Daily devotionals

The Permanent Rule

Posted on by Betsy

Do you ever wonder why priests and pastors lift certain things up during worship? You’ve probably watched as the chalice, the paten, the bread, the offering plates, etc. are lifted up as words of blessing are spoken. Many of these traditions are hand-me-downs from ancient rituals observed by our desert fore-parents, who were sometimes following Levitical laws. We remember that the tribe of Levi were the ones who were the designated priests for the nation of Israel, so the book of Leviticus is chock-full of priestly knowledge and instruction.

In today’s passage, instructions are given for the observance of the Feast of Weeks, also known as the Pentecost. You will remember that it was this same festival that was being observed in Acts when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples gathered there and empowered them to speak and understand each other’s languages. It is understood that the church began that day. The festival of Pentecost was so named as it fell 50 days after the Feast of the First Fruits. The other two festivals that were prescribed in this chapter are the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread.

Leviticus 23:15-21

15 You must count off seven weeks starting with the day after the Sabbath, the day you bring the bundle for the uplifted offering; these must be complete. 16 You will count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you must present a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, you will bring two loaves of bread as an uplifted offering. These must be made of two-tenths of an ephah of choice flour, baked with leaven, as early produce  to the Lord. 

The precision with which these instructions were given seems almost daunting.

18 Along with the bread you must present seven flawless one-year-old lambs, one bull from the herd, and two rams. These will be an entirely burned offering to the Lord, along with their grain offerings and drink offerings, as a food gift of soothing smell to the Lord. 19 You must also offer one male goat as a purification offering and two one-year-old lambs as a communal sacrifice of well-being. 20 The priest will lift up the two sheep, along with the bread of the early produce, as an uplifted offering before the Lord. These will be holy to the Lord and will belong to the priest. 

The image of the priest lifting up two sheep is an impressive one. I have trouble lifting up two metal offering plates on Sundays … and that’s not because they are full! But imagine the power of this image to the worshippers. As we lift things up in worship, we are reminding ourselves of the One who provided those gifts in the first place. By lifting them up to heaven, we consecrate our gifts back to God, our Provider. So while we aren’t required to bring our goats, lambs, and sheep to the altar any longer (thank heavens) we are invited to lift up our hearts to the Lord at every holy occasion and give generously of our means..

21 On that very same day you must make a proclamation; it will be a holy occasion for you. You must not do any job-related work. This is a permanent rule wherever you live throughout your future generations.

Do you observe the Sabbath? Do you avoid work on that day? Is Sunday a holy occasion?

God deserves an offering of our hearts and minds at least one day a week. May we make that our permanent rule.

We Lift Up Our Hearts by Kitty Hawk United Methodist Church

The One Who Knows

Posted on by Betsy

Think for a moment about every relationship you have. Your parents, siblings, extended family, spouse, children, friends … who in this group would you say knows you the best? If you have a good relationship with your parents, you may have said one of them. If you are blessed by a good marriage, perhaps you named your spouse. For some of us, it’s a sibling who has known us all our lives. I took a walk with an old friend last week and told her I was relieved to have just submitted a completed assignment to the Cokesbury Publishing House, where I am an Adult Bible Study writer. She looked at me and said, “Yes, and when is it due? How many months early did you finish it?” I was tickled that she knows me so well. I like to get writing assignments wrapped up and off my desk early so that I can move on to the next thing. It blessed me to have a friend who has listened to me so carefully. I felt known.

And she was right. It’s not due until October.

No matter how strong your earthly relationships are, there is One who knows you better than anyone else. Psalm 33: 15 makes this clear: “God is the one who made all their hearts, the one who knows everything they do.” This unattributed psalm makes the case that God is both interested and observant in every aspect of our lives. God made all the hearts of humanity and watches over all who honor the Lord. Kings and warrior horses cannot save us: only God can deliver us from death.

God knows everything we do. How does that make you feel today, to be so fully known by the Creator of the Universe? Does it fill you with awe or shame?

Psalm 33 (Common English Bible)

The Lord looks down from heaven;
    he sees every human being.
14 From his dwelling place God observes
    all who live on earth.
15 God is the one who made all their hearts,
    the one who knows everything they do.

16 Kings aren’t saved by the strength of their armies;
    warriors aren’t rescued by how much power they have.
17 A warhorse is a bad bet for victory;
    it can’t save despite its great strength.
18 But look here: the Lord’s eyes watch all who honor him,
    all who wait for his faithful love,
19     to deliver their lives from death
    and keep them alive during a famine.

