Category: Sky

Forever Judgment

And Doom, OR?

Friday, September 15, 2023

God’s Hammer of Judgment Looms Over Us

—

OR?

Hosea 11:8-9

How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.

John 12:47

I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

…

Words of Grace For Today

Through all the generations the fear of God is fomented in and among us by threatening us with God’s judgment. “In the end everyone will be judged according to what they have done, said, and thought! Therefore be good lest you end up in hell – suffering – forever!” And so go the similar admonishments and threats.

It just about scares the living daylights and joy and hope right out of each one of us. For the result is not a great effort to be good. Rather it drives us to deny our own sins, and create great facades of being good enough.

All that drives us, individually and as a community, further and further from the goodness that God created us to be for each other and all people.

Then we read these passages: God is in our midst and does not come in wrath to judge and condemn. And Jesus comes into the world not to judge it and all in it, but to save the world.

Which will this day be for us?

A day wherein we strive to be good or rather to create the illusion that we are at least good enough to avoid God’s wrath?

Or

A day wherein we rest assured of God’s saving efforts to forgive us our own sins, and set us free to extend God’s grace to others?

…

If our record is any indication then more the former than the latter.

…

If we accept God’s record as determinative then God’s forgiveness will bring us out of the former into the latter

and

life will be a miracle of goodness,

also this day.

Gifts

And Promises

Forever … or Not.

Saturday, September 9, 2023

Everything Points To …

Psalm 105:8

He is mindful of his covenant for ever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

Romans 11:29

for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

…

Words of Grace For Today

God remembers and does not revoke God’s promises for us, for more than thousands of thousands of generations.

God does not revoke the gifts given, nor the call to us to share those gifts, the requirements of life abundant, with others.

But we surely can deny those gifts in us and the call given to us.

And from that immense dismay, hurt, sorrow, and destruction have covered each generation.

Let us pray today that God will guide us to share the gifts with those in need, so that our hearts may know the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Breathe,

Breathe In

And Take Share in Adam’s Atoms Yet Again.

Friday, September 8, 2023

We Walk Short Distances,

But the Atoms from Our Breath Circle the Globe,

in a year.

Isaiah 26:19

Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a radiant dew, and the earth will give birth to those long dead.

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,

…

Words of Grace For Today

When we breathe in we breathe in atoms that have been breathed in by all creatures who breathe up to about a year before we breathe. When we breathe out, in little more than a year, our expelled atoms will be breathed in by every living creature that breathes in air.

That’s a connection.

That’s a significant reliance.

That’s a dependency.

That’s … scary, considering what we are doing to the air around planet earth!

When we realize that the atoms we breathe in integrate into the bodies we are, which when we die decay back into the earth (one way or another), it is not difficult to acknowledge that when any new life is born or hatched or otherwise begun, it contains part of all who have gone before. So out of the dead rises new life, just not quite like themselves, usually.

This happens almost no matter what we do. Cremation or burial both lead to the same thing, just in different ways on different timelines. If we shipped our body off in a spaceship towards some distant galaxy, only then would our atoms not reenter the life stream on earth.

Laying aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, as the writer of Hebrews admonishes us to do, is on the opposite end of possible for us; it’s impossible on our own.

This we can only appear to do as the Holy Spirit accomplishes it for us. So we ‘run with perseverance the race’ before us, knowing that even putting one foot in front of the other is a gift from the Holy Spirit. Our place in the race is a rather humble one; God runs us for us.

For that we can be thankful this day, again.

Of course, we always have the choice to stop running. God does leave us freewill. Stopping God’s walking us is something to avoid each day.

But we don’t avoid it, not at all, not at all. So God needs to rescue us many times each day.

Thank God, God does rescue us; also this day, again, and again, and again.

These are the

Things …

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Our lists are as helpful as clouds are for planning a meal.

Not at all.

Zechariah 8:16

These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace,

Romans 14:19

Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual edification.

…

Words of Grace For Today

It’s easy to find lists of things about which one can justifiably say, these are the things. One can even find lists of things about which one can justifiably say, these are the things we should do.

Peace always tops the list and love others is almost always in there, … as long as the list of things to do is a list of how to be good.

The trouble is that we

too often

try

to be bad

even in spite of ourselves wanting to think we are good.

So

here’s a list of things that we can always be sure we will do:

1.

2.

3.

etc until the last one is: die

…

Empty lists of things that we can be sure we will do followed by a sure thing: death.

