’s memory verse: Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. — Psalm 119:37

Pray the week: Lord, Grant that I may keep my focus on You. May Your kingdom be my priority and Your way my wealth.

Reflection for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2016

What’s important
to us?

Brothers and sisters: If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

Paul is advising the Colossians to be single-minded and to concentrate on the great gift they had received; something we all need to hear. We belong to Jesus. He is our treasure. He is greater than anything we could possibly acquire. We belong to heaven and Jesus deserves our total attention. Yet we get so distracted. That is what happened to the man who came to Jesus. The man wanted Jesus to resolve a family dispute over inheritance.

The man was not asking for advice. He wanted Jesus to stand on his side and “tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” He wanted Jesus to get the money for him, but Jesus saw the true problem in his heart – it was his focus. The man made money his priority even though he was standing in the presence of God. He could have asked any question, he could have asked for anything – healing, life, understanding, and a heart for God.

Jesus uses the opportunity to teach about priorities and the danger of misplaced priorities; of losing focus.

Look at Jesus’ story of distraction. The farmer is a happy man – a rich man – with a great harvest. He likely felt blessed by God. He so enjoyed being successful and rich. Suddenly he is looking forward to more – “And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’”

In his happiness he lost focus. He allowed the good he received to consume him. The blessings now became the priority and he forgot the source of the blessing. Bigger barns and enjoying blessings were his “soul” goal.

For the farmer everything was fine and good until he is confronted by the reality of God’s dominion and his misplaced priorities. God takes account of our priorities and focus. “God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.’”

God reset the farmer’s perspective. In his misdirected focus the farmer only made plans for this life but not for what is to come. God was in his life but he ignored Him.

These moments, this scripture, is an opportunity for us. We can rejoice in the blessings we have but must keep our eye on their source. Jesus wants us to see things in the right perspective. He gives us eternal riches that must always be accounted for and tended to first. God wants us to enjoy life with Him as our most important priority.

Bible Study for the 17th Week in Ordinary Time 2016

This week’s memory verse: Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. — John 16:24

Pray the week: Lord, Grant that I may be confident and faith filled in approaching Your Throne of Grace. Help me to persevere.

Reflection for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2016

Be annoying to
God.

I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was arrested for his challenges to the leaders of Athens. His student, Plato, recorded Socrates defense in the “Apology,” essentially the speech given by Socrates in court. As Socrates speaks he tells of the life he had lead, who he was, and his duty.

Socrates uses metaphor and compares himself to a gadfly and the state of Athens to a sluggish horse: “as upon a great noble horse, which was somewhat sluggish because of its size, and needed to be stirred up by a kind of gadfly.” The gadfly is irritating. Everyone wants to get rid of the gadfly, but by its constant buzzing and stinging it awakens the one being annoyed.
The gadfly gets attention. Socrates told the court and the people that his being a gadfly is a gift given to them by the gods.

As we meet Abraham again, God in His presence is about to go off and destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham becomes a gadfly to God. He is annoying, and he keeps at it. Five times he ask the Lord: What if there are only…

Similarly, by parable, Jesus tells us that this is perfectly fine. He tells us that the Father is open and accepting of our coming to Him in prayer and petition, even if we begin thinking we are annoying: he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

One of the hardest things we face in life is asking for the things we need. It is like taking the last piece of chicken or the last chocolate. We are afraid to grab after it and claim it. We hesitate to ask for a raise at work or for affection from someone we care about. We may feel unworthy, overly self-deprecating, or too shy. In the end we feel unworthy – how much more with God. He won’t hear or listen to me, who am I?

Abraham too was a little afraid, but he did press on. Jesus reassures us that we are perfectly right to press on, to be persistent, to be a gadfly to God. We are God’s adopted children. We are Jesus’ brothers and sisters. Jesus, God Himself, encourages us to approach the Throne of Grace, to storm heaven, to pray. Not just that, but we are to pray with confidence and persistence. St. Paul reminds us: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Yes, it is God’s will that we be those gadflies. The Father is not apart or immune from His children, which we are in Jesus. He will not hand us a rock or a snake. He will give that which we seek and ask for persistently and with faith. Let us keep at it.