20 We put our hope in the Lord.
    He is our help and our shield.
21 Our heart rejoices in God
    because we trust his holy name.
22 Lord, let your faithful love surround us
    because we wait for you.

The sheer beauty of this last portion needs to be read again. We do, indeed, put our hope in the Lord who is our help and our shield! No matter what you are going through today, God’s faithful love goes through it with you. Do you trust that? Do you feel that faithful love surrounding you today?

We wait for God … and God never disappoints.

Getting To Know You by Michelle Robertson

Where is Wisdom

Posted on by Betsy

What do you do when you feel very frustrated with the plethora of misinformation that has flooded our world? I have tried to turn a blind eye to the ridiculous, harmful, and devastating stream of lies, innuendo, and manipulation that is coming from institutions and media outlets that were designed to protect and serve the people. Truth is hard to find. “Both sides” are guilty of pushing agendas that serve only themselves. I don’t know about you, but I have had enough. Staying off social media and not turning on the news helps a little, but it is not enough.

My greatest fear in all of this hate-talk is that we have become so used to it, we don’t question things anymore. We accept lies as truth in our numbness and have reached a level of tolerance when we see our nation’s leaders attack and demean one another without any sanctions or reprisals. The 24-hour news cycle must be fed, and so we quickly shift our focus onto the next scandal. I read yesterday that our ability to focus has gone from two-and-a-half minutes to 52 seconds. Try having a real conversation with anyone holding a phone and you will experience this. We’ve become addicted to click-bait, where very little real information is presented.

Where is the truth? Where is humility? Where is respect?

Where is wisdom?

Our lectionary this week addresses the subject of wisdom. As we pursue this topic, we are treated to a short passage from Proverbs on the subject. It is a somewhat fanciful account of “Lady Wisdom” inviting those who are struggling with “impoverished confusion” to come into her home for a special banquet meal:

Proverbs 9 (The Message)

1-6 Lady Wisdom has built and furnished her home;
    it’s supported by seven hewn timbers.
The banquet meal is ready to be served: lamb roasted,
    wine poured out, table set with silver and flowers.
Having dismissed her serving maids,
    Lady Wisdom goes to town, stands in a prominent place,
    and invites everyone within sound of her voice:
“Are you confused about life, don’t know what’s going on?
    Come with me, oh come, have dinner with me!
I’ve prepared a wonderful spread—fresh-baked bread,
    roast lamb, carefully selected wines.
Leave your impoverished confusion and live!
    Walk up the street to a life with meaning.”

I have to say that this brought me up short today. I want nothing to do with the “impoverished confused” at this point. But that is wrong, and not the way God calls us to deal with people. When people are impoverished, they need to be fed the Bread of Life. When people are confused, they need to be taught the Word. This is our job as followers of Jesus.

Scripture always points to the loving inclusion of the Kingdom of God. Lady Wisdom was wise enough to realize that the way to combat those who lack knowledge is to welcome them in, serve them the finest things, and invite them to walk out to a life with meaning….in other words, be patient. Be kind. Be less judgmental and more open to conversation.

This is a hard lesson today. May God grant us grace in our frustrations, wisdom in how to deal with things, and may he bring the Truth to bear down on all of us equally.

Help us, Lord.

Clarity by Michelle Robertson

Fall to the Ground

Posted on by Betsy

Our last devotional dealt with the call of Samuel and how he mistook God’s voice for his mentor Eli. As you recall, he eventually recognized that it was God speaking, and responded in obedience and faith by saying, “Speak, Lord. I am listening.” We are challenged to do the same thing in our lives … to finely tune our ears for the voice and command of the Lord.

What Samuel heard probably came a bit of a shock to the young boy. Even God acknowledged that it would make people’s ears “tingle.” The proclamation was devastating.

1 Samuel 3 (New Revised Standard Version)

11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”

Hophni and Phinehas were terrible sons, and Eli was a terrible father/high priest in that he neither restrained nor corrected them. They were guilty of stealing, embezzling, taking meat intended for sacrifices, and committing immoral acts with the women of the Temple. Eli had been warned about their apostasy and rebellion and did nothing. God had had enough. (See 1 Samuel 2:12-36 for the entire salacious story.)

Because they were given an opportunity to repent and save the house of Eli and rejected it, God shut off any chance of expiation by sacrifice or offering. This may raise a question for you about whether or not God would do the same to Christ-followers. I direct you to Hebrews 10:26, where the offense of rejecting the work of Christ Jesus for us would also result in no longer being able to access his sacrifice of our sins. Salvation and forgiveness are gifts of the cross, but you have to accept them.

