Receiving December 13, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for December 13, 2008
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Psalm 126
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
For suggestions about doing this, please see previous posts and the following http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Prayer for receptivity
Increase my receptivity, please God. Let Your Word be spirit and life in me right now, the way You want it to be.

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
"He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted" (vs. 1)
There are things we can do about grief, but we can't really heal our own broken heart. God sent Jesus to do that. It's not that we refer people to Jesus instead of comforting them the best we can. It's just that none of us is the Ultimate Comforter. God sent Jesus to do that. Yes, sometimes Jesus becomes real and available to people through other people. Sometimes Jesus uses indirect means. But the Ultimate Comforter is Jesus--personally and directly. "He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted" is Jesus promised to heal each broken hearted one of us.

"And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations." (vs. 4)
In ruined cities, children can't play safely outdoors. Ruined cities include ruined homes where children aren't safe indoors either. As the desolations of many generations compound, homes and cities are ruined. The desolations of many generations have caused, and continue to cause, more pain and suffering than we can begin to imagine. The desolations of many generations bring disease, divorce, and death with them. Experiencing the suffering that comes through the generations gives a deeper appreciation of this verse. Imagine! The desolations of many generations will be repaired! It's a wonderful thing to realize that the suffering and ruin that come down to us through the generations will be repaired.

Psalm 126
"Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing" (vss. 5-6)
Tears turn to joy; weeping turns to rejoicing. That's the movement in this and the Isaiah passage.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
"Rejoice always
In everything give thanks" (vss. 16 and 18)
The rejoicing and the thanks can be always.
"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." (vs. 24)
He will do what prophets and promises say He will do. He will do it. That is cause for rejoicing and thanks in the midst of everything.

John 1:6-8, 19-28
"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He said: 'I am
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Make straight the way of the LORD,'"
as the prophet Isaiah said.'" (vss. 6 and 23)
During the Advent season we renew our capacity for receiving Jesus as Infant and as the soon-coming King with all the angels. Among other things, Advent is a season to identify with John, and to explore the ways that we make straight the way of the LORD. How can the path in my heart be prepared? What valleys can be exalted and what hills made low? What rough places smoothed?

Receiving November 29, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for November 29, 2008
Isaiah 64:1-9
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:24-37

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
Let the Word in this week's worship scriptures be spirit and life for you. For some simple suggestions for doing this, see http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
After you have received the scriptures as spirit and life for yourself, compare notes with others who have done the same.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Prayer for receptivity
Let my receptivity be
right now
what You, God, want it to be.
I'm listening,
open my ears to really hear.
My heart is Yours
open, soften and strengthen it to be
Yours completely.

Isaiah 64:1-9
"That the nations may tremble at Your presence!" (vs. 2b)

"We have sinned--
In these ways we continue;
we need to be saved." (vs. 5)

"We are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;" (vs. 6a)
"There is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;" (vs. 7a)
No one--not the nations (we want to see them tremble in Your presence!), not us either! No one calls on You or takes hold of You.

"But now, O LORD,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand." (vs. 8)
No one takes hold of You, yet you take hold of us. As child is to father, as pottery is to potter, that is what we are to You. We are Your children, and the work of Your hand. Being Yours, being clay in Your hands, defines us more than our continuing sin and rags.
This is something to really let settle in! Belonging, as child to Father, as clay to Potter, is the surpassing reality! Our need to be saved is huge, and must be acknowledged, it is just not the final word. Our sin and need of being saved must be given their place and also kept in their place. Contrition, confession, and forgiveness keep us from making belonging into presumption.

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
"Come and save us!" (vs. 2b)
Compare Isaiah 64:5;, "We need to be saved."
Also compare "How long will You be angry" (vs. 4) with "You are indeed angry" (Isaiah 64:5).

"Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!" (vs. 3, 7,19)
When the face of God shines is that a glow of love and approval; is that a Father's love made visible? It's a saving thought just to imagine God's face shining, so shining it's saving!

1 Corinthians 1:3-9
"Grace to you and peace..." (vs. 3)
"...you come short in no gift,
eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end,
that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called in the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (vss. 7-9)
The prayer of Psalm 80: 3, 7, and 19, "Cause Your face to shine..." is fully answered! How the face of God shines in, and because of, Jesus Christ!
We are called into the fellowship of His Son, not into the achievement of righteousness.

Mark 13:24-37
"Watch!" (vss. 33, 35, 37)
The call to watch includes anticipating. Advent is a season of anticipation. What has anticipation been like for you? Happy anticipation can even make it hard to sleep. A longed-for trip to the beach; a major milestone; marriage; or the birth of a child. Think of what anticipation has been like for you.
This season is about anticipating the Coming of Christ.
What was anticipation like for those who looked for His birth as an Infant?
What is anticipation meant to be like for us now as we watch for His glorious Second Coming.
Anticipate with all your heart, even if it means losing some sleep!

