Words from Proverbs

 

 

 The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters,

    but one who has insight draws them out.

 

The righteous lead blameless lives;

    blessed are their children after them.  ~from Proverbs 20

Dancing before the Lord

And David danced before the Lord with all his might. 2 Samuel 6:14

Whenever I think of this verse I can imagine the scene in “Footloose” when Ren (Kevin Bacon) is lobbying to have a party in a town where there is no dancing. His character says “And what did David do?”  And then he frantically pages through the bible and reads “David danced and leapt before the Lord”. 

This past weekend we saw one of our favorite local bands. As the night progressed, people got up and danced. Some with abandon. Some with a focus on skill and agility (you could tell they had been to class). Some nervously, or at the coaxing of others. One gentleman stands out in my mind. He wiggled and shook. He bobbed and weaved. He swayed to the rhythm and closed his eyes as the sound washed over him in the small space. The joy on his face was pure and perfect. After many months of being cooped up he returned to a space that brought him happiness and it spread across every part of his body. Watching him brought me to this verse, and the image of dance as celebration and joy, and faith and personal expression. 

Prayer: God who gives us so many gifts, thank you for music and movement and celebration. Thank you for joys and pleasures that are timeless. Amen

Christi Moock

Comfort for God's People

 

 

  Comfort, comfort my people,

    says your God.

 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

    and proclaim to her

that her hard service has been completed,

    that her sin has been paid for,

that she has received from the Lord’s hand

    double for all her sins.

 

  A voice of one calling:

“In the wilderness prepare

    the way for the Lord;

make straight in the desert

    a highway for our God.

 Every valley shall be raised up,

    every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

    the rugged places a plain.

 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

    and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

 

 A voice says, “Cry out.”

    And I said, “What shall I cry?”

 

“All people are like grass,

    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.

 The grass withers and the flowers fall,

    because the breath of the Lord blows on them.

    Surely the people are grass.

 The grass withers and the flowers fall,

    but the word of our God endures forever.”

 

 You who bring good news to Zion,

    go up on a high mountain.

You who bring good news to Jerusalem,

    lift up your voice with a shout,

lift it up, do not be afraid;

    say to the towns of Judah,

    “Here is your God!”

 See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,

    and he rules with a mighty arm.

See, his reward is with him,

    and his recompense accompanies him.

 He tends his flock like a shepherd:

    He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them close to his heart;

    he gently leads those that have young.

 

 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,

    or weighed the mountains on the scales

    and the hills in a balance?

 Who can fathom the Spirit[d] of the Lord,

    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?

 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,

    and who taught him the right way?

Who was it that taught him knowledge,

    or showed him the path of understanding?

 

 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

    they are regarded as dust on the scales;

    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,

    nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.

 Before him all the nations are as nothing;

    they are regarded by him as worthless

    and less than nothing.

 

 With whom, then, will you compare God?

    To what image will you liken him?

 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,

    and a goldsmith overlays it with gold

    and fashions silver chains for it.

 A person too poor to present such an offering

    selects wood that will not rot;

they look for a skilled worker

    to set up an idol that will not topple.

 

  Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

    Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

  He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,

    and its people are like grasshoppers.

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,

    and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

  He brings princes to naught

    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

  No sooner are they planted,

    no sooner are they sown,

    no sooner do they take root in the ground,

than he blows on them and they wither,

    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

 

  “To whom will you compare me?

    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:

    Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one

    and calls forth each of them by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

    not one of them is missing.

 

Why do you complain, Jacob?

    Why do you say, Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord;

    my cause is disregarded by my God”?

Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

    the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

    and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

    and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

    and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

    will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

    they will run and not grow weary,

    they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40

Jesus Teaches about the Kingdom of God

And again he said, “Where to shall I liken the kingdom of God?”  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal til the whole was leavened.  Luke 13: 20-21

Yeast is the leavening agent for many bread products. The fermentation process produces carbon dioxide (CO2) which causes the bread to rise. In a recipe for standard white bread, yeast accounts for about 1% by weight of the dry ingredients. This small amount of leavening agent helps to transform the dough into the large, light loaf we associate with bread.

In the scripture selection, Jesus likens the kingdom of God to the leavening agent permeating the meal and changing the nature of the dough.  The kingdom of God and Jesus’ ministry began in a small way, but in a dynamic way spread and has become a powerful message of love and hope for many around the world.

The term leaven is derived from the Latin verb “levare” which means to make light, lift up or raise.  Are we as believers “leavening agents?”  Do we help to make light the burdens of others, lift up the message of Jesus’ redeeming grace and raise the banner of faith and hope as we work to build up and help the kingdom of God grow?

Prayer: Dear heavenly father, help us to be leavening agents in your kingdom.  We are small and the “basket of meal” is large.  With your love and support and our dedication and prayer may the loaf grow to feed those who hunger and thirst for spiritual nourishment.  Amen. 

Gain Keown, reprinted from 2008

Psalm 25

 

  To You, O Lord,

    do I lift up my soul.

 

O my God, I trust in You;

    may I not be ashamed;

    may my enemies not triumph over me.

Yes, let none who wait on You

    be ashamed;

let them be ashamed

    who transgress without cause.

 

Make me to know Your ways, O Lord;

    teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

    for You are the God of my salvation;

    on You I wait all the day.

Remember Your mercies, O Lord, and Your lovingkindness,

    for they are from old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth

    or my transgressions;

according to Your lovingkindness remember me,

    on account of Your goodness, O Lord.

 

Good and upright is the Lord;

    therefore He will teach sinners in the way.

The meek will He guide in judgment,

    and the meek He will teach His way.

All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth,

    for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity,

    for it is great.

 

Who is the man who fears the Lord?

    He will teach him in the way He should choose.

He will dwell at ease,

    and his descendants will inherit the land.

The counsel of the Lord is with those who fear him,

    and He will make His covenant known to them.

My eyes are ever toward the Lord,

    for He will lead my feet from the net.

 

Turn to me, and be gracious to me,

    for I am isolated and afflicted.

The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

    bring me out of my distresses.

Look on my pain and misery,

    and forgive all my sins.

Consider my enemies, for they are many,

    and they hate me with violent hatred.

 

Watch over my life, and deliver me!

    Let me not suffer shame,

    for I seek refuge in You.

Truth and integrity will preserve me

    while I wait for You.

 

Redeem Israel, O God,

    out of all their troubles. ~ Psalm 25

God's Creation

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.  Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?  In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job 12: 7-10

This year we will be traveling to Yellowstone. As we prepare for this trip I have been occupied in speaking to those who have gone before us. What is it like? Where did you stay? What was the most amazing thing? What would you skip if you went back? Seeing pictures has helped to build excitement.

Brian and I love to spend time outdoors. We walk the dogs, mow in the summer, shovel in the winter, ride our bikes, go camping and boating, hike and sometimes just sit and appreciate. Seeing wildlife is something that we have shared through our many years together. We like to remember hearing the beaver on Boundary Waters, seeing the moose in the road on our way to pick blueberries, Brian catching his first BIG fish on vacation, picking up occupied conch shells on Honeymoon Island, seeing wild goats in Jamaica, taking our scouts to see the sandhill cranes, or telling the story about the mountain lion that wasn’t. The miracles of nature often bring us peace and remind us of the power of creation. They might make us laugh.  They remind us of the gifts of life that we all share with God’s many creatures and species. 

Prayer: Amazing Creator, thank you for sharing all of the different species with us.  From the smallest bird to the largest mammal to the scaliest fish we can see your vision of life in our world. Amen.      

Christi Moock

My Grace is Sufficient for You

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12: 9-10