Day 49 of 90 Devotion

Dearest e-votees-

Day forty-nine of our cover to cover voyage through the Bible. If you want to see the readings for our trip through the Bible you can follow this link:

www.christthegoodshep.org/biblein90days.html

Peace,
Karl

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Day 49 Readings: Isaiah 1:1-13:22

We have shifted dramatically from the wisdom literature into the prophetic writings. Isaiah, son of Amoz, gives some troubling predictions for Judah and Jerusalem. Images of destruction of formerly beloved vineyards, haunts for wild animals and remnants of population should have given the hearers pause.

The message that Isaiah lifts up is really one of "The End is Near!" I wonder how many even considered what he was saying or if he was dismissed like the cartoon cliché that sign-bearer has become. If someone stepped up in your congregation this Sunday or came to your door tonight or confronted you in the parking lot of Trader Joe's (or wherever you like to shop for the special something) and said "It is all going to end very soon." what would your response be? Jonah, eventually, went to Nineveh with just such a dire prediction. The whole place, palace to cow stable, fasted and put on ashes and God relented. Perhaps that would have been the case had Isaiah's audience been a little more attentive and responsive.

In the midst of these gloomy forecasts some of the most beloved promises of scripture about the coming savior are spoken. The sign of Immanuel is given to Ahaz in chapter 7 (how that is a sign to him when it isn't fulfilled for centuries is an interesting question for another time). Isaiah 9 puts the words to Handel's Messiah. More promises are to be found about the stump of Jesse in Isaiah 11. Jesus and his reign of peace and salvation are strewn throughout these texts of judgment, death and captivity.

Where do you find yourself this day? Do you feel that you are suffering consequences of God's judgment? Are you oblivious to what God's prophets are even saying? Are you put upon yet able to discern the hope of the coming kingdom and reign of Jesus? Are you conquering or conquered? Are you longing for a sign or perhaps a warning sign in the life of another? Are you one, like Isaiah, proclaiming "Here am I, Send Me!" (see With One Voice hymn number 752 "I, the Lord of Sea and Sky" aka "Here I am, Lord").

Our loyalties and our memories fade and falter. God, remembers God's covenant with us. The good promises of Isaiah 7 and 9 and 11 are for us and for all. May we rest in the gentle and saving reign of Jesus no matter what the world before us promises or threatens.


God, thank you for sending Jesus. Teach us to trust him and those who remind us of his promises and his coming reign. Help us hear your voice. He we are, send us. Amen.

Day 48 of 90 Devotion

Dearest e-votees-

Day forty-eight of our cover to cover voyage through the Bible. We have completed Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs (22 down, 44 to go). If you want to see the readings for our trip through the Bible you can follow this link:

www.christthegoodshep.org/biblein90days.html

Peace,
Karl

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Day 48 Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:1-Song of Songs 8:14

Today's reading starts with the Byrds and ends with the bes. (sorry, I couldn't resist)

Our reading begins with the sources material for the Byrd's song:

"Turn, Turn, Turn"
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ga_M5Zdn4)

There is a rhythm to our lives. There is a warp and woof, a wax and a wane, a season of abundance and a season of lying fallow. Part of the wisdom of Solomon is that we are in a series of undulations(Screwtape as recorded by C.S. Lewis had a few things to say about this as well). Part of our journey in this life is riding out the waves that wash over us. This is, of course, easier to do when we recall the baptismal waters that washed us most thoroughly and ensure our futures regardless of where the waves of this world drive us.

The other wisdom that is throughout Ecclesiastes, and I would say Song of Songs too, is to "be". We are not always certain of where we are going. Sometimes the wicked seem to prevail. Sometimes the promises beyond the grave seem too good to grasp. But there is wisdom and joy and hope in finding people and work that bring us joy and hunkering down with them. God comes to us incarnationally. Most profoundly, of course, in Jesus but God enters into our lives through others (Luther called that "mutual consolation of the saints") and God gives us purpose and direction through vocations ("callings") on our life. As we rest in these people and these callings the waves of life won't batter us around so much.

