Hear the word of the Lord:
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you."
As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,
in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16 – NRSV
Grace and peace,
Ron
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
My triumph and my trouble ...
Today, a prayer:
O Holy One:
You alone know the depths of my heart,
the hope of my heart and soul,
the passion that moves me toward you.
You know my joy and my pain,
my triumph and my trouble.
you know the parts of my life
that I celebrate,
and the parts that embarrass me,
that I would hide from everyone
but you.
And so I bring them all to you;
hear me and love me anyway
if it pleases you so to do.
Love me, if you will, both for who I am,
and who I would that I were.
Love me for the good I have done
through your power,
and the good I would hope to do.
Yet asking this seems to me to require
that I pray you, I beseech you:
forgive first my pride, my arrogance,
my presumption.
“Who am I?” David asks,
and I with him.
Who am I to think that I can
accomplish anything for you –
For you have the power,
the knowledge,
the skill.
Who am I, surrounded by so many
amazing and gifted people:
your people, citizens of your kingdom?
Like those saints, you choose not to call
me servant,
but have instead named me “Friend.”
Yet it pleases you for me to be
in a small place,
a quiet place,
a solitary place,
a place where few will know me,
and even fewer will care.
May I revel in usefulness.
May I find contentment,
and give it to you as a gift:
a token of my steadfast love,
an offering to signify my trust
in your will, in your way,
in your providence.
May I be at peace.
May I live in that peace,
revel in that peace,
share that peace,
And daily speak of your peace:
peace past understanding,
peace past measuring,
peace past description,
yet powerful to save.
And now, mighty Father, having heard,
take my words;
take the lips that spoke them,
take the mind that framed them,
take the heart that felt them,
take all of me, body and spirit,
as your worship –
worship in spirit and truth,
until I am forever and irrevocably yours
through the intercession of your Son,
and the witness of your Spirit.
Amen
O Holy One:
You alone know the depths of my heart,
the hope of my heart and soul,
the passion that moves me toward you.
You know my joy and my pain,
my triumph and my trouble.
you know the parts of my life
that I celebrate,
and the parts that embarrass me,
that I would hide from everyone
but you.
And so I bring them all to you;
hear me and love me anyway
if it pleases you so to do.
Love me, if you will, both for who I am,
and who I would that I were.
Love me for the good I have done
through your power,
and the good I would hope to do.
Yet asking this seems to me to require
that I pray you, I beseech you:
forgive first my pride, my arrogance,
my presumption.
“Who am I?” David asks,
and I with him.
Who am I to think that I can
accomplish anything for you –
For you have the power,
the knowledge,
the skill.
Who am I, surrounded by so many
amazing and gifted people:
your people, citizens of your kingdom?
Like those saints, you choose not to call
me servant,
but have instead named me “Friend.”
Yet it pleases you for me to be
in a small place,
a quiet place,
a solitary place,
a place where few will know me,
and even fewer will care.
May I revel in usefulness.
May I find contentment,
and give it to you as a gift:
a token of my steadfast love,
an offering to signify my trust
in your will, in your way,
in your providence.
May I be at peace.
May I live in that peace,
revel in that peace,
share that peace,
And daily speak of your peace:
peace past understanding,
peace past measuring,
peace past description,
yet powerful to save.
And now, mighty Father, having heard,
take my words;
take the lips that spoke them,
take the mind that framed them,
take the heart that felt them,
take all of me, body and spirit,
as your worship –
worship in spirit and truth,
until I am forever and irrevocably yours
through the intercession of your Son,
and the witness of your Spirit.
Amen
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Glory and honor ....
What is it to be human?
Sometimes we have such a low view of humanity.
We become so consumed with the failings of people
that we forget that God made us in his image.
We lose track of the fact that we are
the crowning glory of the creation story.
Yet God is not confused about our potential;
He has entrusted so much into our care.
His name is majestic, yet man and woman
Are well worthy of honor themselves.
Hear the word of the Lord:
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Ps 8:1-9:1 – NRSV
Be blessed in being human.
Ron
Sometimes we have such a low view of humanity.
We become so consumed with the failings of people
that we forget that God made us in his image.
We lose track of the fact that we are
the crowning glory of the creation story.
Yet God is not confused about our potential;
He has entrusted so much into our care.
His name is majestic, yet man and woman
Are well worthy of honor themselves.
Hear the word of the Lord:
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Ps 8:1-9:1 – NRSV
Be blessed in being human.
Ron
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
A prayer for the day ...
O Maker and Creator,
With your gifted hands you have shaped
The space, the creation that surrounds us:
Stars above, skies around, and soil beneath.
From the earth below you have formed earthlings,
And into that still clay you have breathed life,
Sustained life, empowered life to bring life.
O mighty one, the mighty things you have done -
Just weeks ago, that which you have done
So many times: you gave us a life.
Once again you brought life into our midst –
Beautiful, amazing, resilient life –
Another life to join those other beautiful children
Who bless us with their presence.
Now we are on the very eve –
Soon, and very soon, you will bless us again.
We beseech you for a safe arrival for this little one –
Healthy and whole bring this child into our midst.
