{"id":275,"date":"2019-03-19T05:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T10:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/?p=275"},"modified":"2020-04-02T10:09:07","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T15:09:07","slug":"another-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/?p=275","title":{"rendered":"Another Path"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<audio id=\"wp_mep_1\" src=\"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/m4a\/Journey%20Notes%2014%20Another%20Path%20Accomp.m4a\"     controls=\"controls\" preload=\"none\"  >\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t<\/audio>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\njQuery(document).ready(function($) {\r\n\t$('#wp_mep_1').mediaelementplayer({\r\n\t\tm:1\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t,features: ['playpause','current','progress','duration','volume','tracks','fullscreen']\r\n\t\t,audioWidth:,audioHeight:\r\n\t});\r\n});\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<p>The Bible tells us that Cain made offerings to the Lord, but the Lord did not look with favor on them.\u00a0 Cain grew angry.\u00a0 So angry that he killed his brother Abel.\u00a0 The killing was not by accident.\u00a0 It was not a momentary fit of rage, but a planned, ruthless act committed after inviting Abel into the fields and away from watchful eyes.<\/p>\n<p>When the deed was done the Lord asked Cain about his brother.\u00a0 Cain answered with a question that lives on in infamy:\u00a0 &#8220;Am I my brother&#8217;s keeper?&#8221;\u00a0 Perhaps this question has compelled the preparation of more sermons than any other.\u00a0 Who is my brother?\u00a0 Who is my neighbor?\u00a0 What duty do I owe my brethren?\u00a0 What duty do I owe my neighbor?<\/p>\n<p>The brothers John and Charles Wesley were at the heart of the Methodist movement during the 18th century.\u00a0 They responded to the question of being their brother&#8217;s keeper very differently than Cain had.\u00a0 Although they had times of disagreement and estrangement, each focused on serving the Lord.\u00a0 That focus and that service always brought them back to a better relationship with God and with each other.<\/p>\n<p><em>A Charge to Keep I Have<\/em> was written by Charles Wesley after reading a Bible commentary by Matthew Henry on Leviticus chapter 8.\u00a0 In that passage, God gave the Levites a charge to watch over the tabernacle.\u00a0 Henry extended that charge to each of us today.\u00a0 &#8220;We shall every one of us have a charge to keep, an eternal God to glorify, an immortal soul to provide for, one generation to serve.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Neither Wesley nor Henry had Cain in mind when they wrote their words, but the words strike the very message that Cain needed to hear.\u00a0 It is the same message that we need to hear today.\u00a0 Read the words of Wesley&#8217;s first stanza:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">A charge to keep I have,<br \/>\na God to glorify,<br \/>\na never-dying soul to save,<br \/>\nand fit it for the sky.<\/p>\n<p>Cain did not keep his charge.\u00a0 He chose a path of death and destruction.\u00a0 Will we choose another path?\u00a0 A better path?\u00a0 God has given us our charge.\u00a0 May we keep that charge today and every day!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"A Charge to Keep I Have (United Methodist Hymnal #413)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lWPWNXkGBe8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Follow the Path!<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<em><strong>CARadke<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>[Use with <em>Honoring God in Our Way<\/em>, day 14 of <a title=\"Order your copy of A Labyrinth Pilgrimage today!\" href=\"https:\/\/www.createspace.com\/3366946\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>A Labyrinth Pilgrimage<\/em><\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bible tells us that Cain made offerings to the Lord, but the Lord did not look with favor on them.\u00a0 Cain grew angry.\u00a0 So angry that he killed his brother Abel.\u00a0 The killing was not by accident.\u00a0 It was &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/?p=275\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thoughts-about-the-journey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=275"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1120,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions\/1120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/crosslabyrinth.com\/JourneyNotes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}