The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.
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John 5:39
You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf.
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Words of Grace for Today –
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So often we realize we ourselves or others spend our time and energy searching, searching, searching for
searching for truth,
searching for guidance,
searching for love,
searching for joy,
searching for God!
.
Then someone points us to the scriptures that show God has been with us all along, guiding us onward, like fire at night and clouds by day, showing us truth, loving us completely and unconditionally, giving us innumerable causes for joy, being right there with us
through it all.
By Grace alone the Holy Spirit enables us to have clear minds, open hearts, and active hands, always leaning on God.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever.
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Acts of the Apostles 8:6-8
The crowds with one accord listened eagerly to what was said by Philip, hearing and seeing the signs that he did, for unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, came out of many who were possessed; and many others who were paralyzed or lame were cured. So there was great joy in that city.
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Words of Grace for Today –
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The greatest wonder of all is that God actually loves us sinful humans!
Accounts of preachers bringing hearts and minds to realize God is not only to be feared but to be loved, in return for God’s steadfast, unending love for us all.
Accounts of illnesses being cured, illnesses that no one thought could be cured.
Accounts of God’s love enduring through people’s darkest times.
Accounts of people responding to God’s Wonders with great joy, spreading like wildfire – the only smoke being from the incense burned in ceremonies of thanks.
Account of …
Well they are account of God curing other people.
How about you! Will God cure you?
Will God ever get around to curing you of a disease that destroys people around you, a disease that is hidden in plain view, a disease that no one thinks can be cured, for you play it to your advantage while it consumes life around you?
Will God?
Yes, God will, whenever we allow God to turn our hearts and minds inside out. Whenever we surrender our lives to be as God created us to be: loving sacrifices, conduits of God’s love for all people. Whenever …
Whenever the Holy Spirit enters our lives and we do not refuse all that the Holy Spirit has to offer.
Whenever.
And then there will be great joy. In the city. In the deserts. In the bush. In the mountains. On the lakes and oceans. There will be great joy across the face of the earth.
Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.
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Matthew 24:14
And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.
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Words of Grace for Today –
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It’s okay, maybe fun, to watch in films or read in books as the End of All life is portrayed, brought on by forces unstoppable …
and then averted.
Who doesn’t want to know we have ingenuity and heart enough to avert the End of All Ends?
It’s okay, maybe fun, to watch in films or read in books as the End of Love is portrayed, brought on by forces that should have been stoppable, but selfish choices still brought on the end …
only to have true love inspire and move a simple person of heart to express love in actions that cannot be denied so that
…
love
wins
and lives on in hearts that were hardened.
But in real life …
all that is not fun to watch or be involved in.
In real life the stakes are higher,
for everyone involved.
The only thing that saves us
each day
is
the Holy Spirit working in us
to love where there is no room for love.
Only God saves us from ourselves and other people’s wish to hate us.
Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.
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Acts of the Apostles 8:38-39
He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
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Words of Grace for Today –
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So many people, so many times talk about encountering God’s Word
and
either
being so joyed that everything about their lives is denied, and a fake smile is plastered across their life, all the while their hearts rot out from under them,
or
find the burdens and costs (of discipleship that burn out their sins to make room for a new life) too much, so they proceed through life glum or depressed, while still claiming that God’s Good News has saved them again this day.
God intends for us to receive the Good (and Costly) News,
Then God said to Jacob, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph’s own hand shall close your eyes.”
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Luke 18:28-30
Then Peter said, “Look, we have left our homes and followed you.” And Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
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Words of Grace for Today –
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The rise of dictators around the world, and most disruptive, to the south, has any thinking person on edge.
The threats are like those in many times in the past. None of those times were good times for most people. Of course there were a few who made tremendous fortunes on the backs of everyone else. But it’s hard to see how any good person today would follow that path, though plenty are poised to try, if not already in action, to ‘fleece’ us all for their gain.
