March 27, 2016
Happy Easter
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
But the pains which he endured, Alleluia!
our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
now above the sky he's King, Alleluia!
where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
March 23, 2016
Scripture Scrapbook- W and Y
MEANS: look at or observe
attentively, typically over a period of time; keep under careful, protective,
or secret observation; observe and guard in a protective way; follow closely or
maintain an interest in; exercise care, caution, or restraint about; look out
or be on the alert for; be careful.
FROM: Old English wæcce
watchfulness;’wæccende ‘remaining
awake’
BIBLE VERSE: Then he returned to his disciples and found them
sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn't you keep watch for one hour?” (Mark 14:37)
THOUGHTS: This
verse is familiar from the Passion narrative of Jesus in the garden before his
arrest. He asks Peter, James, and John to watch and pray with him, but they
fall asleep. Some churches hold an all-night vigil sometime during Holy Week
(usually from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday) to commemorate this scene and
allow us to sit and pray for an hour, or more. It is a moving time. Sitting in
the silence of the church or chapel, you do find it hard to remain focused and
prayerful. How much more would the disciples have found it hard to stay awake
after the Passover meal and Jesus’ unusual words. “This is my Body…this is my
Blood.” Weighed down by emotion and food, they slept, only to be roused by the
Master’s sorrowful words, ‘could you not keep watch for one hour?’
If you have the opportunity to keep vigil with Jesus this
Holy Week, I encourage you to do so. You might take the time to sit with the
words we’ve looked at since January; and ponder what they mean in light of your
life this Holy Week.
PRAYER: Blessed Jesus, help me to watch with you and
walk with you this Holy Week along the path to the cross. Let me not fear my
own cross, but to gladly follow you to victory.
o
MEANS: produce or provide (a natural,
agricultural, or industrial product); produce or deliver (a result or gain); generate
(a specified financial return); give way to arguments, demands, or pressure; relinquish
possession of (something); give (something) up; cease to argue about; give way
under force or pressure
FROM: Old English g(i)eldan ‘pay, repay,’ of Germanic origin.
BIBLE VERSE: Be patient, then, brothers and sisters,
until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently
waiting for the autumn and spring rains. (James 5:7)
THOUGHTS: As we
come to the end of the alphabet and this series of meditations (there being no
‘x’ or ‘z’ words), I invite you to consider whether the discipline of looking
at a few Bible words and citations has yielded any results in your heart. Is
there any ‘payment’ of a new insight or two? Is there a new ‘crop’ of ideas to
ponder going forward?
The citation says that the farmer waits for the land to yield
its valuable crop. In the same way, our Lord patiently waits for our faith to
produce something, and that requires yielding ourselves to God's leading.
There is a story called the "Daffodil Principle" that encapsulates how small, daily efforts can result in great beauty. This is the story of one woman's quest to beautify a hillside, one daffodil at a time. It concludes by saying "It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of
yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause
for regret is to only ask, 'How can I put this to use today?' "
PRAYER: May my
heart be planted with your word to yield new life each day.
SCRAPBOOK PROMPTS:
You might jot down thoughts that come as you keep vigil with
God.
Draw a field or garden of flowers, and label some of them
with the fruits you bear.
Consider how these words and others in this series have
given you insight into yourself or God.
March 13, 2016
Scripture Scrapbook- U and V
MEANS: confirm or support (something that has been questioned);
maintain (a custom or practice)
FROM: Middle English up and hold (hold is partly from Old Norse hald: hold, support, custody)
BIBLE VERSE: “Here is my servant,
whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I
delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.”
(Isaiah 42:1)
THOUGHTS: What do you ‘uphold’? Values? Rights? Freedoms? The flag?
Virtue? I notice that the original Norse hald
has the connotation of ‘custody’ as well as supporting. In that sense, when we
uphold something or someone, we are in custody, in charge, or a steward of that thing.
Our verse is from Isaiah where
God is talking about the one ‘I uphold…my chosen’. While in Isaiah this refers to
the Suffering Servant, it also could refer to each of us. Every living thing is
upheld by God’s love and chosen to act in the world. God has custody, charge,
stewardship of our lives. We do not have to stress, because God has chosen us
and loves us...no matter what!
PRAYER: Loving
Father, help me to trust that you uphold me in all events of my life. You are
there in things I think are ‘bad’ and those I count as ‘good’ or blessings. All
are yours and we are in your hand.
MEANS: an act of defeating an enemy or opponent in a battle, game,
or other competition
FROM: Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French victorie, from Latin victoria
BIBLE VERSE: But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(I Corinthians 15:57)
THOUGHTS: I don’t
know about you, but I often think of victory more in terms of military might,
than in a playful game. For others, even the contest of a game can be a
struggle for ultimate ‘victory’. Currently there are men and women contesting to
‘win the victory’ and the prize of election.
