March 15th - Reflection

Genesis 4:1-16 (NRSV)
God protects Cain
Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have produced a man with the help of the Lord." Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."

Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" And the Lord said, "What have you done? Listen; your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground! And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me." Then the Lord said to him, "Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance." And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Reflection
Who decides what is good or what is bad? We do it all the time. We decide what is good and what is bad. We judge people based on our decisions. But here, God decides not good or bad, but what pleases him. The Lord had regard for Abel;s offering. He thought highly of Abel's offering. Abel brought of the first lings of his flock and Cain brought of the fruit of the ground. Was it the manner the offering was presented or the quality? We are really not sure, but for some reason God had thought highly of Abel's offering. God can have a favorite after all. It's not a competition here between Cain and Abel. But it seems to have became one when Cain became angry, killed Abel and lied to God about his death.

Sin enters into us through one means of anger. Our selfish pride of seeing someones work honored, leads to the open door of sin and the anger it produced to sneak into our lives. Then when action is taken on that anger, sin controls us, even to the point of murder.

Our separation in sin from God widens as we deny any knowledge. God here chose to protect Cain but Cain didn't feel like it was protection, but rather made him a target and a shame to all the world. We are set out as fugitives and wanderers away from God in our sin. We are lost in our sin.

But thanks be to God, we are marked and still claimed by God. We are also free to turn around a wander back to God. He didn't say Cain couldn't return to him and repent of his sin. God opened the door for the return of man to him by sending his son Jesus to be that man that would lead us all back to the Father.

Marked with the ashes of sin and death, through Jesus coming, life, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection, we are lead back to God in Jesus to be marked with that baptismal cross of Christ forever. It's Jesus that saves us and re brands us with the death tool he died on for us that gives us eternal life with God. We return, through Jesus, to the grace of God in joy and thanksgiving. Marked by the saving grace of God that protected Cain we are marked with the cross of Christ and see the countenance of God shine once again upon us and be gracious to us. The return! Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, cast me not away from your presence...but let the glow of your countenance graciously shine in and through me that I may love those you give me with your love this day. You are God! --- Amen

March 14th - Reflection

1 Kings 19:1-8 (NRSV)
An angel feeds Elijah in the wilderness

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

Reflection
Elijah has just done a ton of work for God and what did he get for it? Death threats! I think Elijah was pretty sick and tired of this whole ordeal. He wasn't making any great progress and it still seemed like a long haul ahead. So depressed and tired, Elijah had enough of life and was ready for it all to end. He was old after all. Give an old guy a break.

But God had more in store. God fed Elijah with bread. What a symbolic food God has chosen to bring life to his people. Bread that would sustain Elijah for a long time and bring him back to Horeb the mount of God.

Likewise God has given us Bread to sustain us for a long time. Through Jesus Bread we can go for a long time towards our goal, with the mount of God in focus. We can be disciples, gathering people along that path towards that cross along the way in our life. Bread to sustain us and Wine to give us that burst of energy only God could provide.

Let Jesus into your life this day and follow him. Open the Word and see Jesus come to life in the pages of the Bible. Seek the Sacraments and see earthly elements spring to life along with the Word and a promise from God. Your life will change. And all along you will focus on Jesus and be fed with that same wonderful Bread that fed Elijah at a low point in his life. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, today feed me your Bread, teach me your Word, show me your Sacraments in action and lead me as I follow you in your kingdom...today...tomorrow...and forever. --- Amen

March 13th - Reflection

First Sunday in Lent
Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV)
The temptation of Jesus
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written,
'One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
'He will command his angels concerning you,'
and 'On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
'Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.' "

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Reflection
Jesus faced the same kind of temptations you and I face. Jesus faced the same kind of temptations the Israelites faced while wandering in the wilderness. Jesus faced the same kind of temptation that Adam faced in the lust of the fruit, and the lust of the eyes. Jesus faces the same kind of temptations you and I and all people face.

Jesus, having come through the waters of baptism was now tempted for forty days. Likewise the Israelites having come through the saving waters of the Red Sea were tempted in the wilderness for forty years. Jesus was tempted to do many of the things that God had already done for the Israelites in the wilderness. Think back of manna and relate this to the bread from stone temptation.