The immediate economic threats are clearly felt as we look for food, clothes and shoes, transportation (even vehicles for some), and shelter (even apartments and houses for the lucky ones), all at prices that we can afford. No honest person says things are going to get more affordable. The effort is to stop the rate of increasing un-affordability! Drop that on our heads and the response is almost always FEAR. Fear for ourselves, and greater fear for our children, and all the following generations.
The breakdown of good order in society adds to the triggers of fear. More and more the police are found to be bullies or white supremacist-racists or misogynists or misandrists, as are prosecutors, lawyers and judges. Even churches seem to be led by those faithful to something far from the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. The less than faithful can be found in all religious institutions.
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If we follow Jesus …
If we follow Jesus then we recognize we were created and given great gifts (everything we are and have, including the unmatched gifts of the Holy Spirit – given at our baptisms) so that we can share them with those most in need … the world ‘round.
Which means we already have no claim to any security of possessions, place, privilege, or reputation. Instead our security is founded only in that God will be with us and …
Well, even though we have reason to fear for our survival in the future.
We already know the future will be harder than the present.
But God always offers us peace
in knowing God gives us life, not to enjoy comforts and false security offered by possessions, place, privilege, or reputation.
God gives us life so that we may expend it
giving life to others.
And in the end
God will be with us and bring us home.
Fear not.
Purpose given, the best possible security demonstrated each day, the only ending worth anything.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another.
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2 Timothy 2:24-25
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth.
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Words of Grace for Today –
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True judgments, kindness, and mercy.
It really isn’t much, but …
for most of human history
truth, kindness and mercy
have so many examples of being
…
the exception to the rule of how we deal with one another.
So
again and again
we read
and
hear
that we should be kind, merciful, and make true judgments
for one another,
to one another.
…
and Happy Father’s Day to all who are responsible fathers!
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all.
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Mark 13:11
When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
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Words of Grace for Today –
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Sometimes God sends the most unlikely person to rescue us from ourselves, from our enemies, from all that ails us, and all that ails society.
But what are we going to say when our trial starts?
Senator Stackhouse had lots to say. Not much had much to do with anything. It was a filibuster after all.
I wonder how many Minnesotans even have met their own Senator Stackhouse.
He didn’t have much influence, or power, or political smarts, but he kept being elected to the senate for decades. Who knew if at 78 he would be alive to be elected again.
He was kind of an old curmudgeon. Kind of dependable that way, at least.
Then came the much needed omnibus bill for children’s health care. It started at 2 billion, and kept getting added to, for who was going to vote against child health care? It grew to over 6 billion, if I remember correctly.
Lots of horsetrading went into getting enough votes to support it’s passage through both houses. It was closed by the committee, and sent to the senate for a vote.
Senator Stackhouse had asked for a meeting with the White House, to get his little bit added to the bill. Sneezing from a head cold he asked for just a few hundred million for autism support, research, and care around the country. Laudable. But a bit late. The bill had just been closed. It was Friday. A recess waited. Everyone waited
to head off to a needed break, or
a family gathering for a milestone birthday,
or a long awaited trip to be renewed by nature,
or ….
It was noon by the time the vote was ready to be called on the floor of the Senate.
That’s when he started.
Started a filibuster.
Old Minnesotan, curmudgeon Stackhouse started a filibuster.
He couldn’t last long could he?
No Way!
Recipes, manuals, rules for card games.
On he went, standing, not leaning, not yielding the floor, not drinking or eating, not being excused to use the washroom,
just talking.
The news cycle deadlines came and went. The press corps waiting. The senators, long since drifting back to their offices, waiting. The White House staff waiting.
News giving background on Stackhouse.
Everyone waiting.
Waiting.
An assistant to an assistant, noticed something in the background photos of Stackhouse standing with his grandchildren.
Staff wrote email,
email to explain why they would be late
then that they would not make their flights.
Then that the last flights had come and gone.
So had connections by train and car.
Everyone waiting.
Supper came and went.
