Category: Grace

Word Dwelling

Or dwelling in the Word

Thursday, May 21, 2026

Or just wishing for a dwelling?

No matter our situation, even in a ‘Hobbit House’,

God’s great deeds abound,

giving us cause to give God thanks

with all we are and have.

Psalm 150:2

Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

.

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.

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Words of Grace for Today –

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So much is said calling people to “dwell in the Word”, as if we could somehow take up residence in God’s Word. As if we could determine our presence in God’s Word! Such hubris!

We are capable only of ‘letting’ God’s Word be in us (of not standing in the way of or not choosing to deny that God has placed God’s Word be in us) the Word of Jesus, the Christ.

There is much that we can strive for, for many it is simply to have a dwelling, a physical place of safety and love on this planet wherein we can thrive and love, and give God thanks. Those with dwellings so soon forget how easy it is to lose one’s dwelling, through recklessness or through no fault of one’s own. A dwelling is not to be taken for granted, nor ought we cease all efforts to ensure all have a safe dwelling in which to thrive and love.

No matter our situation, God’s great deeds abound, giving us cause to give God thanks with all we are and have.

How will we do that today!?

Signs That Accompany

Our Sharing God’s Word

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Do We Even Know What They Are?

As far as our eyes see, to the horizons and back on their reflections in water, can we see inside events and recognize God’s Signs

…

of steadfast Love

Psalm 89:2

I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

.

Mark 16:20

And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.

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Words of Grace for Today –

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I’ve never thought of the sky being firm, but rather gaseous and quite movable, moved by wind that brings all kinds of weather and skies over and down upon us.

But there you go: a different time thought of them as firm, and actually as firmaments, a barrier/border that kept the chaos of al pre-creation void at bay, allowing the earth to exist with good order, from morning through noon, to sunset, through night and again to morning’s new beginnings.

As earth still moves us through morning, noon, sunset, night, to new beginnings, and we share again and again the Words of God’s Works, Promises and Steadfast Love, being ourselves the deeds thereof as well, do we ever consider that we could notice God’s Signs.

Oh, the highway has all sorts of signs, which we must learn in order to earn the privilege of driving on them. The seasons have all sorts of signs of what might blow in next, challenging or easing the struggle to thrive or perhaps just to survive. The faces of others bear all sorts of signs, of emotions, of struggles past and present, of hope unreasonable, of joy founded and sorrow unbearable.

But!

But do we take time to recognize the signs of God’s Work around us and among us and in us?

If you take time and give a bit of effort to it, what Signs could you see today?

What Signs of God’s Works, Promises, and Steadfast Love?

Unbind ‘em

Let ‘em Go!

Sunday, May 17, 2026

With Thanks Sing Your Hearts Out!

We Ain’t Much, But It’s Living!

Psalm 30:4

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.

.

John 11:43-44

When he had said this, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

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Words of Grace for Today –

…

It’s not just that final deep sleep, death, that binds us, and keeps us from breathing in the goodness of all creation.

There are all sorts little deaths, illnesses, losses, griefs, worries, perversions, assaults and, and, and that rob us of the ability to breathe in the abundant goodness available to us in this fragile ecosystem on this small planet in such vast space.

From all our little and huge deaths,

Jesus, having redeemed us from our sins (past, present, and future), cries out:

“Come out! Rejoin the Living. Unbind your hearts and spirits, and be free … go!

Go out into the world among the people and breathe it all in, with joy!”

…

So

what

are

you

waiting

for

anyway!?

Making Our Way

To God??

Friday, May 15, 2026

Or!

We Cannot Ever Make Our Way to God?!

Jeremiah 50:5

They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, and they shall come and join themselves to the Lord by an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

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2 Peter 1:3-7

His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature.

For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.

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Words of Grace for Today –

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Oh, Peter, well 1 Peter, which was a disciple of Peter, maybe.

Like so many since it is set out that God has given us every knowledge and ability to save ourselves.

So, as they preach again and again: GET TO IT. SAVE YOURSELVES.

But!

Yes

A Big BUT.

But we cannot and do not save ourselves, and thinking that we do or can is the Devil’s great deceit, catching us away from God’s saving Grace.

By God’s Grace alone are we saved, or we are lost, lost, lost.

Thank God, Jesus paid the price so that our sins are not the record set before God, rather Jesus’ record is.

What a record to have.

And THAT saves us, and makes us ‘participants of the divine nature’!

Now it’s up to us to realize the abilities that gift gives us to help others!

So we do what we can and pray for what we cannot, and hope without reason or cause.

Like here

Yesterday.

The noisy campers have been arriving for days & loud late nights for the long weekend.

…

So

I prayed.

…

And

This Morning!

What!

…

….

What!

A

Wonderful morning.

…

Christmas

In May.

…

…

My

Prayers

Are

Answered!

…

God’s noise abatement system.

…

And the snow keeps falling, and falling, and falling.

Sound proofing, free and effective.

…

Another Example of God saving us.

God Hears

Our Cries

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

If we are prisoners or doomed to die.

Does God Hear Us In Our Humble Luxurious Life?

Psalm 102:18-22

Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord: that he looked down from his holy height, from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die; so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem, when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

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James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

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Words of Grace for Today –

…

We live.

We live and breathe.

We live and breathe and hope

for the day when things will be better

but

will that day every come?

…

The promise of God through the ages is that God listens first to those in desperate need:

The prisoners, those doomed to die, the sick, the downtrodden, the refugees, the aliens, the poor, the homeless, the ones struggling to find clear water and nourishing food.

Is that us?

And if not!!!

Does God listen to us at all?

God is merciful and loving, finding no greater joy than in a sinner who repents.

Whoever we are, rich or poor, free or prisoner, doomed or secure, sick or healthy … anyone at all.

