Sunday-Ps. 67-Last week we read a psalm of
praise form all of creation. This week, we read of all the nations praising
god for the resources of the earth
itself. Then and now, it is a bold prayer for god to be praised when we do not
have one religion. It makes universal part of the Aaronic blessing. It shows a
god always at work for justice and guidance toward it. Where have we achieved justice?
where do we fall short?
Monday-"God does not call us to one
particular path that we scrutinize and discover. God calls us to the fullness
of living which can be manifested in a multitude of ways."
--- Christine Valters Paintner,
--- Christine Valters Paintner,
Tuesday-The act of praise is the antidote to the poison of
that lie which infects every aspect of life. Praise, at least for a few
moments, is the act of putting our true relationship with God back in place. It
is rejecting the big lie. We put ourselves aside and stand before the great
unknowable mystery of existence and acknowledge that God is God and we're not.
It's not an easy thing to do because our ego still so easily gets in the way
again as we congratulate ourselves on our lovely praising. True praise is an act
of pure humility--of letting go of our self-centered narcissism and turning
wholeheartedly to God. Perhaps in those rare moments of true praise we also
discover "God's saving power among all nations"--when we turn from
the big lie that we ourselves are God and instead acknowledge and revel in the
good news that God is God and the source of our life with its grace and blessings.
Wednesday-the doing is always
more complicated than it first appears. Are there things we're not supposed to
do, or do we just not feel like it? Is it too intimidating or boring or "beneath
us?" Even after the vision, Paul still had to "conclude"--that
is, figure out--what exactly he was supposed to do. So what might God be
forbidding us to do or undertake today? Who should we NOT talk to? What should
we NOT do so we are ready for the very thing that God has in mind for us down
the road? And how do we know. Lord, open our eyes, minds and hearts to hear both the
dos and the don'ts that you speak to us, and give us the wisdom to come to the
intended conclusions. Amen. Tim Kellgren
Thursday-so you have a life that you are living only now,
now and now and now, gone before you can speak of it, and you must be thankful
for living day by day, moment by moment, in this presence.But you have a life
too that you remember. It stays with you. You have lived a life in the breath
and pulse and living light of the present, and your memories of it, remembered
now, are of a different life in a different world and time. When you remember
the past, you are not remembering it as it was. You are remembering it as it
is. It is a vision or a dream, present with you in the present, alive with you
in the only time you are alive.”Hannah Coulter
Friday-“There is not one blade of grass, there is no
color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.” ― John
Calvin
Saturday- As
we age, we are not losing days to the past; the future comes to us every day as
a new gift. Mirolsav Volf
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