Hebrews 10 (The Message)

26-31 If we give up and turn our backs on all we’ve learned, all we’ve been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ’s sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God’s Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he’ll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: “Vengeance is mine, and I won’t overlook a thing” and “God will judge his people.” Nobody’s getting by with anything, believe me.

So Eli demanded that Samuel tell him the truth about what God had said:

1 Samuel 3 (New Revised Standard Version)

15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” 17 Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.”

Eli declares defeat. Samuel becomes the last judge and first prophet of Israel. The Lord was with him and let none of his words “fall to ground.”

19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

Friends, when we listen and obey God’s word, none of our words will fall to the ground, either. Is God calling you to share your faith with someone before they reject the work of Christ?

Don’t delay.

God Calls by Michelle Robertson

You Called?

Posted on by Betsy

Do you think it is harder to speak, or to listen? Unless you have a true fear of talking, most of us would say it is harder to listen. A lawyer friend of mine made this comment at dinner last week. Given the amount of listening he has had to do in his long career, I think he speaks with authority on the matter. And as someone who talks for a living in court, he knows both sides. Probably one of the hardest things we do as friends, neighbors, parents, and spouses is to keep quiet long enough for someone to be able to articulate their feelings and emotions. It is so easy to jump in and try to verbally solve everything!

My church is blessed to have a program called Stephen Ministry. It is a ministry of listening. Stephen Ministers accomplish 50 hours of training and are assigned to people in crisis who just need a listening ear, an open heart, and praying hands. These beautiful folks are an absolute God-send to the congregation.

In our Scripture today, we see an almost humorous exchange between the old man Eli and the young boy Samuel. Samuel kept hearing someone calling him, so he kept waking up (and probably annoying) Eli as Eli tried to rest:

1 Samuel 3 (Common English Bible)

3 Now the boy Samuel was serving the Lord under Eli. The Lord’s word was rare at that time, and visions weren’t widely known. 2 One day Eli, whose eyes had grown so weak he was unable to see, was lying down in his room.3 God’s lamp hadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was lying down in the Lord’s temple, where God’s chest  was.

A key point from this opening passage is that the Lord’s word was rare at that time, but God’s lamp hadn’t gone out yet. What hope that brings to the church today, as we deal with declining attendance, the predominance of secular and anti-religion attitudes, and an aging membership. We can also claim that God’s lamp has not gone out. Thanks be to God!

4 The Lord called to Samuel. “I’m here,” he said.

5 Samuel hurried to Eli and said, “I’m here. You called me?”

“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go lie down.” So he did.

6 Again the Lord called Samuel, so Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “I’m here. You called me?”

“I didn’t call, my son,” Eli replied. “Go and lie down.”

Samuel was not the first and certainly not the last person who mistook God’s voice for someone else. Most of us can’t imagine God speaking to us and so we instantly look for another answer. Ask any minister and they will tell you the same thing: At the beginning of our callings, we were shocked that God was actually calling and leading us into ministry. I’m still shocked.

(7 Now Samuel didn’t yet know the Lord, and the Lord’s word hadn’t yet been revealed to him.)

8 A third time the Lord called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “I’m here. You called me?”

Then Eli realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down where he’d been.

I love how Eli the annoyed became Eli the anticipator. He finally recognized what was happening and prepared Samuel on how to be ready to respond the next time God speaks. That’s what good mentors do. They help us hear God.

10 Then the Lord came and stood there, calling just as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”

Samuel said, “Speak. Your servant is listening.”

Our next devotional will delve into what God asked of Samuel, but for now, let’s pause and consider the young boy’s answer.

Speak, he says.

I am your servant.

I am listening.

Are you willing to listen to God? Is God telling you to listen to someone in your life who needs to be heard? As God’s servant in the world, where are you being called to lead or mentor someone in their faith?

Today, may we be like Samuel and simply reply, “Speak, Lord.”

Kitty Hawk Moonlight by Lola Hilton (a Stephen Minister!)

Life Guarding

Posted on by Betsy

Memorial Day Weekend brings many things to the Outer Banks: tourists, traffic, revenue, beautiful beach days, and good times. On the Friday prior, it brings something else: the return of the Life Guard stands.

