Puddles

Psalms 8, 24, 29, 84

Genesis 41:14-45

Romans 6:3-14

John 5:19-24

Psalm 84

Today is a day of rain. Be it autumn, winter or spring there are plenty of puddles in the forest. The sightings of the sparrows, blue tits and great tits, chaffinches and robins (the little european type) are just a memory of the last few weeks. Eighteen years ago I would not have remarked upon seeing one of these little birds but after such a long time away from their familiar sights it is as if they are saying "Welcome back".

My home has been elsewhere, on a different continent and even now though I am nearer to my origins in location and weather the language barrier is a constant reminder that I am still an alien. But this is where we live, where I go about my daily business, shop and travel on trams. I would say that this is where I am building my nest except that most of the materials for our nest are still in a container somewhere in Houston. In May we should move into our house, the place where we shall "dwell". Home is a tough concept. Some birds reuse the nest of a previous years, others build a completely new nest in a different place.

I trust God to be with us in our new nest. The world is a small place.

"The Lord is a sun and a shield". It is nice to be reminded of this on such a wet and rainy day.

I don't like this

Psalm 55, 138, 139

Genesis 41:1-13

1 Corinthians 4:1-7

Mark 2:23-3:6

Genesis 41:1-13

Have you ever said you would do something for somebody and then got so wound up in your own life that you totally forgot your promise. Through your self-centredness you caused unnecessary hardship and discomfort. I have and I am not going to talk about it. They are places into which I do not like to delve.

However, maybe it is alright in the big picture of life. Pharaoh listened to the wine-bearer's story about Joseph because it was of interest to him. If the same story had been mentioned to him two years previous when he had not had his scary dreams he might have totally disregarded Joseph's plight.

One never knows but that is not an excuse to leave undone those things which should be done.

Mud and more mud

Psalms 40, 51, 54

Genesis 40:1-23

1 Corinthians 3:16-23

Mark 2:13-22

Psalm 40

After weeks of snow and now days of rain we have plenty of mud. It is still boots on for walks. The pathways are just too slippery for shoes. Whilst the snow was melting we had inches of slush. For some reason Ernest thought this was great fun and tried to slide around on the slush. Reckless for most people and dogs but especially so for one who is not supposed to leap and jump or take risks with his back. I on the other hand walked gingerly down the side of the path clinging to the almost still crispy snow at the side. Now we have rain the best route is on the slightly raised centre part of the pathway where the stones and gravel have been least eroded. With a safe place to walk the soggy exercise is certainly pleasanter, I can enjoy the birdsong and the emerging buds.

Yes God is good and I do believe that beyond any metaphorical mud we encounter on our walk through life there is firm ground that can be reached.

What next?

Psalm 19, 46, 50

Genesis 39:1-23

1 Corinthians 2:14-3:15

Mark 2:1-12

Mark 2:1-12

I wonder how long the guy had been a paraplegic. He had some good friends. Did it take four of them to carry him because they were all so full of enthusiasm for the potential healing that the whole gang took him or because he had been lying down so long that he had got fatter and needed four people to carry him? Who looked after him, who was at home waiting for him to return- a wife, a mother?

There was no social security system so he would not have to go and register as no longer disabled. If his source of income was beggar then he had lost that. He would have to get a job. I wonder if he had a craft that he could resume, if his old customers would return to him or if they had found another supplier.

No doubt there was enthusiasm and joy at the release from the prison of his own legs. Dancing, running, leaping those were activities he would not have experienced recently. The pleasure of not being dependent on others for transportation, even to another part of the house - to the little room at the back. Jesus really changed his life.

It all started when Jesus said "Son, your sins are forgiven". He had done this because of the faith of those providing the legs, the friends who had brought the man to Jesus.

It is still the same. We might not be physically paralyzed but we can be so spiritually. In a rut and embarrassed about returning to our healer but our friends have the faith. Or let's have the faith for our friends.

Thanks again for the photograph Nome. I had a nice little ending about being able to get on a tram and was going to use the picture of the Google trip Planner being available in Brussels but then I discovered the photograph had a copyright. That little plug will have to return until I get home and take my own photograph.

