Ps.104 is a hymn to the spirit of Creation.It links the spirit as breath of lfie to all living things. It sees God as a giver of many gifts for life, in its many forms, to exist. The Kepler telescope has discovered a number of planets where life could exist. They too share in the praise of god.Sunday-
Monday-"There is much emphasis on silence and listening closely, on only speaking when we have something to say, rather than trying to fill the quiet. Benedict knew we can hear things in the silence that otherwise gets drowned out with the daily hum. This was an issue even back in the sixth century long before our endless connectivity online."
Tuesday-To stand in, feel, and hold the tension of our opposites is the practice of becoming one. The oppositions within us will teach us and show us the way if we will let them. That means facing up to ourselves. It is a lifelong process. Wholeness is a practice not a completion. Every time we hold the opposites in tension we are offering God all that we are and all that we have. We give God something to work with. To the degree we eliminate the opposition within us we withhold ourselves from God. We deny God our life. Michael Marsh
Wednesday-Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery
thursday-"The kingdom of God is found not in some other world beyond but in our midst. It seeks our obedience despite contradictory appearances, and then it constantly seeks, through our obedience, the miracle, like lightening allowed to flash from the perfect, blessed world of the final promise. On Earth, God seeks to be honored by us in the other, and nowhere else. God plants his kingdom in the cursed ground. We must open our eyes, become sober, obey God here."***Bonhoeffer
Friday-Fear challenges our faith. It constantly makes us uneasy and takes away our inward peace. What have we to fear? Jesus is about freedom, about being unstuck and set free in a world that would like us to crawl into a shell. Luther often spoke of the fear of the wrath of God. What a gracious word that we are "children of God." Do not be afraid! Take away, O God, our slavery to fear and mistrust. Renew us with your Spirit to trust and hope in the promise that we are adopted and safe as your children. Amen.Ken Knutson
Saturday- Many pretend to know more about God than God knows about God. It has always been difficult for me to discuss God with someone who is so certain about God. Jesus shows us who God is. God is love and "Jesus loves me" is our simple but profound mantra. God accepts the whole world and Jesus accepts you and me. God is a compassionate God and in Jesus we see that compassion for the poor and the outcast, the unloved and the unaccepted. The challenge for us is to ask a lot of questions of ourselves and have deep discussions in community about Jesus and the work he was about. We don't always get the answers we want. Ken Knutson
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