In the letter to the Corinthians, Paul specifies that God
‘gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’. What is this a victory
from or over? In the verses before, Paul talks about our ultimate resurrection
when “the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised…” (Echoes of the
trumpets in this passage from Handel’s Messiah
in my head!) He says that “Death is swallowed up in victory.” Verse 57 affirms
that we have victory over sin and death in Christ. Christ’s Resurrection has
‘won for us the victory’. There are in fact at least 34 verses in the Bible
telling of God’s work in bringing a victory for God’s people. As we enter the last couple of weeks before Easter, it is a reminder of the
price paid so that the Love of God could win such a victory.
PRAYER: Victorious
God, help me to remember that in You I have victory over all things that might
make me afraid. You are in charge and lead us to victory over the ultimate
enemy-death.
SCRAPBOOK PROMPTS:
You may want to list in your journal some of the things you
‘uphold’ as important.
Are there things that make you afraid? Write them or draw
them in your journal and then write VICTORY over them.
Consider the idea that you are upheld by God and
that gives you victory over all things.
March 6, 2016
Scripture Scrapbook-S and T
MEANS: resolutely or
dutifully firm and unwavering.
FROM: Old English stedefæst:
standing firm
BIBLE VERSE: Create in me a
pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast
spirit
within me. (Psalm 51:10 NIV)
THOUGHTS: Other
Bible translations of Psalm 51:10 ask for a ‘right spirit’ (KJV) or ‘loyal
spirit’ (NLT). The sense of each one being that we need to have our hearts, our
spirits changed. Psalm 51 is read on Ash Wednesday as a call to a holy Lent.
The Psalm begins by reminding us that God is steadfast. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love…blot
out my transgressions.” We, however, are in need of being re-created and made
new with a relationship that is firmly fixed on God.
You may remember the story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Anderson. The soldier is
part of a set of soldiers created from a single spoon. He is missing one leg
because the tin ran out. However, he falls in love with the ballerina doll.
Through a series of adventures he gets separated from the ballerina and his
home, until he is swallowed by a fish. This fish is bought in the market and
brought home for dinner. Discarded and thrown into the fire, the soldier melts
into a heart, still loving the ballerina, who herself blows into the fire and
is consumed “except her spangle, and it was burned as black as
a coal.”
Our own lives are a series of adventures that change and
renew us so that what is left at the end is a heart for God.
PRAYER: Living
God, renew a steadfast, unwavering spirit in my so that my heart may be fixed
on you.
MEANS: grow or develop well or vigorously,
prosper; flourish.
FROM: Middle
English (originally in the sense ‘grow, increase’): from Old Norse thrífask, grasp, get hold of.’
BIBLE VERSE: May grain
abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops
flourish like Lebanon and thrive
like the
grass of the field (Psalm 72:16)
THOUGHTS: Thrive
is a word that isn’t used much in the Bible. The word in this psalm citation is
also translated ‘flourish’, which is one of the definitions of the word. If we
read all of Psalm 72 we discover that it is a prayer for the prosperity of the
king. “…So may he live, and may the gold
of Sheba be given to him; And let them pray for him continually; Let them bless
him all day long. May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the
mountains; Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon; And may those from
the city flourish like vegetation of the earth. May his name endure forever;
May his name increase as long as the sun shines; And let men bless themselves
by him; Let all nations call him blessed…” (Ps. 72:15-17)
This is also a prayer for those of us who are sons and
daughters of the King of Kings. We are blessed by God to Thrive. A contemporary
Christian song by the group Casting Crowns is called Thrive. The artists remind us that we are “Like a tree planted by
the water We never will run dry. So living water flowing through…Fill our
hearts and flood our souls with one desire Just to know You and To make You
known… We know we were made for so much more Than ordinary lives. It's time for
us to more than just survive We were made to thrive…”
PRAYER: Loving
Lord of Life, Give us we pray that Joy Unspeakable, Faith
Unsinkable, and Love Unstoppable to know that Anything is possible. Help us to know
You and make You known, for we know we were made for so much more than ordinary
lives. We were made to thrive
SCRAPBOOK PROMPTS:
Read all of Psalm 51 and journal about ways that God’s
steadfast love is changing your heart this Lent.
Find an image that illustrates what it means, to you, to THRIVE in your relationship with God. Is
it the ‘tree by the water’ that the song mentions? Is it a green field? Is it a
cross?
God gives us, as the song says, “Joy
Unspeakable, Faith Unsinkable, and Love Unstoppable”. How does that prove God’s
steadfast Love to you, and help you to thrive in your relationship?
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