Psalm 80
Colossians 1:9-14
Hard skin. Skin that is not supp;e does not function properly. Hmm. Can a callous heart funtion properly. Is it supple enough to be an effective pump?
Lord, help my understanding.
Go forth now as God'servant. Remember God's presence often and draw strength from the knowledge that the One who calls and sends also sustains. (A Guide to Prayer but I think it is from elsewhere).
Where?
I drift from day to day
As though you were in another place
Where would you have me go?
Far away I live my life
In the night of day
Groping to find a way.
Where would you have me go?
Shall I go out into the desert
Or stay right where I am?
Come creator, come
Guide my wandering soul.
I am lost in the darkness of life.
Lord find me, show me your light.
How do I know
Where you would have me go?
I see no signpost,
No beacon in the night
I cannot see your light.
I listen for your voice,
The still small voice
I have a different way for you.
Tell me where to go
Will you find my soul
And bring it home?
Guide me day by day.
(Written about five years ago)
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, I wish I did
I wish to praise the lord with all my life
I wish every breath were a song to you.
Do not put your trust in Enron
In paper money which shrivels away.
In priceless goods, worthless.
Working for what?
Blessed is he who listens to the lord,
Who considers the lilies of the field.
The Lord who clothes the world in beauty
Fills it with good things to eat
And is our rock.
Hear the news, act on the stories,
Feed the hungry
Champion the prisoner
Heal the sick
Comfort the depressed.
Pray for strength
Give rights to the alien
Befriend the lonely and deserted
Don’t stop to assess your wealth.
God rules
My God and your God
Praise him.
The Weather & Resurrection
Today is a sunny day. By Houston standards it is cold. After 3 hours of napping the dog has just managed to get off the sofa. There are days when there is no gleam of sunshine among the clouds; there is no hint of sky- blue or otherwise. Just grayness covering the earth; the weather even mak TV chat shows seem attractive. What was the weather on that first Good Friday- the day that Jesus was hung on the cross? Was it cold and dismal or was the sun shinning brightly overhead? Probably the latter as the average March maximum temperature for Jerusalem is in the high 50sÂș, or at least it should have been sunny but God covered the sun with darkness for three hours. Did Mary notice the weather the day she watched her son die?
It seems as if God also gone into hibernation. He has forgotten that clouds disperse and the sun shines. The gray is static. Will the brilliant orange crocus ever blaze through the brown earth as the Olympic torch heralds the games? God is working his purpose out just as he was on the Good Friday. The world was grim yet in three days there was rejoicing- well there would have been rejoicing if anybody could have understood what was happening. The disciples saw the empty tomb and were bewildered. Mary Magdalene claimed that she saw Jesus and that he spoke to her but who knew on which side of sanity she really lived. There was a great emptiness of tomb and heart. And yet God was working his purpose out. Jesus filled the road to Emmaus with his knowledge and love. Light filled the travelers’ hearts. Behind the gray clouds God still works out his purpose. The crocus will bloom and God will send his rays of sunshine into our life. Hopefully we shall recognize it for what it is and give God thanks for his purpose.