As you bring life, protect life –
Keep those we love safe as they experience
The miracle of this moment.
You expand the boundaries of our community;
We pray that you grow our hearts as well.
Open our hearts for another life, another child.
One man is the father, one woman bears the child,
Yet each child has a community of faith-fathers,
Each precious life, a congregation of spirit-mothers.
As you end birth pains for mother and child,
we ask you to end other pains long suffered –
We ask that surgeon’s skill and your mighty hand
Bring healing to our brother,
Who has held fast in the hour of hurt.
Sustain life, enable healing, strengthen body, and
Erase pain with health, purpose, and joy.
O Maker and Creator, heal our troubled hearts.
May your steadfast love beckon us from loss,
Drawing us into your gentle, loving presence,
Changing the ragged holes in our hearts from
Bottomless pits of pain and pity and might-have-been
To deep, cool wells of love and compassion –
Knowing care for our fellow-sufferers.
O Maker and Creator,
Use human hands you have gifted and shaped
To do your work amid the creation that surrounds us:
From the stars above to the soil beneath,
Bless your earth by the hands of your earthlings –
Until that day when you rescue our spirit, the breath of life,
And sustain our life into eternity, empowered forever.
From your mighty hand we ask these gifts,
Amen.
Blessings,
Ron
With your gifted hands you have shaped
The space, the creation that surrounds us:
Stars above, skies around, and soil beneath.
From the earth below you have formed earthlings,
And into that still clay you have breathed life,
Sustained life, empowered life to bring life.
O mighty one, the mighty things you have done -
Just weeks ago, that which you have done
So many times: you gave us a life.
Once again you brought life into our midst –
Beautiful, amazing, resilient life –
Another life to join those other beautiful children
Who bless us with their presence.
Now we are on the very eve –
Soon, and very soon, you will bless us again.
We beseech you for a safe arrival for this little one –
Healthy and whole bring this child into our midst.
As you bring life, protect life –
Keep those we love safe as they experience
The miracle of this moment.
You expand the boundaries of our community;
We pray that you grow our hearts as well.
Open our hearts for another life, another child.
One man is the father, one woman bears the child,
Yet each child has a community of faith-fathers,
Each precious life, a congregation of spirit-mothers.
As you end birth pains for mother and child,
we ask you to end other pains long suffered –
We ask that surgeon’s skill and your mighty hand
Bring healing to our brother,
Who has held fast in the hour of hurt.
Sustain life, enable healing, strengthen body, and
Erase pain with health, purpose, and joy.
O Maker and Creator, heal our troubled hearts.
May your steadfast love beckon us from loss,
Drawing us into your gentle, loving presence,
Changing the ragged holes in our hearts from
Bottomless pits of pain and pity and might-have-been
To deep, cool wells of love and compassion –
Knowing care for our fellow-sufferers.
O Maker and Creator,
Use human hands you have gifted and shaped
To do your work amid the creation that surrounds us:
From the stars above to the soil beneath,
Bless your earth by the hands of your earthlings –
Until that day when you rescue our spirit, the breath of life,
And sustain our life into eternity, empowered forever.
From your mighty hand we ask these gifts,
Amen.
Blessings,
Ron
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
A year of devotion ...
Today's devotional message (see below) brings one full year of devotionals for the Westview team to completion. Not all of the first month made it onto the blog, but on May 13, 2008, this practice of the community began.
My hope and prayer is that God will take this practice and use it to help form us more perfectly into the image of Jesus Christ, virtue by virtue.
May God make it so.
Blessings,
Ron
My hope and prayer is that God will take this practice and use it to help form us more perfectly into the image of Jesus Christ, virtue by virtue.
May God make it so.
Blessings,
Ron
It will not come near you ...
God blessed David because he was a hero of the faith. My friend, Charles Siburt, says that the truest synonym for faith is courage. Courage is faith in action. At the beginning of the book of Joshua, for example, both God and the people of God encourage Joshua: “Be strong and courageous!” Don’t just be faithful, Joshua; courageously put your faith to work.
Ministry at Westview requires us to launch out courageously every day. We risk vulnerability. We risk looking like fools. We risk loving without receiving even a sign that our love is reciprocated. We risk safety for our children in order to provide safety to children who have know so little safety in their lives. We send the friends we love out to risk their hearts one more time in order to try to offer rescue to one more child who so desperately it. I’d say that it takes courage to be a part of this team.
On those days when I particularly need to feel courageous, on those days when I particularly feel that God is calling me and empowering me to be courageous, I love to read one particular psalm. Sometimes I even read the words out loud to feel their amazing power:
You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust."
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
the Most High your dwelling place,
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honor them.
With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.
Psalm 91 - NRSV
Be strong and courageous.
Ron
Ministry at Westview requires us to launch out courageously every day. We risk vulnerability. We risk looking like fools. We risk loving without receiving even a sign that our love is reciprocated. We risk safety for our children in order to provide safety to children who have know so little safety in their lives. We send the friends we love out to risk their hearts one more time in order to try to offer rescue to one more child who so desperately it. I’d say that it takes courage to be a part of this team.
On those days when I particularly need to feel courageous, on those days when I particularly feel that God is calling me and empowering me to be courageous, I love to read one particular psalm. Sometimes I even read the words out loud to feel their amazing power:
You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust."
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
the Most High your dwelling place,
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honor them.
With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.
Psalm 91 - NRSV
Be strong and courageous.
Ron
Monday, May 11, 2009
Magnified forever ...
David gets a new “house” of cedar; David (through Nathan) offers to build God a “house”; God declines a “house” and instead (through Nathan) offers David a “house” that isn’t cedar. Now it’s David’s turn.
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!
Did you catch that? David is done with intermediaries. He “went in and sat before the Lord.” There are times when God’s goodness is so good that just need to sit down and talk for a while. Yet this is no casual conversation; hear the awe and humility in David’s words: “Who am I …” and “What is my house …?” David well knows that God’s promises are from the goodness of God’s heart and not merited favor. Yet as world-changing as God’s promises turn out to be, they do not require a large expenditure of God’s power. Through what “small thing in the eyes of the Lord God” has God wrought such a huge blessing in your life?
And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
David has heard about a lot of gods, but he has heard of no God like Yahweh God. Humans seek to manipulate and provoke their gods with a little “g”, but they waste such efforts on Yahweh, a God who will, on his own, seek the highest good for his people. He often shapes these good things in forms that his people could not even begin to imagine. How has God seemingly passed over your prayers in order to give you something better than that for which you hoped?
Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods? And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O Lord, became their God.
Just he sent Israel, so God sends out the church to share his redemption, to sing his praise, to press the cause of his kingdom, and to replace worldly idols in the hands of others for his real and powerful presence. How is God acting through us, as his people today, to accomplish these very things?
And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, 'The Lord of hosts is God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever."
While David’s posterity was faithful, his house reigned over Israel. Sadly that faithfulness found a bitter ending. Yet even past the promise as David understood it, God maintained his promise by continuing David’s house. What David could not have fully understood was that God would take David’s acts of faithfulness and use them as a pathway to enter into the world as Jesus, God Incarnate. In the hands of an eternal king, the throne of David has become truly eternal. In the hands of the eternal king, Jesus, God has fulfilled his promise to David in a way that immeasurably dwarfed David’s understanding.
So, the question comes to us: “How will God use our faithfulness to advance his kingdom into the eternal through the seemingly insignificant things that we say or do?” Not only do I believe that God will do this, but that he has already begun to do so. We don’t have to foresee all of the possibilities for God to make use of the work of our hands. Yet I think that we will find great encouragement in this imagining if we will allow ourselves to see the possibilities of our diligent ministry. We will also find innumerable reasons to praise God for his work in our world in our lives.
“Thus your name will be magnified forever!”
Blessings,
Ron
2 Samuel 7:18-29 – NRSV
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!
Did you catch that? David is done with intermediaries. He “went in and sat before the Lord.” There are times when God’s goodness is so good that just need to sit down and talk for a while. Yet this is no casual conversation; hear the awe and humility in David’s words: “Who am I …” and “What is my house …?” David well knows that God’s promises are from the goodness of God’s heart and not merited favor. Yet as world-changing as God’s promises turn out to be, they do not require a large expenditure of God’s power. Through what “small thing in the eyes of the Lord God” has God wrought such a huge blessing in your life?
And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
David has heard about a lot of gods, but he has heard of no God like Yahweh God. Humans seek to manipulate and provoke their gods with a little “g”, but they waste such efforts on Yahweh, a God who will, on his own, seek the highest good for his people. He often shapes these good things in forms that his people could not even begin to imagine. How has God seemingly passed over your prayers in order to give you something better than that for which you hoped?
Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods? And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O Lord, became their God.
Just he sent Israel, so God sends out the church to share his redemption, to sing his praise, to press the cause of his kingdom, and to replace worldly idols in the hands of others for his real and powerful presence. How is God acting through us, as his people today, to accomplish these very things?
And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, 'The Lord of hosts is God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever."
While David’s posterity was faithful, his house reigned over Israel. Sadly that faithfulness found a bitter ending. Yet even past the promise as David understood it, God maintained his promise by continuing David’s house. What David could not have fully understood was that God would take David’s acts of faithfulness and use them as a pathway to enter into the world as Jesus, God Incarnate. In the hands of an eternal king, the throne of David has become truly eternal. In the hands of the eternal king, Jesus, God has fulfilled his promise to David in a way that immeasurably dwarfed David’s understanding.
So, the question comes to us: “How will God use our faithfulness to advance his kingdom into the eternal through the seemingly insignificant things that we say or do?” Not only do I believe that God will do this, but that he has already begun to do so. We don’t have to foresee all of the possibilities for God to make use of the work of our hands. Yet I think that we will find great encouragement in this imagining if we will allow ourselves to see the possibilities of our diligent ministry. We will also find innumerable reasons to praise God for his work in our world in our lives.
“Thus your name will be magnified forever!”
Blessings,
Ron
2 Samuel 7:18-29 – NRSV
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