How did God ever expect us to make anything good come about when death is the only sure thing we know we will do, and it’ll be good because we leave room then for the next generation and for evolution??!

If that is a real question for us, then it’s time to take a break….

Truth

They say truth is relative.

That’s a lie.

Monday, September 4, 2023

Each Moment, Even at Sunrise, the Truth is There to Be Seen, Heard, Lived.

Exodus 23:1

You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness.

Ephesians 4:25

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another.

…

Words of Grace For Today

In today’s world, like in all generations past, it is all too easy for dishonest people to lie, destroying people all in order to get ahead.

And they do get ahead, in ways the world’s relative truths are twisted so that hell is ahead of life.

For a lie is always a lie, even if one gets away with it to start with. It will always come back to bite the life right out of you. It starts by taking something life-giving out of the people you live with, yourself and then those closest, and it spreads to include all of humanity. The bite back, though, comes back at the liar(s) like she/he/they have laser targets painted on them by none other than God.

Truth may be a bit aggravating, but it is life giving, after one learns to confess one’s own sins and accept forgiveness for them.

Truth is only relative in that all of us are related and anything taken from the truth with a lie costs all of those involves, and all of their relatives.

Truth may be hard to discover among so many lies, but it is there to be paid attention to. It is there in each moment, for those who wish to live in it.

That’s where God blesses us heartily, also this day.

Orphaned

Not

Sunday, September 3, 2023

Feeling Abandoned, Alone, Like the Moon, an Aside on a Cold Landscape … Is that us?

Psalm 42:6

My God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

John 14:18

I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.

…

Words of Grace For Today

We fear being abandoned by all who love us, of being desperately alone. Like orphans bereft of loving parents, with no one to care for us.

So, remembering God’s promises, we pray always that God will be for us.

God of Paul and Peter, of Jeremiah and David, and of all the saints who have gone before us, guide us as your Church to genuine love for all people, and all creation, passing on to others your bounty of gifts in service to you, who showed us the way of the Cross as your way for all whom the Spirit calls to follow you. O God, You know: Hear us.

God of all the wonders of this planet, remind us that from the beginning of creation, you knit together a world meant for harmony. Protect and restore the wasted places to joy and gladness. O God, You know: See us.

God of all peoples, stir the leaders of nations and towns, militaries and courts, to listen for you. Let your call for justice reach all people and bring deliverance where there is oppression. O God, You know: Guard us.

God of steadfast love, show your love and faithfulness to those in despair. Increase their strength, care for all who feel low, keep safe any in the midst of trouble, protect vulnerable people from harm, comfort all who are ill and those who care for them. Today we especially pray for …. O God, You know: Hold us.

God of our hearts, encourage those who offer their gifts and talents in service to your church. Energize this congregation’s leaders, musicians, teachers, greeters, and administrators so they may be transformed in sharing your grace. O God, You know: Call us.

God of all the saints, death is overcome in Christ’s resurrection. We rejoice with the faithful departed (especially). Sustain us in hope until we come at last to our heavenly home. O God, You know: Carry us.

Your mercy is great, O God, and You know us better than we know ourselves. Into your hands, O God, we commend all for whom we pray, in the name of the one who reconciled all creation to himself, Jesus Christ our Savior.

Let it be so also this day.

God Abandons?

No, God Engages

Always, to save us from ourselves

Saturday, September 2, 2023

When it seems the world closes in on us, as if God has abandoned us, hope carries us back to trust God always walks with us.

Isaiah 63:15

Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and glorious habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The yearning of your heart and your compassion? They are withheld from me.

Galatians 5:5

For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

…

Words of Grace For Today

God provides all we need to live, fully, abundantly, graciously, and generously with others.

It is not that we choose to be good and live righteously. It is a gift given to us in our baptisms and renewed many times each day. So we live as saints.

We can and so often do (thus the repeated giving of the gift) deny the gift, turning away from God to follow our own path, which always leads us straight to perdition.

Thank God, God saves us from ourselves.

And so this day also we live as saints, despite having chosen perdition again and again.

Thank God.

Who

Who can we listen to?

Friday, September 1, 2023

In the endless sky, voices come at us from everywhere in this digital age.

Many voices deceive.

One voice is true.

Isaiah 47:13

You are wearied with your many consultations; let those who study the heavens stand up and save you, those who gaze at the stars and at each new moon predict what shall befall you.

Romans 12:16

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.

…

Words of Grace For Today

There are so many voices in our heads, from all over repeated again and again, telling us what we need to do to live life fully.

