God's True Law

Luke 13:10-17

I like the passages, like this one, in which Jesus gives smart yet loving answers to the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. They had following God's commands as explained by men at their heart. Jesus exemplified the way of love which underwrote the Law. Sometimes it is so easy to take the easily visible route without delving into the depths of need.

Trusting again

Numbers 20:14-29

In my sleepy state this morning I thought "Ah, dying is a mountain top experience for Aaron". I was reminded of the transfiguration of Jesus story.
On reflection though I saw the downside to the episode.

Whether it was a real high of his life or not he knew that God was involved. It was God who gave Moses the instruction to take Aaron and his son up the mountain and to strip Aaron of his priestly garments. Aaron was going up the mountain to die. Why? Because he had not trusted God to produce water out of rock without the rock being hit with the staff. It was not even Aaron who had hit the rock, that was little brother. Aaron only acquiesced to the action. But God knew what was in his heart.

Lord give me a pure heart and forgive me for the many times when I do not trust you.

Overstep

Numbers 20:1-16

It was not because he left his wife or because he was a murderer that Moses did not enter the Promised Land. It was due to the little episode that we read about today. He did not trust God to bring flowing water from the rock without a little help from his staff.

How much do I trust God or do I always have to do it my way. God did not want Moses to be just a bystander- Moses had been instructed to stand in front of the rock and command it to produce water. But he did more. Now I need to listen and obey and not overstep my duty.

Daisy Chain

Romans 5:1-11

I loved making daisy chains when I was a child, in fact I still like the challenge. Can I make the slit in the fragile stalk large enough to thread the next through it or will the next stem be too thick. Will my hand quiver too much or will I use too much force and the stem rip apart.

Suffering ~~  Endurance  ~~  Character  ~~  Hope

Hope does not disappoint because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

God's loving and tender care builds my character into a chain that will endure whatever suffering befalls me.

(Note to God- no more suffering please.)

Not special

Numbers 16:36-50

I do not like the passage. It is one of those which I would prefer had not been written and certainly one that I wish I never read. I do not like the thought of all those people dying. Neither do I like the thought of God being that angry. But he was and they did die, all of them in one day.

How pleased I am that Jesus came, died and rose again and that I believe this to be true; It is all that will same me. All that the Israelites had done to be so offensive was to think that Aaron and his sons were not so special.

Red sky means.....?

Luke 12:49-56

Red sky at night shepherds delight, red sky in the morning sailors warning.

This is one of the first rhymes that I remember learning and it has stayed with me. As Jesus said it is indeed a useful indicator of weather. I have not quite got my mind around the explanation so I am not going to attempt to explain it. You can read it here.

Lord help me to be aware of the needs of the people I meet- and to respond in the way that you would want.

God is with us.

Number 11:24-35

I wonder what effect this one off experience of God's spirit had on the men on whom it/he descended. He was commissioning them to be Moses' helpers for more than a day. I believe that though they did not prophesy again they did knew that God was with them, even the ones who, for unknown reasons had not gone to the meeting.

The Cloud

Numbers 9:15-23, 10:29-36

"Where would you like me to go today Lord? "

"Just follow the cloud, Jane and when it stops that is where I want you to go in for coffee. There is somebody I want you to meet in that coffee shop."

I wish that following God was that simple. Maybe it was not really that simple for Moses too as he pleaded with Hobab, his brother-in-law to stay with the Israelites in the wilderness. Moses wanted Hobab's expertise in choosing good places to pitch the tents in the wilderness. I suppose when I get to the coffee shop, or supermarket checkout I have to make the decision and act to engage in conversation with my neighbours in the queue.

Now for the first step. Which cloud shall I follow?

Lord help me to discern your direction for my day.

"Get a life"

Matthew 16:21-28

I ahve a list of things that I want to do. I always have a list and it gets longer every day because I never seem to get everything done that I think is essential to do. I had beed thinking about this during the week and wondered if losing my life was not really being a dead martyr but more giving up my will to do the tasks that God wants done during the day.
A different angle on "Get a life"

Shouting

Matthew 15:21-28

I do not like to shout. I was always the subdued parent on the sideline of the football field. The others were all shrieking their daughter's name, or of the player who needed encouragement. It was not that I was not involved. I just feel the need to be quiet.
We watched the marathon recently. As she ran by our daughter shouted "Aren't you going to cheer?" My husband responded accordingly. I kept on filming.
I knew that the woman in today's story was a nuisance but never before did I realize that she was shouting at Jesus to attract his attention. Perhaps I need to do a bit more shouting in Jesus' ear.

Pentecost

Deuteronomy 16:9-12

So I suppose this explains why today is called Pentecost. fifty days. What I want to remember is to thank God for the blessings I have recieved from him. The particular blessing we remember today is his Holy Spirit.

Wisdom

Ephesians 5:1-20

I do not know what wisdom is but I do want to be wise. I would like to be able to give astute advice when consulted by family members. Really what I should do is point them to God and not worry about myself, except to be a channel for him.

My unique role

Ephesians 4:1-16

We are the body of Christ and just as each atom of my body has a unique role so does each person in the body of Christ. We cannot all be coffee makers or money counters.

Maybe more to come later

Do not lose heart

Ephesians 3:1-13


Those of us who visited the sick and were the ones who were available for private prayer during the service in our church in Houston were members of the Community of Hope. We followed the Benedictine way of spirituality. One of the aspects of this is lectio divina. This is the attitude which I often use in my daily writing. I suppose this blog is a kind of journal of reflections on our daily reading.
Today the words which hit me were 'do not lose heart'. I needed this today. maybe I am taking them out of context but they are words of comfort which I need to hear.