This acts as a catalyst for locals. When we see the stands coming out of storage from the beach houses and being erected, our pulse quickens. Summer is finally and officially here! Businesses prepare, restaurants shine up, rental agencies ready welcome packages, and I begin to pray.

The season we all depend on and wait all winter long to enjoy will bring another thing that we dread: ocean rescues. When we vacationed here before moving here, I used to get excited when I saw the Coast Guard helicopters flying overhead, until I realized they aren’t training…they are rescuing. I see the guard stands returning as a sure sign of summer, but now I see it with a sigh in my heart. Someone will lose his or her life here on our beach this summer.

The beach areas on the North Carolina coast are subject to undertows and rip tides that have a deadly force. Posted all along our beach accesses are signs with information on how to stay safe in the water. Unfortunately, many folks don’t read these as they trundle by with their arms laden with umbrellas, towels, shovels, and coolers. 80% of all ocean rescues involve getting swimmers out of rip tides.

HERE IS HOW TO SAVE YOURSELF FROM A RIP TIDE:

1. Don’t panic. Rip Tides are only about 20-100 feet wide. You can swim out of one.

2. Don’t swim directly to shore. When you feel the undertow pulling you out to sea, the urge will be to swim straight to shore. That will result in your being pulled out to sea.

3. Swim parallel to the beach. This will enable you to swim out of the current. Think of it like a treadmill that won’t turn off: you have to “step off the side” to get out of it.

4. If you are too exhausted, just relax and float. Tread water until the current dissipates, and then slowly make your way back, swimming parallel to the shore at an angle. Signal for help and wait for the Life Guard to come to you.

5. Learn how to spot rip tides. They look like disturbances in the wave line. They can be a flat and glossy break in the wave pattern, or a foamy one. While the waves come parallel to the shore line, rip currents run straight out to sea, cutting the wave in half.

We struggle with rip tides in life as well. There comes a time in everyone’s life when a rogue wave suddenly breaks on your shore, cuts you off at the knees, and threatens to sweep you out into the deep. Death, divorce, cancer, job loss, the discovery of a spouse’s betrayal … all the things that catch us off guard can feel like we are caught in an emotional current of foamy power, and we can’t even keep our heads up.

Psalm 46 (Common English Bible)

God is our refuge and strength,
    a help always near in times of great trouble.
2 That’s why we won’t be afraid when the world falls apart,
    when the mountains crumble into the center of the sea,
3     when its waters roar and rage,
    when the mountains shake because of its surging waves. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams gladden God’s city,
    the holiest dwelling of the Most High.
5 God is in that city. It will never crumble.
    God will help it when morning dawns.
6 Nations roar; kingdoms crumble.
    God utters his voice; the earth melts.
7 The Lord of heavenly forces is with us!
    The God of Jacob is our place of safety. Selah

8 Come, see the Lord’s deeds,
    what devastation he has imposed on the earth—
9     bringing wars to an end in every corner of the world,
    breaking the bow and shattering the spear,
        burning chariots with fire.

10 “That’s enough! Now know that I am God!
    I am exalted among all nations; I am exalted throughout the world!”

11 The Lord of heavenly forces is with us!
    The God of Jacob is our place of safety. 

But just like a real rip tide, with God’s help you can swim out of yours. Even if all you can do is tread water and float until rescue arrives, you can survive. The trick is to keep your head up. Stay focused on God’s activity in the midst of your panic. Keep praying toward heaven for help until it arrives. Lift your eyes upon Jesus and don’t look down.

No matter what it is you are floating in, God is with you. As big and frightening as your troubles are, they will not overwhelm you. You belong to God.

Rip Tide courtesy of NOAA

Being Adopted

Posted on by Betsy

Did you know that you are adopted?

True statement. Certainly, there is a percentage of readers who were adopted into their families, but in a spiritual sense, every one of us is adopted by God. This language of a familial relationship that carries a certain legal and permanent change of status speaks volumes about the love that God feels for each of us, his children.

In 1st Century Rome, adoption was a very serious matter. In adoption, a son (always a son) would be deliberately chosen to perpetuate the father’s name and his estate. Adoption provided that the son gained all new rights in the new family and all of his old life and debts were canceled. Prominent families who only had daughters could adopt a male so that their line and lineage would continue. This was necessitated by the (ridiculous) law that prevented female children from inheriting anything.

So when Paul uses adoption language in Romans, he is referencing the legal and binding relationship between Father/God and son/children:

Romans 8 (Common English Bible)

12 So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it isn’t an obligation to ourselves to live our lives on the basis of selfishness. 13 If you live on the basis of selfishness, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live.

