Morning Grace

As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau came in from his hunting.   He also prepared savory food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father,  “ Let my father sit up and eat of his son ’ s game, so that you may bless me. ”   His father Isaac said to him,  “ Who are you? ”  He answered,  “ I am your firstborn son, Esau. ”   Then Isaac trembled violently, and said,  “ Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all   before you came, and I have blessed him? — yes, and blessed he shall be! ”   When Esau heard his father ’ s words, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father,  “ Bless me, me also, father! ”   But he said,  “ Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing. ”   Esau said,  “ Is he not rightly named Jacob?   For he...

After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High,     maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High,     who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” ~ Genesis 14:17-20 At this point in time, God has already blessed Abram (who isn't yet Abraham here). God has told Abram that he will be a blessing to the nations. And  Melchizedek comes on the scene and makes that blessing a physical reality. He's a mysterious guy. This is all we hear from him in the Old Testament. Later, he will pop up as a reference in the letter to the Hebrews in connection with Christ. But here he is. Melchizedek, King of Salem (or  King...

Our Stewardship theme this year at Grace is Blessed to be a Blessing, so from today through the Friday before Consecration Sunday, which is on October 18th, we'll look at what blessing means in scripture: Who blesses? How do we bless? What happens with a blessing? Who do we share our blessings with? Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” ~ Genesis 12:1-3 This verse is our theme verse this year for our stewardship focus. As we lead up to consecration Sunday, let's think about what it means that we are all blessed through this promise that God made to Abraham. This promise challenges us to remember that when we say things like Go...

- Re-read the passages from this week's devotions. Choose the one that is most meaningful to you to be your prayer focus for today. They are: Leviticus 4:27-31 Psalm 119:72 I John 3:14-16 Matthew 21:21-22 - Read the passage again and identify a word or phrases that jump out at you. - Read the passage again, and if possible read from a different translation ( biblegateway.com  has many translations you can choose from). Identify where this passage might be touching your life today. How is this relevant to your life? - Read the passage a third time, again in a different translation if possible. Ask yourself what God is calling you to do or to be from this passage. What change might God be moving your toward? - Close with a silent prayer, listening to God rather than speaking to God. What actions will you take today based on this prayer? - Recite the Lord's Prayer.

Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done.  Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” ~ Matthew 21:21-22 Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. ~ Corrie ten Boom When I first started writing meditations on scripture in blog form, I approached them as I did in my very first Bible class in Seminary.  I wanted to reflect without outside commentary, unless it was  commentary I remembered having read before. Or commentary that had already been absorbed into my thought processes about the text from lectures, books, or sermons. Every so often, however, a text comes along where I really wish I wasn't going in without a net, so to speak - and where I'm not sure even anything I've read before or heard before helps me. This text is one of those. I...

We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death.  All who hate a brother or sister  are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them.  We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. ~ I John 3:14-16 Briefly, then, to impress it unmistakably upon the common people, the import of the commandment against killing is this: In the first place, we should not harm anyone. This means, first, by hand or by deed; next, we should not use our tongue to advocate or advise harming anyone; again,   we should neither use nor sanction any means or methods whereby anyone may be harmed; finally, our heart should harbor no hostility or malice toward anyone in a spirit of anger and hatred. Thus you should be blameless toward all people in body and soul, especially toward him who wishes or does you evil. ~  Martin Luthe...

The law of your mouth is better to me      than thousands of gold and silver pieces. ~ Psalm 119:72 We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us to our fellow beings (men). ~ Herman Melville We don't usually think of laws with such high praise, do we? As a Lutheran, I've had drilled into me theology around law vs. gospel. Well, it isn't really "versus."  It sometimes feels like it.  That law is harsh and bad and gospel is freeing and good.  That's how it often seems. But here, the Psalmist clearly sees freedom and goodness in law as well.  There is goodness to be found in the community that law generates.  There is freedom to be found in the care for our neighbor that the law commands. There is love to be found in the law. There is value to be found in the law. It's important to remember God's purpose for the law: to build community; to create a people who loved and served each other...

If anyone of the ordinary people among you sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the LORD's commandments ought not to be done and incurs guilt,  when the sin that you have committed is made known to you, you shall bring a female goat without blemish as your offering, for the sin that you have committed.  You shall lay your hand on the head of the sin offering; and the sin offering shall be slaughtered at the place of the burnt offering.   The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and he shall pour out the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.    He shall remove all its fat, as the fat is removed from the offering of well-being, and the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar for a pleasing odor to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf, and you shall be forgiven. ~ Leviticus 4:27-31 One love One blood One life You got to do what ...

- Re-read the passages from this week's devotions. Choose the one that is most meaningful to you to be your prayer focus for today. They are: 2 Samuel 12:1-7a Matthew 12:22-28 Ezekiel 24:2-3 Romans 13:8-10 - Read the passage again and identify a word or phrases that jump out at you. - Read the passage again, and if possible read from a different translation ( biblegateway.com  has many translations you can choose from). Identify where this passage might be touching your life today. How is this relevant to your life? - Read the passage a third time, again in a different translation if possible. Ask yourself what God is calling you to do or to be from this passage. What change might God be moving your toward? - Close with a silent prayer, listening to God rather than speaking to God. What actions will you take today based on this prayer? - Recite the Lord's Prayer.

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. ~ Romans 13:8-10 Love isn't complicated; people are. ~ Unknown Not long ago I talked about how giving up control was simple but not easy. And I've talked a lot here about love: because, well, you know, there's  a lot  in the Bible about that! The idea of "simple not easy" is one that is also common among AA circles. Bill W., the creator of AA talked about the process being one that is simple in its steps, but not at all easy.  A couple millennia before Bill W. talked about AA being simple but not easy, the Apostle Paul related the simple Christian message to...

Mortal, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.  And utter an allegory to the rebellious house. ~ Ezekiel 24:2-3 Metaphor is an allegory in miniature. ~ George Campbell, The Philosophy of Rhetoric  Spoiler alert! The allegory that God is describing to Ezekiel isn't full of sunshine and good news.  It's full of images of bones and blood and rust and the wrath and fury of God.  It foretells the destruction of Israel by the Babylonians. Allegory is a common - and effective - way that Scripture presents God's message to God's people.  It's one that I believe is still effective. Allegory gets lost in the "Bible as literal" debate.   Allegory is not literal. It is, as Campbell states here, a much larger form of metaphor. But allegory is powerful.  Words evoke power in allegory and metaphor and symbolism in a way I think that the literal word can't always do....