Solomon in all his wisdom doesn't always seem so happy but he seems to know a thing or two about joy. We can find it in the song of the Byrds and the workaday world of the bes.


God, thank you for sending Jesus. Thank you for sending ones to love and callings to tend as well. Help us rest in you no matter how the waters of life splash us around. Amen.

Day 47 of 90 Devotion

Dearest e-votees-

Day forty-seven of our cover to cover voyage through the Bible. We have completed Proverbs (20 down, 46 to go). If you want to see the readings for our trip through the Bible you can follow this link:

www.christthegoodshep.org/biblein90days.html

Peace,
Karl

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Day 47 Readings: Proverbs 20:22-Ecclesiastes 2:26

We complete Proverbs and move into the more substantial texts of Ecclesiastes. The more pithy and repetitive texts of Proverbs are replaced by the soul-searching of the author, Solomon. Solomon was asked what he wanted from God. He asked for wisdom. God granted him more wisdom than was ever found in anyone before him or would be found after. So to what end does this wisdom lead Solomon?

Despair.

With all of his God given insights (and riches and power as well which God heaped on for making the good choice of asking for wisdom) Solomon pursues satisfaction. He seeks contentment. He seeks significance. He seeks to make a difference. In all his seeking his summary statement to this point of Ecclesiastes is "Meaningless!"

So where does that leave us? We aren't as wise as Solomon. We don't have the resources not the influence of Solomon. Where do we find meaning? Where do we find satisfaction? Where do we find significance? How do we truly make a difference?

Perhaps we should look to one who wasn't in Solomon's sights--Jesus. Jesus came to bring into the world that which makes us whole. Jesus' call gives us meaning and purpose. Following after Jesus gives us satisfaction and significance. We can best impact our world and make a difference by living as Jesus would have us live.


God, thank you for sending Jesus. Help us lean strongly into the life that he is for all of us. Amen.

Day 46 of 90 Devotion

Dearest e-votees-

Day forty-six of our cover to cover voyage through the Bible. If you want to see the readings for our trip through the Bible you can follow this link:

www.christthegoodshep.org/biblein90days.html

Peace,
Karl

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Day 46 Readings: Proverbs 7:1-20:21

There are, of course, many proverbs in these 13 chapters. There seem to be some recurring themes:

* We are exhorted to behave honestly (fair scales, just treatment, etc., etc.)
* We are to seek, listen to and follow wise instruction
* We are doing better to talk less and listen more
* Idle gossip and chatter stirs up trouble for us and others, silence and prudent talk does the opposite.
* More work and less idleness serves us well.
* Simplicity with peace trumps extravagance with conflict.

If we want things to be well with our lives we would do well to heed time tested wisdom from the likes of Solomon and the other authors of scripture. The Holy Spirit has truths to convey. Will we heed this wise counsel?

Often our world tempts us like the adulterous woman at the start of Proverbs. Get rich quick schemes (which seem often to exploit unjust scales and treatment), screaming pitchmen, slanderous entertainments, fighting for everything we deserve, etc., etc. fall on the wrong side of God's equation. God knows better than we what we need. God cares for us more fully and comprehensively that we do for ourselves. If we want things to be good for us and for our families the precepts in Proverbs are a good place to start.

Bottom line, God wants good for us and for all. We will find it sooner and more securely when we heed God's ways.


God, Help us to be wise. Stir us to live according to the wisdom you have recorded throughout the Bible. Teach us your ways. Amen.