Paul was always quick to point out that living for the flesh (“selfishness” … understood to mean sinful rebellion to God) would result in death. He goes on to remind us that we aren’t just saved by the works of the spirit, but we must also walk by the Spirit.

14 All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. 15 You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children.

With joyful confidence, we can proclaim God as Abba, Father, just like Jesus did. We understand Abba to be comparable to the word “Daddy.” What does it mean to you to think of God as Daddy?

17 But if we are children, we are also heirs. We are God’s heirs and fellow heirs with Christ, if we really suffer with him so that we can also be glorified with him.

Being an heir means all of your past has been wiped out. Being an heir means all of your debts are forgiven. Being an heir means that you have a Daddy who loves you and will never leave you. Your inheritance includes the key to the very gates of heaven itself. As God’s heir apparent, how will you live out your life? In faithfulness and duty, or in rejection and denial?

God invites us to live as the children of God. May our words and choices reflect our position.

Fountain of Blessings

Walking Through Fire

Posted on by Betsy

Last week was the graduation for the Dare County Firefighters Academy. Seven brave and faithful students received their firefighter certificates after 9 months and 400 hours of classroom and onsite training. That training included 21 weekends of drills. Did I mention that this is a volunteer corps? These new firefighters will serve in Corolla, Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores, Kill Devil Hills, and Roanoke Island. The spirit of camaraderie was tangible as they coordinated both a wonderful cookout for the guests and sported very loud Hawaiian shirts for the celebration.

I am a brand new volunteer chaplain for the fire department and giving the invocation for the graduation was my first official act. Chaplains only get called out when a death occurs, and I truly hope that attending graduating and offering a blessing over a meal will be the extent of my service with them. I sat in awe of their dedication and willingness to go deliberately into harm’s way to help people, and I pray that none of them come to harm either physically or emotionally as a result of their sacrifice.

I read these words from the 43rd chapter of Isaiah to them. I hoped these words would bring comfort to the new firefighters and their families:

Isaiah 43

But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.

3 For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. I have two friends who are going through very difficult custody battles and another who may lose her job. I think of them every day and pray this over them. When things like this happen, remember that you are only PASSING THROUGH this time of your life. It won’t always be this way.

When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. Another friend just lost his wife. Waves of grief will now come on a regular basis for a while. I pray this over him. When someone you love dies, remember that you will not be swept away by the sorrow forever; it will not always feel this way.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. For all of you undergoing cancer treatments, spending another day of your life in prison, struggling to find work, advocating for your family’s rights, walking in protest, fighting your way out of abuse, overcoming addiction … I pray this for you. I pray this for all of our steadfast first responders, who run directly toward danger to protect their communities. When you are experiencing a time of great trial, remember that you won’t be burned by your journey…just keep walking toward God’s promise for your life.

This passage assures you that God had redeemed you. He has summoned you by name. You are his, so do not be afraid.

Thanks be to God.

Sky Fire by Michelle Robertson

Call the Ball

Posted on by Betsy

I did some research into the Fresnel lens used in lighthouses for a sermon I am writing and it led me down a rabbit hole about these kinds of lenses. I remembered that my husband, when he was a Navy pilot landing on aircraft carriers, used a directional system called the Fresnel Lens Optical Landing System (OLS). The light system is designed to provide a “glide slope” for aviators approaching an aircraft carrier. The lights are projected through the Fresnel lenses in three different colors, telling the aviator when the aircraft is at the desired altitude in the approach at any distance from the ship.

If the aviator sees a red light (at the bottom), it means that the aircraft is dangerously low, and the subsequent flashing red light activated by the landing signal officer (LSO) would indicate a wave-off requiring the pilot to go around for another attempt. Yellow lights means you are approaching the carrier too high and will miss attaching your plane’s tailhook on one of the four arresting wires on the deck. Green lights mean you are in just the right glide slope for a safe landing. As the pilot approaches the carrier, the LSO instructs him to “call the ball” and the pilot has to report what color light he or she sees on “the ball” (actually a nickname for calling this blob of light a meatball) on approach.

This, by the way, is why Navy pilots can’t be colorblind. 

If God, who acts as our Landing Signal Officer, commanded you to “call the ball” in regard to the quality of your discipleship, what color light would you see? God already knows. As David boldly asserted in Psalm 139, God knows when we sit and rise, he knows our thoughts from far away, and he has us hemmed in from behind and before, with his mighty hand upon us.

