Category: Sky

Before ‘Yet’

And ‘Job answered’

Friday, September 20, 2024

What Came Before All This?

Summer?

Nighttime?

Injustice?

Hope?

Job 9:1-9

Then Job answered:
‘Indeed I know that this is so; but how can a mortal be just before God?
If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength—who has resisted him, and succeeded?—
he who removes mountains, and they do not know it, when he overturns them in his anger;
who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble;
who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars;
who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the Sea;
who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south …?

1 Corinthians 8:6

… yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

…

Words of Grace For Today

…

There’s something before ‘yet’.

Is it important?

There was something before Job answered.

Is it important?

Context sometimes is everything.

Our context is simple to adduce:

God created everything and can do anything and everything.

We are creatures who live a short time, often suffering greatly,

even at our best when we love, it always ends in suffering the loss of love

or our life.

How can we pretend to take on God?

Yet

(there it is again)

Yet, we do so often,

So often to make good through and through fools of us,

like the ant that tries to escape from the anteater’s tongue.

Or like the mouse that tries to free itself from the trap.

Or the young bird that tries to fly through a window.

Or a person who tries to speak as if God.

What will we do today?

Live humble lives before our Creator?

Or

Live futile lives trying to be our own godlets?

Choose

Or Follow Christ?

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Spirit Rises, Or Man-made Plane Goes Down?

Psalm 143:2

Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

Luke 7:48-50

Then he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’

…

Words of Grace For Today

…

So many try to be good enough for God, but it is hopeless,

and it is a futile way to try to live well

and happy.

How wondrous it is

to be given faith

that makes one well

and does so by bringing one to realize one’s sins can be forgiven.

What are you going to do today:

Count your good works for all to see and hear of them, as if to prove you are good enough?

Or

Have the faith given to you active in your heart, mind, and soul

assuring you that your sins are forgiven

and you can get on with being alive

living out that forgiveness

for others in need?

A choice?

Or is it

God?

Twinkle Twinkle

Little Star,

Who is Going to Come to Save Us All, From So Far?

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

As the Sun Rises Across the Land,

Do You See It Rising

For You, Too?

Numbers 24:17

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near—a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel.

Revelation 22:16

‘It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’

…

Words of Grace For Today

…

To know God

Yet not know that God is near

Is a hopeful

but frustrating experience

shared by so many through all the generations.

Thus hope that carries many generations is that salvation may yet come

sometime,

or ‘next year in Jerusalem’ perhaps,

or in the wildernesses that our lives have become,

all tangled with comforts, luxuries, and excesses

that we’ve forgotten how wonderful the fresh morning chill is when

it is countered by the warmth of a wood fire,

together promising another wonderful day,

not too cold, and not too hot,

not too wet, and not too dry,

not too windy, and not to close,

not too anything, and not too everything;

The perfect day awaits.

Did you even notice?

As the sun ascends

and hearts give thanks

and blessings are celebrated

and computers have updated

and a wonderful, promising day has begun.

Did you even notice

the star

out thar’

promising

a Saviour

so close

already?

Who

Will Rescue Us?

Monday, September 16, 2024

And The Skies Run Red With Their Blood,

As God Lets Evil

Take Itself To It’s Own Bloody Death?

Isaiah 50:7

The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame

Matthew 14:30

But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’

…

Words of Grace For Today

…

The OT reading for this Sunday Jeremiah 11:18-20 overlaps in theme with this verse:

 It was the Lord who made it known to me, and I knew;
  then you showed me their evil deeds.
 But I was like a gentle lamb
  led to the slaughter.
 And I did not know it was against me
  that they devised schemes, saying,
 “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
  let us cut him off from the land of the living,
  so that his name will no longer be remembered!”
 But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge righteously,
  who try the heart and the mind,
 let me see your retribution upon them,
  for to you I have committed my cause.

…

So it is time to ask:

And who is out to get you?

By guile and deceit

in secret

and hidden ways

so that those uninitiated to such devious ways will not see or suspect or ever know

of the evil that is worked against you?

Oh, you say, there is no such effort made against me.

But then how would you know?

And what is all this about polarization of peoples, infiltration of social media to effect election outcomes, hate created fear motivating voters, world domination by fascist dictators, war hungry leaders hiding in war their failing support at home, the economy played for the benefit of the already rich to get richer and the already poor to get poorer (if there is such a thing for many) and for the middle class to sink, sink, sink closer to poverty?

Are these not already a few powerful manipulating what can be to send us closer to our deaths?

Are you paying attention?

…

But God is with us. And we will see our enemies destroy themselves.

Thanks

For the flow?

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Welcome to Paradise,

or

is it the Wilderness?

Deuteronomy 6:10-12

When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you have eaten your fill, take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

John 6:32

Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

…

Words of Grace For Today

…

Poverty is a wonderful lesson in humility,

or so they say,

Those who are not poor.

Thankfully the food bank is a steady and good supply of most basic foods and some others,

actually some very odd food that I’d never try or eat if I didn’t get them there.

Take Cookies and Cream Oatmeal.

A treat in a breakfast food.

Well I suppose they’ve made and sold lots of sugar cereals for decades, so why not this, too?

With

all

this

food

I easily forget

how hard it was

before

the food bank.

Not that I forget (life is too hard) how much God provides.

Every morning I thank God for everything that keeps me alive, and it’s more than just enough.

Lately there’s been so much meaningful labour

it’s hard to keep up

as winter is coming

and autumn is not that long

And there’s still wood to start collecting.

But,

little by little

a thing here and a thing there gets done

and

I start to think

I may even be ready, for winter,

‘God willing and the creek nor rising’.

So today

first the thanks,

then the celebration,

then the meal

then

flat out work

if the rain is not too much or

the smoke too thick.