Receiving November 15, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for November 15, 2008
Judges 4:1-7
Psalm 123
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Matthew 25:14-30

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
This part is a continuing invitation to grow in receptivity. Give thought, and heart, to how you receive. Receiving the Word gives you life. That is something to ponder in your heart and to cherish! For a few suggestions about receiving the Word as spirit and life go to Part I in the previous posts in this series. Also see http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Prayer for Receptivity
My mind tries to grasp and explain things
Your Word included.
My heart takes things in.
It's there in my heart the center of
my whole being
that Your Word, God, is
spirit and life.
I'm receptive and
wanting to be
more receptive.
Let Your Word be
the spirit and life it is
not so much wrestled with as
waited on.

Judges 4:1-7
"...the children of Israel again did evil..." (vs. 1)
They were sold and harshly oppressed; they cried out to the LORD, and they came to Judge Deborah and were sent to war. Hard, complicated, disturbing, yet not hopeless! The passage ends, "...I will deliver him into your hand." (vs. 7)

Psalm 123
"Unto You I lift up my eyes,
O You who dwell in the heavens.
"Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt." (vss. 1 and 3)
Israel was harshly oppressed and aware that they brought this on themselves by doing evil again. Imagine the contempt they received from the ruling power that scorned and oppressed them. A harder-to-bear contempt came from within them. I can imagine how they felt about themselves for getting themselves into their oppression. Yet this is not hopeless. Although they were filled with contempt from outside and inside, they knew the One who sold them into harsh oppression was the One to ask for mercy. They also knew it was mercy they needed. That was enough.
Mercy responds to the hard, complicated, disturbing, yet-not-hopeless circumstance. Mercy responds, it occurs to me, by first changing self-contempt into healthy guilt, guilt that is confessed and forgiven.
Have mercy on us, today also, O LORD, have mercy on us! Things are still hard, complicated, disturbing, yet-not-hopeless! We need self-contempt turned into healthy guilt, guilt confessed and forgiven.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
"But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
"For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." (vss. 8 and 9)

Matthew 25:14-30
"'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance..." (vs 29)
Faith, love and hope (1 Thessalonians 5:8) are what we have! More faith, love and hope are given. There is no limit to how much more!

Receiving November 1, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for November 1, 2008
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
By reading Part I of previous posts (for example, click September to view Part I in September posts) you can review the comments about receiving the Word as spirit and life.
Also, at http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
there are basic suggestions for receiving the Word as spirit and life.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)

Prayer for Receptivity
Please, God, increase my capacity
not just to ask questions,
but to contain answers,
and to contain what you give
that is better than answers to my questions.
Make me receptive
like soft, moist soil
where Your Word really can
sprout and grow.
Make me soft and moist--hospitable to
life and spirit.

Revelation 7:9-17
"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" (vss. 9-10)
The scene in verses 9 through 17 is immense!
No one could number how many people there are in the great multitude that comes from all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues. It's a completely diverse and completely inclusive multitude.
This diverse and inclusive multitude is standing "before the throne and before the Lamb."
The throne and the Lamb are the gathering force, the unifying power, that draws the diverse and inclusive, numberless multitude.
What happens at the throne is worship.
I wonder what experience I have had that can help me "tune in" to this immense scene? I've never stood with a small or large group before a throne. I've seen pictures of coronations or inaugurations. But this is much more than a coronation or inauguration, as much more as divine is more than human.
When by grace, and the Spirit's guidance, we do begin to tune in to this immense scene, we discover something in addition to worship. The One on the throne also dwells among the numberless diverse and inclusive multitude: "And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them." (vs. 15) And "The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters."
It's a stretching experience to even imagine this immense, wonder-filled scene. It calls for the capacity to touch, or at least reach toward the divine. We need to cross a threshold into reverence and worship. Then, stretched and humbled out of numbness, we are prepared to gratefully receive the One who is not only transcendent-beyond-our-wildest-imagination, but also endearing and close, dwelling among us. And we are prepared to be shepherded by the Lamb who gives us living waters, and wipes the tears from our eyes. The great tribulation hurts every one in that numberless multitude, and the Lamb-Shepherd comforts each of them.

Psalm 34:1-10, 22
"...and saved him out of all his troubles." (vs. 6)
Compare the great tribulation of Revelation 7.

"The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them." (vs. 7)
In Revelation 7 it's the numberless multitude all around the throne, then God dwelling with them; here it's the angel of the LORD all around those who fear God.

1 John 3:1-3
"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (vs. 1a)
Each person in the whole numberless multitude is a child of God. They are the children of God, who are shepherded by the Lamb.
"...the world does not know us." (vs. 1b)
Compare the great tribulation in Revelation 7 and the troubles of Psalm 34.