Psalm 139 (New Revised Standard Version)

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from far away.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    O Lord, you know it completely.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is so high that I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from your spirit?
    Or where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
    if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and night wraps itself around me,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is as bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
15     My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
    all the days that were formed for me,
    when none of them as yet existed.
17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
    I come to the end—I am still with you.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any wicked  way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Spend some time today thinking about your life and what you would see if God told you to “Call the ball.” The discipline of self examination is not just for Lent, you know! Would you see red, yellow, or green lights? Let’s face it … none of us is getting any younger. As you are descending onto the safety of God’s ship, how are you approaching? Are you too high, living a life of selfishness and luxury, focused on your own needs while neglecting the world’s needs? Are you too low, living a life of sin and separation from God, following the whims of the secular world in pursuit of pleasure, wealth, and greed? Or are you in the green zone of serving, giving, studying God’s work, and doing his will?

The good news is, as you call the ball, it’s never too late to adjust your altitude … and maybe your attitude.

My Frame Was Not Hidden by Michelle Robertson

Dem Bones

Posted on by Betsy

Sometimes we experience a death of something that seems impossible to revive. The death of hope, the death of a career, the death of a marriage, the death of a church, the death of a dream … life if full of little deaths that leave us feeling bereft and alone. It is good in those moments to remember that the prophet Ezekiel was once commanded to prophesy to a Death Valley filled deep with dead bones.

The fact that these bodies had not received a proper burial in the ground tells us that they died in disgrace. Their bodies had been left for the buzzards to consume. Nobody said words of comfort over them as they were lowered into the ground. No one stood beside a grave pit and mourned. No, these corpses were deliberately scattered across the desert and had been left there for a long time. We see this as a statement regarding the disgrace the Israelites had brought to their nation through their disobedience and apostasy. In his vision, Ezekiel sees the long lost nation of Israel lying in bones and ruin in a waterless expanse of desert. There was no hope anymore.

Then something completely unexpected happened. God commanded him to prophesy over the bones, telling them that God will put breath in them, and they will live again.

Ezekiel 37 (Common English Bible)

37 The Lord’s power overcame me, and while I was in the Lord’s spirit, he led me out and set me down in the middle of a certain valley. It was full of bones. 2 He led me through them all around, and I saw that there were a great many of them on the valley floor, and they were very dry.

3 He asked me, “Human one, can these bones live again?”

I said, “Lord God, only you know.”

4 He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, Dry bones, hear the Lord’s word! 5 The Lord God proclaims to these bones: I am about to put breath in you, and you will live again. 6 I will put sinews on you, place flesh on you, and cover you with skin. When I put breath in you, and you come to life, you will know that I am the Lord.”

This is certainly a statement of the power of God. Not a resurrection of the dead, but a complete reversal of the decomposing of a corpse. The bones came together, bone by bone, sinew by sinew, skin on skin. Not surprisingly, God put each body back together in a right and orderly manner.

Just as God does.

7 I prophesied just as I was commanded. There was a great noise as I was prophesying, then a great quaking, and the bones came together, bone by bone. 8 When I looked, suddenly there were sinews on them. The flesh appeared, and then they were covered over with skin. But there was still no breath in them.

9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, human one! Say to the breath, The Lord God proclaims: Come from the four winds, breath! Breathe into these dead bodies and let them live.”

10 I prophesied just as he commanded me. When the breath entered them, they came to life and stood on their feet, an extraordinarily large company.

Dead bones rise again to become a huge army. With the breath of God in them, they are empowered to become the house of Israel once again.

11 He said to me, “Human one, these bones are the entire house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely finished.’ 12 So now, prophesy and say to them, The Lord God proclaims: I’m opening your graves! I will raise you up from your graves, my people, and I will bring you to Israel’s fertile land. 13 You will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you up from your graves, my people. 14 I will put my breath in you, and you will live. I will plant you on your fertile land, and you will know that I am the Lord. I’ve spoken, and I will do it. This is what the Lord says.”

We will be celebrating Pentecost this Sunday. This is a time when we commemorate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples who were gathered in Jerusalem, waiting for this gift that Jesus had promised. The Spirit of God was delivered in tongues of flame and a mighty wind. Could you use a mighty wind right now?

What are you waiting for? Do you need the power of God’s Spirit to come and revive some aspect of your life? Have you experienced the death of hope or a dream?

If God can make a new nation of Israel out of old, dusty desert bones, surely he can revive you, too.

After the storm.