And how is your day shaped? With thanks, remembering who supplies all that keeps you alive, celebration, meal, and work?

Or is it something else.

Whatever, may it be blessed,

and may you remember who blesses it,

even if you live in the land ‘flowing with milk and honey.’

The Cup

Too Full

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Even Paradise

Can Seem

Too Much!

Psalm 94:19

When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

Luke 22:42-43

Jesus spoke, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength.

…

Words of Grace For Today

…

Too often there are just so many things competing for attention and accomplishment and concern and and and

and

where do we find the energy, time, and heart to

well

anything?

Only then when the Holy Spirit intervenes do we find peace

and

heart

and

energy

to move onward in the day

doing what is necessary and good,

thanking God for everything that keeps us alive

and praying that God will forgive our sins, too many as they always are.

So then

we move into the day

ready to bless all we encounter

with God’s Grace,

God’s costly Grace.

Which sometimes is a cup we would rather not bear, not at all, not at all.

Yet we move into the day trusting that God’s will will be done, and God

will

walk

with

us

through it all.

The Personal Ad,

The One Determinative Thing

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Can We See What’s Coming

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

1 Timothy 1:5

But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.

…

Words of Grace For Today

…

A personal ran in the newspaper, back when there were such things, that read: Lost, missing for hours or days, it’s hard to tell, last presence evidenced by a note to myself last week. Reward unknown. Oh, lost is my mind. Call me if you find it.

The next ad read: oh, forgot my number, too.

Two days later another personal ran: Found one loose and lost mind, wandering about the back avenues of 3rd and Park, near the Bowling Alley. Call 412-384-9012 if you know of it’s owner.

Three days after that an article on page three ran a story about the happy ending of an old man in his early 90s reunited with his mind that had wandered off during a boring TV program on shellfish, and the young mother of three who had found it engaging her oldest boy over the fence to the alley behind their house.

…

Sometimes, all too often really, it seems we get separated from the one thing that makes such a determinative difference in our lives, the joy of our salvation, namely being found and saved by Jesus. Our stories make about as much sense as the ads and story in that newspaper that summer in New York when it was hot and smoggy and crime was at its worst.

…

So, even when we are not so lost in a fantasy world of liars posing as politicians and people hoping for the impossible (which will lead to the loss of many things basic to democracy and human rights), we too pray,

restore to us the joy of your salvation Lord. For this is the one thing that does not change or get taken from us.

Help us to love You, our neighbour as ourselves, and even our enemies … and all creation (we have to add, since it’s been on the endangered list now for oh too long.)

Generational Wealth

Or Wealth Eternal?

Friday, August 30, 2024

Ready to Share Even This?

Psalm 33:11

The counsel of the Lord stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Ephesians 1:11

In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will,

…

Words of Grace For Today

…

When the ‘wealth for generations’ is denied so many people, while it is assumed as a right by others,

it is not hard to feel left out of life.

Yet the core to living abundantly is not in one’s possesions, but in what one has to give to others: grace, love, and hope

and help.

These God provides to us in our inheritance as God’s own children, adopted through Jesus’ redemption, demonstrated to us in our baptisms.

So how will we live today, concerned for our wealth, or lack of generational wealth?

Or

ready to share the greatest inheritance with others,

grace, love, and hope

and help

not matter what comes our way?

You Know Who

Needs the Light

Monday, August 26, 2024

When the Light Is About To Disappear …

Psalm 56:13

For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life.

Mark 5:41-42

He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.

…

Words of Grace For Today

…

If you are in a foreign country where the government is not at all friendly to your own country, and you are there working with the ‘alternative’ hope for the people, their church … and people go missing all the time … having an arrogant, unpredictable, and violent bully-cop, who has it out for you, point at gun mere inches away at your face is a sure way to convince you your life is likely going to come to an end.

The outcome that shakes one to the core is to have that cop’s partner kill him with an equally violent bullet to the head, and then tell you that you are protected.

Seeing evidence that this protection, though never again seen in person, has continued through one’s life is mind boggling.

Certainly, one gives God thanks with the words of the Psalmist, I will render thank-offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life!

These kind of deliverances are rare. Many people would hope they would be more common, as countless people loss their lives to violent bullies.

The kind that all of us need at one time or another in our lives, and for most of us quite frequently in our lives, is a deliverance from the enemy within our own hearts, minds, and souls. This kind of enemy drags us through the dirt and darkness of life more efficiently than lead poisoning … from a bullet at close range. This enemy of life is self-created. Oh, sure, circumstances contribute to the darkness of life in endless ways. Yet we are not bound to llow the inevitable challenges of life grow out of control until we succumb to the hopeless darknesses of complacency, lethargy, and despair.

From these enemies of life, we all need deliverance all too often.

So Jesus says also to us this day, “Come, Get Up!” Inviting us to walk in the light of life.

See, the light is right there. Just walk into it, and bask in the steadfast love of God …

and then get our butts in gear, to provide that light to all people, especially …

well you know who.

Forever

And Ever??

Sunday, March 24, 2024

it may seem the horizon of life goes on forever

past the moon setting orange and down ….

First Chronicles 17:27

… therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue for ever before you. For you, O Lord, have blessed and are blessed for ever.

Matthew 25:34

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…”

…

Words of Grace For Today

…

Ahh, the hubris that would make a human think their kingdom could continue without end!

If ever there were a true saying about everything in life it is simply, “this too shall pass.”

Only God continues without end.

So we know, our sufferings

and our joys

shall pass.

Until one day God gathers us into the home created for us.

Meanwhile there’s much to be done to surrender our wills to God’s

and work to give the essentials

of life to the millions

starving, who face

sure death

today.