And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." (vs. 3)
Compare washing robes and making them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14).

Matthew 5:1-12
"Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God." (vs. 8)
Each of the beatitude characteristics prepares the people in the numberless multitude to be there with each other worshipping God.
The pure in heart characteristic is closely related to 1 John 3:3. Purity enables the individuals in the numberless multitude to see and value the One on the throne, and the Lamb-Shepherd.
Purify myself as He is pure. Blessed are the pure in heart. Let the importance of purity sink in! There's a vitally important connection between purity and seeing God.

Receiving October 25, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for October 25, 2008
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
Recall how many ways you have learned to talk and write. How we express ourselves is important from birth on. There never comes a time when we can't learn to express ourselves in better ways--ways that benefit us and others.
Now recall how many ways you have learned to receive. Did parents (and other relatives), teachers, and friends say as much to you about receiving? How we receive is important from birth on. There never comes a time when we can't learn to receive in better ways--ways that benefit us and others. But receptivity (what it is, and how we do it well) doesn't seem to get much attention.
You can change that. You can give receptivity the attention it needs. You can choose to come as a receiver to the Word that is spirit and life. At http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html there are some "starter" suggestions for how to do this.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Prayer for Receptivity
Let receptivity continue to become all You, God, want it to be in me.
I want to receive Your Word as the spirit and life it is.
Let this happen again, now. And let it happen more fully, more freely, than it has before.

Deuteronomy 34:1-12
"And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days." (vs. 8a)
If each of the following (an Israelite contemporary of Moses) were to have written a page or two about Moses, what might that page or two have contained?

• A child
• A teenager
• Young parents
• A middle-age Israelite
• An Israelite about the same age as Moses was when he died.

Ponder what Moses had been to the children of Israel at various times. What were their responses to him at various times; what kind of leader did he become to them?

Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
"And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands." (vs. 17)
This Psalm is identified as "A Prayer of Moses the man of God."
At what time(s) and in what ways can you imagine God responding to this prayer of Moses (before or after Moses expressed the prayer)?

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
"But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts." (vs. 4)
Consider the following profile of leadership that is in these verses:

• Our coming to you was not in vain
• We were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict
• Our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit
• We have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel
• We did not please men, but God
• We did not use flattering words, nor a cloak for covetousness
• We did not seek glory from men
• We were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children we longed for you affectionately
• We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives
• You had become dear to us

How might the members of the Thessalonica church--from youngest to oldest--have described Paul?

Matthew 22:34-46
"Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him..." (vs. 35)
"While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them... 'If David then calls Him "Lord," how is He his Son?'" (vs. 45)
Piece by piece, question by question, a leader is constructed in the minds and hearts of the followers. Piece by piece, question by question a leader is resisted or accepted by the people. Consider how the peoples' questions, and how Jesus' questions served this dynamic.

Receiving October 11, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for October 11, 2008
Exodus 32:1-14
Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23
Philippians 4:1-9
Matthew 22:1-14

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
As a review, or for the first time, I invite you to read Part I of my September 28 post (click on September at the left). Those who visit this blog are always invited to receive the Word as spirit and life. That comes first. Then compare notes with others who do the same. Here are suggestions for how to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Prayer for Receptivity
Not grasping, but receiving.
Not trying to make Your Word into what I want it to be, or into
what I think You want it to be.
Receiving isn't grasping.
Receiving is letting.
Letting Your Word be spirit and life.
Letting Your Holy Spirit clear the way in my heart so Your Word can
settle there as the spirit and life it is.
Please, God, increase my receptivity.

Exodus 32:1-14
“…Moses delayed…” (vs. 1)
As I read these 14 verses, I think How could they ever say that; How could they ever do that; How could Aaron, of all people, go along with them? I react that way, and then I realize this reaction isn’t taking me where I need to go. I’m more likely to touch the heart of the people and Aaron and most of all Moses and God when I consider what this situation seemed like to them. Take just the word “delay.” It must have had huge power for them, to the point of seeming unbearable. Has delay ever felt unbearable to me?
I shift to this way of responding not to condone sin, but in order to realize that ordinary people now, as well as then, do glaringly wrong things when circumstances come to the place of seeming unbearable.
There were a lot of people, and also Aaron their interim leader, who thought they were doing what the circumstance called for. If I don’t try to comprehend what it was like for them, I am much more likely to be drawn into responses that, in my very different life circumstances, still parallel theirs.