Jesus knew the lives of the Israelites well and he knew what God had done for them. And Jesus got the point of it all...Worship the Lord your God.

The Israelites missed it...we miss the point...but Jesus didn't. Jesus took on temptation knowing that it's all about God. Not about your needs or my needs, it's about God. So as we face temptation in our daily lives. Try...try your best to turn to Jesus and see that's it's not about what it does for yourself, but it's all about God. Turn to Jesus, he's closer than you think, and seek his help. Turn to Jesus and see that Light and Listen to him. You can't do this on your own. You need Jesus. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, when I face temptation, settle my mind that I may turn to you and see your light and listen. You are God the One I worship...today...tomorrow...and forever. --- Amen

March 12th - Reflection

Psalm 51 (NRSV)
Create in me a clean heart
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.

You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
then you will delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Reflection
I have sinned. I have grievously sinned. I am convicted of sin. It's my sin and not yours. It's sin that I did and I am accountable for my sin. I have turned away from God in my sin. My sin has hurt others and my sin has hurt God. My sin has been against God. My sin deserves death.

I need to be cleansed of my sin. I need God to wipe me clean. I can't clean this mess up on my own. I need God to wash me clean.

And it's only God who can do this. I can't turn to someone else to have my sin washed clean. God is the only one who can clean me from my sin. So I throw myself to God and seek the blood of sacrifice for my sin.

I can't stand the thought of separation from God. I crave God's love in spite of my sin. I'm so afraid that I will be cast into outer darkness. I need God to save me from my selfish hell that my sin has brought on.

And then I see the blood of Christ. At the foot of the cross, I slowly gaze up and see Jesus offering of forgiveness for my sin. At the foot of the cross, I witness the only one who could ever make me clean. At the foot of the cross, Jesus creates in me a new heart, a clean heart, a new and a right spirit inhabits me. At the foot of the cross I see Jesus take me up, when I should be cast away, and places the joy of salvation within me.

Thanks be to God! Thanks be to God! Eternal thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, in my sin I come to you. In my sin I fall to the foot of the cross. Forgive me and renew me and return to me the joy of your salvation. --- Amen

March 11th - Reflection

Romans 1:8-17 (NRSV)
Live by faith
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers, asking that by God's will I may somehow at last succeed in coming to you. For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as I have among the rest of the Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith."

Reflection
Have you ever remembered someone always in your prayers? Especially those with a strong faith. Those you pray for daily that their faith may remain strong. Strong through all suffering...strong through all pain...strong through all the situations that life seems to bring. You pray that Jesus would be with that person or persons in such a meaningful way that they will feel and know of his presence and follow Jesus. You pray for a deep spiritual gift to be active in them that the world they live in may know of the gospel love that God has planted within their hearts.

Have you ever remembered someone always in your prayers and wanted to be with them? I think that may be that agape love that God gives to us from time to time. A love that is always unashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith.

Have you ever remembered someone always in your prayers?

Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, I bring before you this day those faithful witnesses of your love and your gospel. I give you thanks for those who model your love. Be with and protect all in your way...today...tomorrow...and always. --- Amen

March 10th - Reflection

Romans 1:1-7 (NRSV)
Appointed to preach the good news of Christ
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

To all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflection
God was previously known as the Creator, the God of the Column of fire, the cloud, the God of the Tabernacle sitting over the Ten Commandments. God was the one who lead his people into war and back to safety. God was known as a caring, loving, God, yet a fierce judgmental God. Maybe too much for us to understand.

So God appeared in flesh in the form of Jesus. Jesus walked with us and lived love, compassion, healing and saving grace. Jesus showed his Spirit to this world and when he ascended, the Holy Spirit came to us to lead and guide us.

It was in his Jesus experience that Paul was called to reach out to the Gentiles. God's people have now been opened up to everyone through the saving life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus for the sin of all the world. Paul was called to bring the word of salvation to all the world.