Sunrise, sunset and the time between

Psalm 49, 119:49-72

Genesis 37:25-36

1 Corinthians 2:1-13

Mark 1:29-45

Mark 1:29-45

Today I watched the sun rise. Not in what one might say a spectacular manner. I have, early in the morning stood on the crest of the Grand Canyon and watched the growing light illumine the roses and yellows of the depths of the canyon. I have walked along the banks of the bayou in Katy and seen the red ball rise out of the horizon. Today was totally different. I was lying in bed drinking my tea with one eye monitoring the weather and the other on my Bible idly wondering what I would write. One of the panes of glass in the next building- we are on the tenth floor- seemed much lighter that the rest, it had a shiny white gold look about it. A few seconds later out of the formless glow came the shape of a rising globe until the whole sun was there rising up the building and starting its journey towards the left.

Jesus was up before dawn praying, planning his day, preparing to preach for that was the purpose of his visit,-to remind us of God's love. The miracles were a function of his compassion.

How shall I spend my day?

What news is this?

Psalms 45, 47, 48

Genesis 37:12-24

1 Corinthians 1:20-31

Mark 1:14-28

Mark 1:14-28

Jesus spoke at his local synagogue. The congregation had not heard such a good speaker in a long time. He mentioned things that they had not heard in a long while. Their regular teachers gave them the same 'ole same 'ole. He spoke as if he knew what he was talking about. But the message he expounded was the message of the prophets - all that Isaiah stuff that one hears in Handel's Messiah. And Isaiah's message was only given because the Jews had ignored the Law of Moses which Jesus summed up as "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbour as yourself."

Every civilisation has its focus. The Greeks their wisdom and logic; the Jews wanted miracles (1 Corinthians 1:20-31). Jesus gave them miracles. Multitudinous miracles were before their eyes throughout his ministry but they could not see the relevance to Isaiah's message. We have our modern age focus, whatever your opinion of that might be. There is 4000 year old news. The news is only new when we open our eyes to see it.

We look around and see God at work in our lives and the world around us. This week I saw some catkins dancing over the snow. The miracle of the unfolding of nature is always here as a reminder that ' God is' when the rest of our little world seems black.

Margins- God is faithful. The example of Winston Churchill

Psalms 41, 44, 52

Genesis 37:1-11

1 Corinthians. 1:1-19

Mark 1:1-13

1 Corinthians. 1:1-19

Books are special. We have many books. None of them are valuable first editions in mint condition except an totally unread version of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. Even though our books are not in perfect condition I would never have dreamed of writing in them. That would be sacrilege. Then I read that a copy of a book once owned by Winston Churchill had been sold for an enormous some of money, not because it had evidence of his fingerprints if one had the ability to read fingerprints because it was annotated by him. Thence I wrote in the margins of my books if and when I wanted. Not that my thoughts will make any book that I have owned have a greater resale value. It will have the opposite effect. I do it because it increases the value of the book to me.

This morning as I read the passage from Corinthians I noticed that i had highlighted the words "God is faithful" from verse 9. The date is in 1994. Yes God is faithful.

This is the only reason I believe and what I hope motivates me and why I am writing this. I really agree with Paul in verse 19. To believe is God makes no sense. I just know that it works. I do not quote from my own life because I like talking about myself but because this is the experience I have of God. The way that the illogical is believable.

Verse 19 is also a quote from Isaiah 29:14 which brings me back to another hobbyhorse- the relevance of the Old Testament in our modern day life.

And I almost forgot to mention Paul's listing of the people he has baptised. He's human after all. Oops, now what else..

God is faithful.

image from wapedia.mobi/en/Clementine_Churchill

temptation and blessings

Hebrews 2:10-18

Yes Jesus know what it is to be tempted but hew does not know what it is to fail at the temptation test.

This is a brief thought. Today is church day. A day to qorship God and gives him thanks for our blessings.

Psalm 103

Boring. What is the story?

Psalm 30, 32, 42 & 43

Ezekiel 39:21-29

Philippians 4:10-20

John 17:20-26

Psalm 42 & 43

When these two psalms for part of the daily readings I always have a problem resisting them, partly because I like to show off my knowledge of the fact that they were once one psalm. You can see this by the refrain that is repeated in both of them.

I find it interesting though that each time I write about them it is a different concept that seems foremost- the desperate need for God's living water (42:1 & 2); how I would wake up each morning after Matthew died with a pillow wet with the involuntary tears of the night yet God seemed so close (3); times of fed-upness (5); wonders of the majestic power of waterfalls (7) and God's creation and strength; God the rock (9); God the light and God to be praised (43:4&5).

Yet whatever I have pontificated about it has all been because of our compulsory high school assemblies. The only way to get out of them was to be a Roman Catholic.