A young Bob arrives home late from work one day – much later than the time it normally would have taken him to walk the five blocks from the bus stop. His wife, Doris, asks him how his day went. He says all has gone well. Her curiosity wins out. “What kept you late?” she asks.

With sparkling eyes, Bob tells her. “When I changed buses, I saw a new vehicle in the car dealer’s lot. I heard a little voice on my shoulder telling me, ‘Go take a good look.’ So I did.”

She jumps in, “So you missed your bus for that?”

“Well …”, Bob continues, “I walked all the way around the car, looked under the hood, read the information sheet and looked at the dealers tag. Then I heard that small voice say, ‘Get in. Sit in the drivers seat. Get a feel for it. See what it looks like from the inside.’” So I did. And then I heard the small voice from the dashboard, “Bob, rhis is a fabulous car! You look good sitting in that driver’s seat.”

Doris broke in, “Well did you tell that little voice, ‘Get behind me Satan?’”

“Yes I did’” the husband answered. “And then I heard the small voice from the back seat say, ‘Bob, you look good from behind too.’ So I drove that car, my car, home … for us.” (original Flip Wilson, mod TL1995)

If we think we can listen to the back seat voices and to Jesus’ voice, and follow Jesus when it is convenient for the rest of our lives, we have not listened well to all those who have gone before us in faith.

Following Jesus is not like a compromise to our way of life, the kind we hope it might be, like putting on a new set of clothes. Instead following Jesus takes everything we’ve got. C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, writes “It is the difference between paint, which is merely laid on the surface, and a dye or stain which soaks right through . . . (God) meant us for the full treatment. It is hard; but the sort of compromise we are all hankering after is harder – in fact, it is impossible. It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad. . .” (BOOK IV Chapter 8)

When the Holy Spirit ‘hatches’ us out, life is completely different, even if it looks the same.

And then the voice of the Good Shepherd that we recognize always points to considerations for loving others (without consideration for our selves.)

So too, today: listen to the Good Voice. It’s not the one in the backseat of the self’s car.

Gimme, Gimme!

Gimme Bread?

Give You More Bread,

Haven’t you had enough?!

Thursday, August 31, 2023

It was and will be cold again. And God will continue to bless us. Simple!

Psalm 105:40-42

They asked, and he brought quails, and gave them food from heaven in abundance. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river. For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.

Matthew 6:11

Give us this day our daily bread.

…

Words of Grace For Today

One knows, even after one has one’s fill, even at a feast, that one will get hungry again.

That’s how it is.

But,

how come we cannot be satisfied, knowing that there will always be enough?!

Well …

Because, there often has been, in history and in our own lifetimes, not enough!

The thing is when we work so there is enough, and take only what we need, not more, then we end up able to share more with others,

and others are more likely to share with us, when the day comes when we do not have enough

and through it all we have not wasted time and energy and opportunities to try to secure enough for ourselves.

Wasted that time is because there is no such security.

Might as well trust God and get on with as good a life as one can live,

which is (as God created us to live) a life of sharing with others, even to the point of suffering ourselves.

So Jesus messes with our lives (messed from how we want always to hoard for ourselves) and that saves us from messing up our lives so bad life is lost.

Today: trust God’s bountiful blessings.

Why not?

The Message:

The Lord Knows Us

Every Nook and Cranny

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Think We Can Hide Out There?

Think Again.

God Knows All About Us!

Isaiah 49:3

And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’

Acts of the Apostles 10:36

You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all.

…

Words of Grace For Today

Bonhoeffer wrote Who am I? Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine. … and he ended with:

Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am thine!

That is for all of us the most determinative thing to know about ourselves, that God knows us!

God knows us, every nook and cranny, all our good past-present-future, and all our terrible, hidden, denied, covered up, destructive acts and wishes and thoughts. It can be more than scary to think God knows all that! It can be downright debilitating, making us want to give up entirely,

EXCEPT

God demonstrates again and again, not only that God knows us inside and out. God shows us over and over again that God also loves us, as we are!

Knowing that God loves us, makes us able to love ourselves, and to love others (even though we never are very good at knowing ourselves or knowing others completely).

Knowing that we can love ourselves and others is liberating.

Knowing others do love us is marvellous, if entirely suspect, at times.

Knowing that God loves us is everything!

And of us miserable sinners (actually we are rather good at sinning) God brings us to be those who bring God to be glorified, by us and others, awestruck by God’s works for us all.