Likewise, you and I have been called to be saints in the Christian fellowship that exists in this world and in the heavenly realm. So as we prepare for our action to all that God has done for us through Jesus. As we prepare for the action of our call. As we live in the hope now planted deep within us. We are given a greeting.

Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. What a start! Thanks be to God!

Reflection
Lord, teach me, show me, guide me in your grace and peace that I may act out in this world in the love you give...today...tomorrow...and forever. --- Amen

March 9th - Reflection

Ash Wednesday
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (NRSV)
The practice of faith
"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.


"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ...

"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Reflection
So what's the point is the point here? When we take some action...what's the point of that action? Do we do things just to look good? Do we act like the church lady on Saturday Night Live? Are we trying to impress others? What's the point of your actions and words?

Focus on Jesus in action and words. Jesus doesn't need to know how good you are. Jesus doesn't need you to act as if you are his friend. Jesus wants you to be you and to have an honest and open relationship with him. When we have a relationship with God our relationships with others are directed by the love God has shown us through Jesus.

It's not about you or me at all. Jesus life exemplified the giving up of oneself for a purpose or cause. Jesus gave his very life for that purpose, to die for the sin of the world and rise again to eternal life. Not for himself, but for the world. Likewise we concentrate on the call God has in store for us. We apply our actions towards God and God gives those actions to others. Not in the "church lady" way that does no one any good, but in an honest way that is humble and gracious and loving and from the heart.

Focus on Jesus and his light. Follow him as a disciple and honor God. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, forgive me when my focus strays from you to me. Take my life. Clarify your call for me. Help me clearly understand the purpose you have in mind for me and guide me all along the way. --- Amen

March 8th - Reflection

1 Kings 19:9-18 (NRSV)
Elijah hears God
 At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."

He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." Then the Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel meholah as prophet in your place. Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

Reflection

Do you suppose that Elijah was at the same place that Moses spoke with God on the mountain? Elijah was at a cave. Maybe God and Moses met at a cave on the mountain. Maybe we meet God at a cave too? The women and the disciples were in a hurry one morning to meet God at a cave.

God seems to be telling us at times to stop. Stop and listen to the gentle sound of silence. Stop and listen to Jesus in the silence. Stop and listen to what God has to say.

It's easy to get in a hurry in the hustle and bustle of our lives. It's easy to move about thinking only of what goals we have set for the day. It's easy to get all wrapped up in planning our every move. It's easy to lead a selfish life of my plan and my way. It's easy to forget to stop and listen for the gentle sound of silence and let go of the plans and listen to God.

Let go of my life and my plans and give my life and my plan over to the gentle voice, the still small voice, and listen to the life and plan God has for me.

Go to the stillness of the cave, the tomb, and witness the resurrected life in Jesus, God has there. Listen to the gentle sound of silence. Feel the presence of death becoming life in Jesus. In the tomb, in the cave, in the prayer, in God. In the gentle sound of silence, we hear that still small voice, with the mighty roar of eternal life. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, I pause...I listen...In the silence I hear Jesus.  ---Amen

March 7th - Reflection

Exodus 33:7-23 (NRSV)
Moses asks to see God's glory
Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each of them, at the entrance of their tents and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down, all of them, at the entrance of their tent. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then he would return to the camp; but his young assistant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the tent.

Moses said to the Lord, "See, you have said to me, 'Bring up this people'; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.' Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people." He said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." And he said to him, "If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth."

The Lord said to Moses, "I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name." Moses said, "Show me your glory, I pray." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, 'The Lord'; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live." And the Lord continued, "See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen."
Reflection
We really want God to be with us in this life. At least I know I want God to be with me. I especially want God by my side when I'm hurt, ill, emotionally pained, or in the midst of my sin. I need God to walk with me and lead me and guide me. I need God to take away the fear of choosing directions to take, or going through a dark moment in life. I need God by my side in my life.

Moses really wanted God to be in this "leadership" thing along with him. Even though the people had sinned and strayed from the path God had in mind, Moses needed God and wanted God. I wonder if this human need is what God is looking for out of us. God wants to be needed. God doesn't need to be needed, but when God sees the children reaching out in love for their Father's love, God always responds.

Now we have Jesus. Jesus a man who comes to the door and knocks. Jesus who reveals his face and emotion, his love and compassion and friendship. Jesus is God in flesh and walks every day with us. Walks in Spirit and in Word. As I reflect on the written Word, the Word revealed in the sacraments, and the spoken Word through other disciples and people God sends, I see Jesus. I see Jesus and hear him. I see Jesus and want to know my direction, my purpose, and his love. And I want to walk this life with Jesus.

Can Billy come out to play? Sure! Mom, I gotta go! I'll be back for supper! I'll have a few friends with me! OK? Bye!

Prayer
Lord, as you come to my door, I get excited. Lead me this day away from the trap of sin. Lead me and teach me to love others with the love and compassion you have. Show me your face while we play. --- Amen

March 6th - Reflection

Transfiguration of Our Lord
Matthew 17:1-9 (NRSV)
Christ revealed as God's beloved Son


Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."


Reflection
It was a reunion of sorts. Or maybe it was an introduction to the divine by a unique circle of friends.

Moses had been exposed to the Light of God in the past. So much so that the people would request that he wear a veil to shade the glow from his face after his God encounters.

The mountain was the place. The place for Moses and the Ten Commandments and for Elijah in that "Still small voice." The mountain top was associated with revelations from God. And here the disciples would witness the voice of God and see the Light of God shine brightly.

When we see Moses we think of the "Law" and when we see Elijah we think of the "Prophets," so here we have the Law and the Prophets and the Son along with the disciples all in a mountain top experience. It was a reunion of sorts.

Throw in a bright cloud. Cast back images of the cloud that would lead the Israelites through the wilderness and you have a divine message, a divine revelation.

When we experience God's salvation in our lives, a cloud settles near us and the Holy Spirit is given to us to lead and direct us. We gain the focus of the Light of God and God takes us to new levels as we follow God's voice, God's Light and God's way. We would love to remain on this "high" but this is just the beginning.

Moses had so much more work to do after the Ten Commandments and the first cloud experience at the tabernacle. Elijah had so much more to do in God's purpose for his life after his mountain top experience. Jesus was to begin the passion and his gracious act on the cross for us. Likewise the ministry of the disciples was just beginning.

In this same manner when we are baptized we also hear those words that God is pleased. Just as God spoke on the mountain top this day about his Son. We are just at the beginning of the new life God will live in and through us at our baptism. At Jesus baptism God spoke those same words of pleasure in Jesus. And at our baptism God speaks the same words to you and me.

So, as mountain top experiences occur for you and me, may we relive our baptism and know the unique pleasure God has for us, yet be ready to move on boldly and confidently with the mission God has called for us to do...day by day...into eternity. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, you speak through the Law, through the Prophets, through Jesus and through your Word. I give you thanks for all times when your Word is clear and visible. Use me this day, in your way, to bring your message of love to the world you have given to me. Use me to act out the love you have shown throughout the ages that I may relive my baptism. I give you thanks that you draw my gaze and attention to Jesus. I give you thanks that you shine brightly his Light into my life. I give you thanks for Jesus loving act in me. Bring me this day to always feel the warmth of Jesus great Light on my face and deep within my spirit that Jesus may bring some warmth to another this day through me. --- Amen

March 5th - Reflection

Psalm 2 (NRSV)
The one begotten of God
Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
"Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us."


He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
"I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."

I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, "You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
with trembling kiss his feet,
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Happy are all who take refuge in him.

Reflection
When you reflect on the rulers of this world past and present, they pale in comparison to the rule of God through Jesus Christ. As Jesus was set in Zion on God's holy hill, we come to see that we crucified the true ruler and king of this world. On that hill years ago and even to this day, we crucify Jesus with our selfish acts and thinking that we, you and I, are actually the rulers of our own domain.

Jesus from that hill on Zion, through his death for our sin, became and remains, and always was, the one true ruler of the world in the broadest since of the word.