Day 45 of 90 Devotion

Dearest e-votees-

Day forty-five of our cover to cover voyage through the Bible. We have completed Psalm (19 down, 47 to go). We have also reached the halfway point in terms of calendar days. If you want to see the readings for our trip through the Bible you can follow this link:

www.christthegoodshep.org/biblein90days.html

Peace,
Karl

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Day 45 Readings: Psalm 135:1-Proverbs 6:35

We have much knowledge these days. When I was in college it was estimated that the bulk amount of knowledge was roughly doubling every 10 years (based on the number of new entries to the Library of Congress card catalog). Imagine how much more bulk knowledge--information to be known--there is compared to the time of the writing of Psalms and Proverbs. It is staggering.

Yet some might make the case that our wisdom has not progressed very much. What we know is very different than how we know and what we do with that knowledge. Some of the ways that knowledge are portrayed in the Bible might strike us as quaint, outdated or simplistic. Perhaps that case can be made. The wisdom that is communicated, however, is timely and a propos.

Wisdom is integral to a good an healthy walk with God. Wisdom is so important in living in this world and loving others as we ought. May our times spent in the days ahead with this wisdom literature truly speak to us.


God, help us to be wise. Help us treasure wisdom alongside of knowledge. Amen.

Day 44 of 90 Devotion

Dearest e-votees-

Day forty-four of our cover to cover voyage through the Bible. If you want to see the readings for our trip through the Bible you can follow this link:

www.christthegoodshep.org/biblein90days.html

Peace,
Karl

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Day 44 Readings: Psalm 109:1-134:3

By far one of the Psalms that gets read the most by me, particularly when near hospital beds and hospices, is Psalm 121 (A song of ascents.):

I lift up my eyes to the hills--
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip--
he who watches over you will not slumber,
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you--
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm--
he will watch over your life;
The Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore. (NIV)

When life has us flat on our back (illness, fatigue, accident, deathbed, etc., etc.) we look up seeking help. This psalm is a song about looking up to God. It is called a song of ascents. It would have been spoken or sung as people went up to Jerusalem on pilgrimages. It is a way of matching words to actions to longings of the heart. We look up to God for help.

God indeed watches over us. We are protected and comforted and shielded throughout our lives. We have no idea how many things didn't come our way through the deflection of a gracious God. God is vigilant in watching over us.

At some point, we will leave this world. None of us, not even Jesus, avoided physical death (maybe Elijah and Enoch but that's for a different time). We all get to die. But even in that coming and going the Lord will watch over us. There is nothing we go through in this life that God won't go through with us. That is a deep and abiding promise for us and for all we know who need to hear it.

Life is full of ups and downs--of ascents and descents. But not matter how far down we go, Jesus has gone further. And no matter how far down we go, God will lift us even higher as the promise of resurrection and eternal life come fully to bear.


God, help us keep our eyes ever and always on you. You are our faithful caregiver and we are yours. Amen.

Day 43 of 90 Devotion

Dearest e-votees-

Day forty-three of our cover to cover voyage through the Bible. If you want to see the readings for our trip through the Bible you can follow this link:

www.christthegoodshep.org/biblein90days.html

Peace,
Karl

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Day 43 Readings: Psalm 89:14-108:13

So much good material in these psalms. What particularly caught my attention this time through was part of Psalm 95:

Take heed, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
Does he who disciplines the nations not punish?
Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?
The Lord knows the thoughts of man;
he knows that they are futile. (NIV)

At times we think we are so clever doing things without being seen or heard or discovered. We keep up a good front. We wear the brave face. We cover our tracks as best we can and are pretty sure we made a clean getaway.

We are like the little kids on the video shows who are literally caked with evidence of the stolen treat as we protest to the camera "I didn't have any of that chocolate cake!" God fashioned the senses and perceives all. God formed our brains and knows how we think. God knows all and also how little we actually do.

Wisdom begins when we stop trying to fool ourselves and fool God. God knows. God knows better than we ever will. God loves (sometimes in spite of what God knows). God loves better than we ever will. We can more fully receive that love when we stop trying to act like we deserve it. Grace is so hard for us works-righteousness people. But God knows it is the only way.


God, help us stop running and striving and seeking to earn. Help us to open the gift purchased by Jesus and just be your children. Amen.