“…let Me alone…” (vs. 10)
Amazing. Imagine God saying to Moses, “Let Me alone.” What does that say about the place of Moses in God’s life?
Moses could have heard what I read in verse 10 as (1) relief from circumstances that were getting way out of hand, and (2) assurance of a very bright future. It must have appealed to Moses to have the pain of the past gone and to be given a pain-free future. After all, the people were guilty and he was innocent. Why not just start over again? Moses might have given in to what seemed unbearable, and “gone with” what seemed right, or at least “understandable,” under the circumstances. But he didn’t. These are Your people, God. Why should the Egyptians say you brought them out here to kill them? Remember (I can’t leave You alone, instead I must ask you to remember!) remember what you swore by Your own self to your servants. You have already promised descendants as the stars of heaven. Don’t make of me another great nation. Please fulfill Your original promise. You and Your love are more powerful than these unbearable-seeming circumstances. I can’t leave You alone about this.

“‘They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them.’” (vs. 8)
It is so troubling to realize how human it is to “turn aside quickly.” The Children of Israel way back then aren’t the only ones guilty of this. When I turn aside quickly, it’s a call for me to stop and renew my heart’s awareness of what my turning aside causes in the heart of God—Father, Son and Spirit.

Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23
“Remember me, O LORD, with the favor You have toward Your people.” (vs. 4)
I can't leave You alone about this, remember!

Philippians 4:1-9
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (vs 8)
My sin must be recognized for what it is and confessed. Then, through forgiveness I’m returned to the compassionate heart of God where I’m prepared to meditate on things true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous and praiseworthy.

Matthew 22:1-14
“‘So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.
‘So he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” and he was speechless.’” (vss. 10-12)
It wasn’t that the king saw a bad man there, he saw a man who did not have on a wedding garment.
The wedding garment and my willingness to wear it; I come from reading this parable today realizing there is always more to ponder about the wedding garment and my willingness to wear it.

Receiving October 4, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for October 4, 2008
Exodus 20:1-20
Psalm 19
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21:33-46

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
In art class one year we drew a plant. It took several days to finish. I sat in the same place each class period, and the plant did too. But, the plant didn't remain the same. I was so focused on my drawing that it came as a kind of puzzle or even surprise when my carefully lined-up drawing didn't stay lined up. The plant didn't stay the same each session. Right in front of my eyes the plant was moving! I guess I thought it took longer for a living plant to move. Perhaps I thought it'd "stay put" like a good model so I could finish my drawing! But the plant kept growing all the time I was trying to draw it. It was alive. And my drawing wasn't alive, however good my drawing was. That experience occurs to me as I consider again today that the Word of God is life and spirit. We interact differently with living things than we do with objects that are not alive.
This blog encourages you to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself, and also to compare notes with others who are doing the same. If you are fortunate enough to worship weekly where the scriptures are an integrated part of the service, you will be all the more prepared for worship because you have first received the Word as spirit and life for yourself.
At http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html there are some simple suggestions to help you receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Prayer for Receptivity
I pray for receptivity.
The kind you, God, want me to have.
Receptivity in my heart of hearts and from there in my whole being.
Enable me to receive your Word into a heart that is open, soft and strong--vibrantly alive in You.

Exodus 20:1-20
"God spoke all these words..." (vs. 1)
This morning my husband showed me some splendid NASA photos of space. I'm so feeble at "taking in" what I'm looking at in those fabulous displays of light, color, shapes--breathtaking cosmic art. It's overwhelming grandeur to love and also to stand back from in awe.
It occurs to me that these words from God in Exodus 20 are like that. They are overwhelming glimpses into incomprehensible space also--the space where the light and color and shapes and dynamics of love are born to be splashed in glory through the whole universe. These are words to love and also to stand back from in wonder, reverence and awe.
These words are simple enough to accept and walk in--like I accept and walk in the sunlight. But I can't comprehend or exhaust their beauty and significance and affect any more than I can comprehend and exhaust the beauty of those NASA space pictures I was looking at this morning.

"Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off." (vs. 18)
"And Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.'" (vs. 20)
Actual encounter with the fear-inspiring size and power of the Words combines with the fact that they are measured, compassionate and available Words.
"...that His fear may be before you" reminds me again that I need to let go of fear that is negative, fear that is born of a divided and distant heart, and receive in its place a holy, life-giving fear of God. Doing this puts me in touch with life and Love like nothing else can.

Psalm 19
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork." (vs. 1)
See how the Psalmist sets the perfect law of the LORD in the context of the heavens, the firmament! I have never seen the connection between verses 1-6 and 7-11 like I do today. Those NASA pictures were timed just right this morning! To love the Law is huge, like taking in the wonders of the heavens and firmament, and the law and the love of it are to us like the daily, life-giving path of the sun (vss. 5-6).

converting the soul
making wise the simple
rejoicing the heart
enlightening the eyes (vss. 7-8)
When this is happening, we can know we're receiving the Law as the grace and power of divine Love that it is.

Philippians 3:4b-14
"...that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith."
(vs. 9)
To gain or "take in" Christ. Is Christ small enough for me to take in? