You’ve heard it before; “Your faith is all pie-in-the-sky religion.”
“I want to live life. I want to live it now!”
Doesn’t that really show how much the Christian faith
Is misunderstood and misrepresented?
Yet don’t we actually behave that way, and
struggle with feeling that way ourselves?
Don’t we forget sometimes that God is here with us.
Now. In the present.
Shouldn’t that change how we live our lives?
Paul thinks so:
Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you,
please don't squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us.
God reminds us,
I heard your call in the nick of time;
The day you needed me, I was there to help.
Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped.
Don't put it off; don't frustrate God's work by showing up late,
throwing a question mark over everything we're doing.
Our work as God's servants gets validated — or not — in the details.
People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly
. . .
in hard times, tough times, bad times;
when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard,
working late, working without eating;
with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love;
when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing his power;
when we're doing our best setting things right;
when we're praised, and when we're blamed; slandered, and honored;
true to our word, though distrusted;
ignored by the world, but recognized by God;
terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead;
beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die;
immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy;
living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
Dear, dear Corinthians,
I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life.
We didn't fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you.
Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way.
I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection.
Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!
Did you catch what Paul said? I know that there’s a lot, but here
Are some things that I heard:
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be saved in it;
let God redeem this day for us, and us for this day.
Since God is a just-in-time God, we need to be a just-in-time people,
ever alert to what God is doing in our world and seeking to join in.
Others aren’t watching the big things that we do, but the little ones;
And they’re watching our tough days, not just our victories –
by these they measure our virtues, our vices,
our values, and our character.
You can baptize us in tears, but our Joy in God is what fills us up.
God’s boundaries don’t fence us in; our lack of life imagination does.
May God help us all learn how to live life today.
Grace and peace,
Ron
2 Corinthians 6:1-13 - THE MESSAGE
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
From the gates of death ...
Hear the words of the psalmist;
read closely and meditate on these words:
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.
The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
Higgaion. Selah
The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
Put them in fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are only human.
As we meditate on these words, let us consider:
How is the Lord a stronghold in our life?
Since we know God’s name, how are we called
to trust him today?
How can our lives “sing praises to the Lord ” today?
What does it mean to me for God to be “the one
who lifts me up from the gates of death?”
Consider the ways in which we might plead
for the Lord to “rise up” in our lives today.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Psalm 9:9-20 – NRSV
read closely and meditate on these words:
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.
The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
Higgaion. Selah
The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
Put them in fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are only human.
As we meditate on these words, let us consider:
How is the Lord a stronghold in our life?
Since we know God’s name, how are we called
to trust him today?
How can our lives “sing praises to the Lord ” today?
What does it mean to me for God to be “the one
who lifts me up from the gates of death?”
Consider the ways in which we might plead
for the Lord to “rise up” in our lives today.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Psalm 9:9-20 – NRSV
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Other boats ...
Hear the word of God:
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them,
"Let us go across to the other side."
And leaving the crowd behind,
they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.
Other boats were with him.
A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat,
so that the boat was already being swamped.
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion;
and they woke him up and said to him,
"Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
"Peace! Be still!"
Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.
He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"
And they were filled with great awe and said to one another,
"Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
Sometimes you look at a text for a long time, and you think,
“What am I missing?”
And so you look, and you look, And suddenly there it is!
What do you see?
Although we all know this text very well,
I saw something in it for the first time tonight.
“Other boats were with him.”
Other boats that Jesus was not in.
Now we know what it was like in the boat that Jesus was in.
Wind. Water. Wailing.
A boat bursting at the beam with all three.
Danger. Drowning. Death.
A dozen hearts bursting with the fear of all three.
If it was that bad in the boat with Jesus (and it must have been bad),
Then can you imagine what it was like in the boat without Jesus?
I know that you don’t want to imagine this,
but try, for just a moment.
Imagine that you’re in the boat, the one without Jesus.
What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel?
If you thought that Jesus could hear you, what would you say?
What would you want to hear Jesus say?
Now that you’ve imagined what it is like to be in the boat without Jesus,
You’ve figured out what it’s like to be without Jesus altogether.
Is that a place where you would want to live?
Is that a place where you would want someone you loved to live?
Just remember, the sea isn’t any smoother in the boat with Jesus;
It’s just that Jesus is in the boat.
Grace and peace,
Ron
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them,
"Let us go across to the other side."
And leaving the crowd behind,
they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.
Other boats were with him.
A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat,
so that the boat was already being swamped.
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion;
and they woke him up and said to him,
"Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
"Peace! Be still!"
Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.
He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"
And they were filled with great awe and said to one another,
"Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
Sometimes you look at a text for a long time, and you think,
“What am I missing?”
And so you look, and you look, And suddenly there it is!
What do you see?
Although we all know this text very well,
I saw something in it for the first time tonight.
“Other boats were with him.”
Other boats that Jesus was not in.
Now we know what it was like in the boat that Jesus was in.
Wind. Water. Wailing.
A boat bursting at the beam with all three.
Danger. Drowning. Death.
A dozen hearts bursting with the fear of all three.
If it was that bad in the boat with Jesus (and it must have been bad),
Then can you imagine what it was like in the boat without Jesus?
I know that you don’t want to imagine this,
but try, for just a moment.
Imagine that you’re in the boat, the one without Jesus.
What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel?
If you thought that Jesus could hear you, what would you say?
What would you want to hear Jesus say?
Now that you’ve imagined what it is like to be in the boat without Jesus,
You’ve figured out what it’s like to be without Jesus altogether.
Is that a place where you would want to live?
Is that a place where you would want someone you loved to live?
Just remember, the sea isn’t any smoother in the boat with Jesus;
It’s just that Jesus is in the boat.
Grace and peace,
Ron
Monday, June 22, 2009
They reeled and staggered ...
Often we think that we alone have troubles;
sometimes we might be tempted to think
that we suffer those troubles alone.
Yet God knows, God hears, God suffers,
and God redeems us from those times.
Will we be faithful until the hour of our rescue?
Hear the word of the Lord:
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
As you hear the movement of this psalm,
imagine it, picture it, line by line.
Hear the crash of the waves,
smell the splashing salt water,
feel the blast of the wind …
Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits' end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Did you feel the waves lifting you high
and then falling out from under you?
Could you imagine how hard it would be
to walk the deck in the midst of such a storm?
Can you ever remember such a storm in your life?
A storm where your feet are under you one moment,
and the bottom falls out the next?
A time in your life when your heart
feels as if it tickled your tonsils one minute,
and stomped on your stomach the next?
Do you remember a time when you cried out,
not for food, or drink, but for life itself?
For hope in the face of despair?
He will hear our distress.
He will deal with the unruly sea,
as the text told us yesterday,
as if it were an unruly child.
Then we can celebrate.
Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
We ought to praise God.
If we are at a safe place, he has brought us to this haven.
If we still find ourselves riding out the storm,
he is the one who will has saved us before
and will deliver us once again.
Blessings,
Ron
Psalm 107:1-3; 23-32 – NRSV
sometimes we might be tempted to think
that we suffer those troubles alone.
Yet God knows, God hears, God suffers,
and God redeems us from those times.
Will we be faithful until the hour of our rescue?
Hear the word of the Lord:
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
As you hear the movement of this psalm,
imagine it, picture it, line by line.
Hear the crash of the waves,
smell the splashing salt water,
feel the blast of the wind …
Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits' end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Did you feel the waves lifting you high
and then falling out from under you?
Could you imagine how hard it would be
to walk the deck in the midst of such a storm?
Can you ever remember such a storm in your life?
A storm where your feet are under you one moment,
and the bottom falls out the next?
A time in your life when your heart
feels as if it tickled your tonsils one minute,
and stomped on your stomach the next?
Do you remember a time when you cried out,
not for food, or drink, but for life itself?
For hope in the face of despair?
He will hear our distress.
He will deal with the unruly sea,
as the text told us yesterday,
as if it were an unruly child.
Then we can celebrate.
Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
We ought to praise God.
If we are at a safe place, he has brought us to this haven.
If we still find ourselves riding out the storm,
he is the one who will has saved us before
and will deliver us once again.
Blessings,
Ron
Psalm 107:1-3; 23-32 – NRSV
Taking charge of the ocean ...
Sometimes when we talk with God, we forget to whom we’re talking.
We can forget who it is that we’re asking questions.
The way that God answers Job may seem harsh in some ways,
Yet, to me, it is the voice of a loving parent,
Trying to remind a child of:
Who truly has knowledge of the world;
who has demonstrated who they are;
And who has proven what they can do.
Hear the word of the Lord:
And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:
"Why do you confuse the issue?
Why do you talk without knowing what you're talking about?
Pull yourself together, Job!
Up on your feet! Stand tall!
I have some questions for you,
and I want some straight answers.
Where were you when I created the earth?
Tell me, since you know so much!
Who decided on its size? Certainly you'll know that!
Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?
How was its foundation poured,
and who set the cornerstone,
While the morning stars sang in chorus
and all the angels shouted praise?
And who took charge of the ocean
when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,
and tucked it in safely at night.
Then I made a playpen for it,
a strong playpen so it couldn't run loose,
And said, 'Stay here, this is your place.
Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.'
Job 38:1-11 – THE MESSAGE
Grace and peace,
Ron
We can forget who it is that we’re asking questions.
The way that God answers Job may seem harsh in some ways,
Yet, to me, it is the voice of a loving parent,
Trying to remind a child of:
Who truly has knowledge of the world;
who has demonstrated who they are;
And who has proven what they can do.
Hear the word of the Lord:
And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:
"Why do you confuse the issue?
Why do you talk without knowing what you're talking about?
Pull yourself together, Job!
Up on your feet! Stand tall!
I have some questions for you,
and I want some straight answers.
Where were you when I created the earth?
Tell me, since you know so much!
Who decided on its size? Certainly you'll know that!
Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?
How was its foundation poured,
and who set the cornerstone,
While the morning stars sang in chorus
and all the angels shouted praise?
And who took charge of the ocean
when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,
and tucked it in safely at night.
Then I made a playpen for it,
a strong playpen so it couldn't run loose,
And said, 'Stay here, this is your place.
Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.'
Job 38:1-11 – THE MESSAGE
Grace and peace,
Ron
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