Stackhouse had stood and talked for more than 7 hours, going on 8. That poor old curmudgeon with a head cold kept talking, not yielding the floor. Holding up the vote, the news, the win for the White House and for Congress, and for the people and for children.
Then that assistant put it together. Only six grandchildren stood in those photos. Stackhouse had seven grandchildren. And background information revealed that one grandchild had autism.
Suddenly the picture of Stackhouse changed. The White House, even the president, made calls to other grandparent senators and got them, by point of order, to ask to join the filibuster by way of asking questions.
And Stackhouse got sit and rest and then stand again to give information about autism. Not the fake stuff that raises fears, but the real science, such as it was in that day. For this was decades ago.
People understood there would be no way to stop old Stackhouse because he wasn’t fighting for himself or just an idea. He was fighting, word by word, minute by minute, hour by hour, head cold and all, for one of his grandchild, and all the other grandchildren like his, with autism.
The White House called the committee, opened up the bill, since the news deadlines were missed already. They added the few hundred million for autism support, research, and care around the country.
The bill presented again to the Senate, the filibuster ended. The vote was taken. It passed both houses.
People missed a piece of their lives, but in the end everyone won.
I wonder how many Minnesotans, or even US citizens, knew Senator Stackhouse, or even knew of him. Had they heard of his filibuster?
Wouldn’t it be something if that was how politicians did business, with heart. Except maybe without the waste of piling on so many useless things that had nothing to do with children’s health care to such a bill.
Wouldn’t it be something to see cross party support emerge when it really counts, for the people who are kept from speaking for themselves.
Like immigrants, foreign workers, like … well we know there’s more of ‘them’ than get to speak.
…
Of course, Senator Stackhouse is a fictional character, along with the rest of the story, created by Aaron Sorkin and others, for the 2nd Season of the West Wing, 2000.
Wouldn’t it be something even if there were more fictional characters written like Senator Stackhouse and President Bartlet, and Josh and Sam, and Leo and C.J., Toby and Charlie, and all the others who made The West Wing one of the greatest television shows of all time.
Wouldn’t it be something if a lot more people lived their lives more like these characters, and less like the current president?
And Ezra said: “You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you.
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Acts of the Apostles 4:31
When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.
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Words of Grace for Today –
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Each morning, to varying degrees, I’m not good for much until I get a good ‘wake up’ kick. As I get older, sometimes I need a few more good ‘kicks’ to get through the day.
You don’t really want to deal with me before I get a good cup of coffee, full caffeine, ‘not any of that low octane decaf’ I used to say. But then I cannot sleep through the night. So it’s a bit decaf, a bit full punch to kick me into gear.
Lately I’ve returned to my habit started in college. I ran a mile or two at 6 in the morning, showered, studied a bit, before breakfast at 7:30. Of course it’s not 6, it’s not running. It’s more like walking to the lake 200 m, up the hill 400m, back down to camp 300m, or mowing for an hour. And I don’t do any real thinking or writing until after breakfast.
Later in the day it’s either more exercise just keeping my body moving or a bit of chocolate or coffee ice cream to punch me into clear thinking or energy to keep moving. That caffeine means I get a real poor night’s sleep, so the next day is a wash. But it provides hours of ‘up time’ for me to get things done while it lasts.
That ‘up time’ is what the Holy Spirit gives us in the first place, the breathe that is life, life right away out of the womb. It is more. It is the fire-wind-energy that is life itself in us. Our drive to be, to have purpose and meaning, to give so others can live fully.
This is what the disciples receive anew, after Jesus is gone. The Holy Spirit inspires them to live as the Church, spreading the Word of Jesus. In this Word is a God-given Spirit of service, of love, of forgiveness, of hope for all people.
Everyday we need a kick from and of the Holy Spirit, to move us onward, knowing the Holy Spirit works in our lives: it’s the kick that gets us going, the kick that keeps us going, the gift that gets us to think clearly, the energy that drives us to see and hold the truth.