With this in mind shouldn't all people serve the Lord with trembling and kiss his feet? Shouldn't we repent of our pride, arrogance and selfishness at the foot of that cross on that hill in Zion? In this repentance and in this belief and faith in Christ, comes forgiveness and new life.

Happy are all who take refuge in him. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, I come to you this day humbled by your gracious act that took place on the holy hill in Zion. Forgive me, and send me as your servant in your kingdom, that I may serve in the love you have graciously shown and given to me. --- Amen

March 4th - Reflection

Hebrews 11:23-28 (NRSV)
The faith of Moses
By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered abuse suffered for the Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king's anger; for he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

Reflection
Faith in God is the basis for our action. God gives us this faith through his ongoing love and compassion. God gives us this faith through continual presence through the Holy Spirit. God gives us this faith through the love of Christ coming to our world. God gives us this faith through Jesus life and ministry. God gives us this faith through Jesus suffering and death. God gives us this faith through Jesus resurrection and ascension. God gives us this faith through the fire of the church. God gives us this faith by calling us to action. God gives us this faith by gifting us and providing for our daily bread.

Faith in God is the basis for our action. God's action and our response all through the gift of faith. Believe and have faith. Trust in God and receive hope. What an exciting life and ministry God gives through faith. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, I give you thanks for all people of faith. I give you thanks for your action in their lives and my life. --- Amen

March 3rd - Reflection

Hebrews 8:1-7 (NRSV)
Christ, the mediator
Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one; for Moses, when he was about to erect the tent, was warned, "See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain." But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.

Reflection
This is that wonderful passage that passes us from earth to heaven. Our earthly tabernacle was only a copy of the true tent of the presence of God in heaven. Jesus entered this true tent into the presence of God to offer himself as the one true sacrifice. So now we have entered into what seems to us, the invisible realm of heaven.

Earthly priests would put on a bit of a show before God in an earthly shrine. But Jesus' ministry was in the realm of heaven. In Jesus ministry heaven and earth collide into one for a while. In Jesus heaven came to earth and we witness heavenly truth and heavenly love, not earthly love.

So with the heavenly offering of Jesus in the very presence of God, this offering was once for all. This offering of Jesus was perfect and complete. No need to make the same offering over and over. Likewise, Jesus stays next to the Father in perfection. Jesus now has a new covenant with us. A perfect covenant in which he is now the perfect mediator for each one who believes in these new promises.

Jesus is the one to whom we are bold enough to pass from earth and into heaven to the throne of grace, before Jesus our perfect sacrifice for our sin. May our worship here on earth pass into this heavenly realm in all glory, honor and praise. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, I love it when you draw me out of my earthly, sinful, selfishness, and pull me into heaven with you. I love it when you teach me and show me a better way. I love it when you instruct me in your heavenly love. I love it when you send me in my earthly domain to spread your heavenly love and to proclaim you as the one true and perfect priest who has offered the one true and perfect sacrifice for all sin of all people. Lord, I love you. --- Amen

March 2nd - Reflection

Luke 12:22-31 (NRSV)
Do not worry

He said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Reflection
Look first for God's will and God's salvation. This is the advice Jesus gives. Don't join the rat race of worry and accumulation of things. These things cause us to lose focus on God. We begin to focus on the upkeep of the things and the addition of more things.

Yesterday Elijah trusted God and a bird brought Elijah food. The widow and Elijah trusted God and they were taken care of. The focus was on God not on the accumulation of more and more to eat, or clothes to wear.

Seek God's kingdom and set you focus on the accomplishment of the purpose God has planned for you. This alone more than fills a lifetime. This alone fills eternal life with God. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, help me to lay my worry aside. I know of your love, so deep, so awesome, that you took on my punishment and died in my place. I will never forget this act of love. Make my purpose this day clear that I may act out boldly in love towards you and towards others. --- Amen

March 1st - Reflection

1 Kings 17:1-16 (NRSV)
God feeds the widow
Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." The word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi. But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you." So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink." As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." But she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth." She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Reflection
Here is an example of faith in action on several levels. Elijah was told to go and God would provide the food he needed from ravens. Scholars dispute about the meaning of this word and some think it may be Arabians because it has the same consonants as Ravens in Hebrew, but the point is that Elijah had to have faith in what God was calling him to do and to go and depend on something or someone else for sustenance.