Whoever we are God hears us as well, and weeps for us and our flagrant sins that separate us from God, God’s people, and God’s good creation.

We have life.

We live, and breathe.

We live and breathe, and hope

for the day when things will be better

and

that

day

is the day that we listen to God’s Word

and share it with the next generations

so that God’s steadfast love and mercy

will be known and trusted

and lived

by all.

Eyes Seeing

Truth and Singing

Monday, May 11, 2026

Seeing Beyond The Horizons of Life

Where Heaven and Earth Meet

First Samuel 2:2

There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.

.

Revelation 4:8

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,
“Holy, holy, holy,
the Lord God the Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.”

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Words of Grace for Today –

…

The troubled waters of these times, like most of history for most humans who ever lived, are full of change, and not towards the better.

We’ve enjoyed peace.

Well, some of us living in the privilege and comfort afforded a small percentage, have enjoyed peace,

while most live in the chaos of wars, conflicts, displacement, refugee camps, job loss, food insecurity and and and.

But now climate change robs more and more of the ability to live where their people have lived for centuries even millennia. Even the most isolated have more trouble finding clear air, sufficient water, dry land, or or or.

While we struggle more, and fear even more and more the coming state of our worlds,

the one solid foundation of our lives and our hope is God.

The four winged creatures, with eyes all around, and even eyes inward (which see what we cannot) respond always

giving God praise in song.

So we

in our troubled times and fear filled days

can pause at least

to sing

for in song

we see inwardly what we otherwise cannot see:

the pure joy of being God’s creatures on this ever changing planet.

The New Year Winds

Bring In the Blues

Sunday, November 30, 2025

And All Will Wake in the Love and Light

Of Christ,

Like Children Filled With Expectation of

Impossible Things,

for These Impossible Times.

Jeremiah 31:34

No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

.

Matthew 21:15-16

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise for yourself’?”

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Words of Grace for Today –

…

As another New Church Year begins, the wind blows and the colour blue for Advent arrives. The blue of waiting and boredom, the blue of royalty, the blue of despondency, the blue of deep yearning, the blue of hope, the blue of clear skies, the blue of the water into which we are baptized. These are the blues of Advent, four Sundays of preparing, as sombre as our other season of preparation, Lent. Just as Lent is more than giving up things, so Advent is more than waiting for the celebrations to begin.

These are the days (once again and always) to acknowledge

that in our baptisms

God has equipped us to know the Lord, for our sins are forgiven.

And we are freed to share God’s good things with everyone, especially those in need, and to sing God’s praises

unending.

From the Nest

Carried, Guided

Friday, November 14, 2025

On Wings, High Above It All

High Above the Brutality and Greed,

the Corruption and Scheming,

the Dishonesty and Shame.

Deuteronomy 32:11-12

As an eagle stirs up its nest, and hovers over its young; as it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them aloft on its pinions, the Lord alone guided God’s Volk; no foreign god was with them.

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John 10:29

Jesus spoke: What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand.

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Words of Grace for Today –

…

There’s enough in the world to go around,

air,

water,

food,

clothing,

shelter,

work,

and

love.

There’s also enough

Brutality,

Greed,

Corruption,

Scheming,

Dishonesty,

and

Shame.

…

God provides us protection and passage on wings of love and light, high above the worst of humanity’s failings,

so that we can be blessings to others,

sharing

all

that

is

good

and

life-giving

with

all

people.

The Benefits

Of True Devotion

Saturday, November 1, 2025

Shameless Living

Like Firewood,

God’s Word Fuels Our Lives

And Saves Us From

the Dark Cold Of Sin.

Psalm 119:6

Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

.

Luke 8:15

But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.

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Words of Grace for Today –

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The world demands great things from us, mostly that we make sense of a senseless stream of dishonesty, brutality, betrayals, and greed.

There is no sense to be made of them, other than that they are senseless, driven by corrupted hearts and minds.

Fixing our hearts and minds on God’s Word and Commandments will guide us to live with some sense of right and wrong. Hearing God’s Word, and holding fast to it with open, good, and honest hearts and minds will lead us into great difficulties, out of which God sometimes brings us, after enduring great trials, to enjoy peace, calm, and a bit of prosperity.

Rarely God will deliver us without any shame going down on us.

But we will always fail to follow God’s Word and Commandments. We can only hang our heads in shame. What then?

What will save us when hearing God’s Word and Commandments is impossible to translate into perfectly, honestly, willingly following and keeping God’s Word and Commandments?

Only God’s good grace, as always, can come to our rescue.

So we pray, give us good and honest hearts, and lives that hear and keep God’s Word.

But more we pray, God forgive us, renew us, and free us from our inevitable shame, so that we might live beyond the stream of dishonesty, brutality, betrayals, and greed, in which even we are caught up in. Help us live your Word.

Reformation

Celebrations of History

Sunday, October 26, 2025

Challenges for Today

The Spirit Wends Its Way Into Every Moment, Every Life.

Sometimes we can even see it

between the trees in the sunlight.

Proverbs 3:27

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

.

James 2:2-4

For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

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Words of Grace for Today –

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Do good!

Seek no honour!

Be humble!

All well and good.

But …

It’s not the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It’s not what brings us closer to God.

First: God acts and saves us through Jesus’ sacrifice, forgiving our sins (each moment we breathe – and sin, since that’s who we are- miserable sinners all. Well we are actually really good at sinning!)

And then …

Well then we GET (not must) … We GET to work to do good for all people and all creation.

We get to seek no honour! We get to be humble!

We get to live with wide horizons, open hearts, engaged minds, and active hands, always doing Christ’ work here today.

And that takes reform every day, moving from the status quo so dripping with sin as it always is, and moving towards being Grace saved, Grace living, Grace giving.