One of the regular hymns was

As pants the hart for cooling streams,

When heated by the chase,

So longs my soul, O God, for Thee,

And Thy refreshing grace.*

I did not like it. At the time it was boring, like most of the hymns and readings. But when as an adult I discovered theses same words in Psalm 42 they were familiar. God had been paving the way for a closer walk with him.

And today's moral is "When God is not playing a part in your story you never know what part you are playing in his."

Whose story am I in now?

*Nahum Tate 1652-1715, Nicholas Brady 1659-1726

Books wiki.indianfolklore.org/images/e/e2/Book.jpg

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Three Things or maybe Four

Psalm 31, 35

Ezekiel. 18:1-4,25-32

Philippians 4:1-9

John 17:9-19

Philippians 4:1-9

1. This verse is special this year to the members of our evening service at Holy Trinity Brussels

as in January we were each given it on a card as a memory verse for the year.

2. It was then that David told how it was read at the end of every school year at the closing service in his high school. (Christ's Hospital founded by Edward 6th) This was a very moving service and the verse has remained with him through the many (40) intervening years as a reminder of how to conduct his life.

3. I have told my 'children' before. In fact I try to remind them every time I come to this passage that verse 8 is a prayer that I have for them.

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think on such things."

Skip my example, concentrate on the noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. Or understand that my intention was and is to be guided by truth and goodness (God with nothing added). May this be the focus of your life.

4. The cheat point as it is introducing a second passage John 17:9-19. Jesus' prayer and concern for his disciples. In my youth, when I was in High School this was an important passage to me. Now I have traveled through the intervening years I know that God does look after and care for us even when we have little or no thought for him.

picture openclipart.org/media/files/jonadab/8159

God is.

Psalm 37

Habakkuk. 3:1-10, 16-18

Philippians 3:12-21

John 17:1-8

Habakkuk. 3:1-10, 16-18

Ugh, the Old Testament, how boring. It is thought so tedious that the new and potentially more relevant part of the bible was published as a self-contained volume. I was given a pretty little pink leather bound New Testament for my eighth birthday. The Old Testament was what it said it was "Old". Long lists of almost unpronounceable names, take Habakkuk for instance, or even Naomi; lists of what what can or cannot eat or wear; lists of wars and pestilence.

Yet just like the New Testament or most of the books I read it is full of real live people and their stories, their likes and dislikes, dreams and visions. David's oowhoopsy with Bathsheba, Isaiah's wonderful foretelling of Jesus, Amos' high horse about luxurious living. Nothing changes, not even in 3000 or 4000 years. Today I am with Habakkuk saying "Why the tremendous earthquake in Haiti? Why the tsunami in Indonesia? Why hurricane Katrina or Rita or Ike? Why drought in Kenya? There is no sense in it except the sense that just as the seasons unfold in the forest so does the world unfold. With Habakkuk I can rejoice in the creator and find peace in the knowledge that there is God-Good with nothing taken away.

Why? I do not know. God is. Or in his own words "I AM".

Note photograph

Wikimedia Commons

This photograph was produced by Agência Brasil, a public Brazilian news agency.
Their website states: "O conteúdo deste site é publicado sob a licença Creative Commons Atribuição 2.5 Brasil"
(The content of this website is published under the Creative Commons License Attribution 2.5 Brazil)

Ash Wednesday

Psalm 102,130

Amos 5:6-15

Heb. 12:1-14

Luke 18:9-14

Amos 5:6-15

Snow has had a great influence on my life for the last two months, for most of this time there has been snow on the ground. Yesterday as the doggies and I walked through the forest I marveled to them on the wonder of creation. The sky was a clear bright blue - that in itself is a wonder in Brussels- and the snow seemed especially white, encrusted with sparkling gems. It was one of those times when I wished I carried a camera to encapture the sight.

It has also struck me whilst walking in the forest how in the summer the trees are decked with leaves providing a parasol to protect me from the sun - when there is sun-whilst in the winter the pathways have access to all the available light unimpeded by a leafy ceiling. Our creator did a lot of coordinating when he masterminded our world.

May I treat of all God's creation with reverence. My wish is that I might

"Seek good, not evil, that I may live. Then the Almighty God will be with me, just as I say he is."

(Verse 14)

Note: the French for umbrella is parapluie, logical since we have a parasol for the sun.

Naomi, Thank you for the photograph. I love the fading sunset in the background and the leafless trees allowing enjoy dusk.