So Elijah trusted God and went. Water ran out from the brook from which he was drinking  and God told Elijah to go once again and a widow would care for him.

The next level of faith is involved through the widow. She gave all she had. She had faith in Elijah and in God. All survived on the gracious acts of God and the acts of one another in their walks of faith with God by their side. A remarkable relationship has been formed between God and each person involved. A relationship that grows in our dependence on God and on one another.

Individual beliefs and race and all prejudice were left at the door. Only the command of God and the promise that each person would be cared for mattered. Today when we reach out to new disciples, we need to leave all of our judgments at the door and form those remarkable relationships, knowing that God will take care of all our needs. A relationship grows in our dependence on God and on one another.

Likewise in our personal life, we can leave worry behind, God will take care of us. He may even feed us with ravens and bring us together in faith and love with another of his children. With God we will live. With God we will live in faith...on several levels. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, you teach a deep trust and faith that brings life through love. I give you thanks for the love you have shown me in Jesus. I give you thanks for the love you have shown me through those daily blessings you shower me with in the lives of others. Send me, this day in faith to live the life you have prepared for me in your Kingdom. I go in the faith and trust that you will provide. --- Amen

February 28th - Reflection

Deuteronomy 32:1-14 (NRSV)
God's care for the chosen people
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
May my teaching drop like the rain,
my speech condense like the dew;
like gentle rain on grass,
like showers on new growth.
For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
ascribe greatness to our God!

The Rock, his work is perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God, without deceit,
just and upright is he;
yet his degenerate children have dealt falsely with him,
a perverse and crooked generation.
Do you thus repay the Lord,
O foolish and senseless people?
Is not he your father, who created you,
who made you and established you?
Remember the days of old,
consider the years long past;
ask your father, and he will inform you;
your elders, and they will tell you.
When the Most High apportioned the nations,
when he divided humankind,
he fixed the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the gods;
the Lord's own portion was his people,

Jacob his allotted share.

He sustained him in a desert land,
in a howling wilderness waste;
he shielded him, cared for him,
guarded him as the apple of his eye.
As an eagle stirs up its nest,
and hovers over its young;
as it spreads its wings, takes them up,
and bears them aloft on its pinions,
the Lord alone guided him;
no foreign god was with him.
He set him atop the heights of the land,
and fed him with produce of the field;
he nursed him with honey from the crags,
with oil from flinty rock;
curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
with fat of lambs and rams;
Bashan bulls and goats,
together with the choicest wheat
you drank fine wine from the blood of grapes.
Reflection
This is a reflection of how God takes care of the Israelites. As the Israelites are poised just outside of the promised land, Moses sang this song to the Lord. God takes care of his people. God feeds them, protects them and gives them a call. Rejoice in our life with God. Rejoice in the blessings. Reflect upon the hard times and know that God is present in and through the hard times at your side.

As we walk through life, stop every once and a while and realize how God has been active in your life. Give thanks to God and go to the Lord and seek him and his direction and way. Don't let your arrogance, selfishness, pride or greed separate you from God. God has chosen you to be his. Even though broken, God wants and needs you to be his pupil and disciple in his Kingdom. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Dear Lord, when I'm in the midst of the wilderness, forgive my pride and selfish attitude that I can leave you and your people for my own way. Lead me and teach me the love of compassion. Teach me the love of forgiveness. Teach me the love of pitching in together as you guide us through your Kingdom day by day. You are God and greatly to be praised. --- Amen

February 27th - Reflection

Eighth Sunday After Epiphany
Matthew 6:24-34 (NRSV)
The teaching of Christ: trust in God
"No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.


"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.

Reflection
In the wilderness the Israelites worried about food and God provided manna. Manna means very basically, what is it? A closely spelled and often confused with word is mammon. Mammon is riches or wealth. The two do relate however in a sense. Manna was provided, and when used, only a portion came six days a week. One day's amount was supplied at a time, except on the sixth day and a double portion was gathered. You only had enough for the day at hand. In an attempt to stockpile, the manna would spoil. Manna was bread from heaven.

Mammon on the other hand is riches or wealth. We tend to attempt to build our riches and wealth throughout life. This is not meant to be bad. Sometimes in our attempt to do this we begin to think that we can take care of all of our own needs and are self-sufficient. Suddenly our focus draws to the mammon in our lives and we lose focus on the source of life.

God showed the Israelites that their source of life was himself...I AM. God provided what was needed in the wilderness, bread from heaven. God provided "Daily Bread" --- all that we need to live.

Likewise today God provides to each one of us "Bread from Heaven." God sent Jesus into our world and into our lives. When we place all of our focus, our love, our hope in Jesus we receive all that we need. When we receive Jesus, whom God has freely provided, God has provided for all that we need.

So strive first for the kingdom of God, not mammon, and God freely gives the manna, the Bread from Heaven, that we need. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord may I always strive for your Kingdom, in which you freely give Bread from Heaven. --- Amen

February 26th - Reflection

Psalm 131 (NRSV)
A child upon its mother's breast
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time on and forevermore.

Reflection
Sin humiliates us and forgiveness humbles us. As we see the impact of our sin and as we smell the stench of our sin; God's forgiveness takes on such wide and deep meaning when we humbly repent. It's a love that goes deep. Deep into the spirit. It's a love that brings everlasting love from the sinner. Our hope is in God now and forever. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, as I sit in silence and reflect on your love, I realize that all my hope is in you. And for this, I give eternal thanks. You are God! --- Amen

February 25th - Reflection

Philippians 2:25-30 (NRSV)
Paul overcomes anxiety
Still, I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and co worker and fellow soldier, your messenger and minister to my need; for he has been longing for all of you, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, in order that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy, and honor such people, because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for those services that you could not give me.
Reflection
Epaphroditus meant so much to Paul. This was not an easy thing to do. Sending Epaphroditus back home was a very unselfish act on Paul's part. But Epaphroditus had become very ill and even he desired to return home. Not only was Paul giving up his dear friend and brother in Christ, he was caring and loving so much that he knew what Epaphroditus needed and what the Philippians needed in Epaphroditus. So Paul does the unselfish act. Paul does the Christlike act and for the benefits of love for others he sends Epaphroditus along. And sends him along with a blessing and recommendation. Sends him along with heartfelt thanks.

People are blessings in our lives. Look around today and see the people God has sent to be in your life. Look at the blessings they have brought into your life. Also, don't be afraid to be a blessing for those God gives to you each day. Walk in the same love and compassion that Jesus and Paul walked. Give up selfish ambitions to the compassion's of another person to go, be sent, or to send someone in love to meet and greet those God sets before you this day. What blessings we receive! Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, thank you for those loving people you have sent into my life. Thank you for those who send them. Make me a blessing for another person in this world, that they may see your light shining brightly in the darkness, that all glory, praise and honor point straight to you. --- Amen

February 24th - Reflection

Philippians 2:19-24 (NRSV)
Timothy's worth
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy's worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.

Reflection
Putting Christ first in your life is so important. And when Christ is first, your neighbor's welfare isn't far behind. Once you see and come to know the love of Christ, you become anxious for the Holy Spirit to fill your life with that same love and purpose to love other's like Christ has loved you.

It seems to be that you need to realize your own brokenness to begin to know just the tip of the depth of love God has for you in and through Jesus. Seeking your own interests looks like a petty, silly venture into your own ego at this time. Once you see the love of Jesus, your ego takes a back seat, and your neighbor, your friend, and even your enemy move forward and your love and prayers go out to them in earnest.

What a blessing to my life have been those "Timothys" that have been sent to me. Look for the "Timothys" in your life and give thanks to them and God for their presence. Likewise, open up your heart to be a "Timothy" to those God places in your life daily. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, I give you thanks for those people you have put themselves aside to bring blessing, teach, preach, pray and serve in my need. Teach me your gracious love that I may do likewise to those you present to me this day. --- Amen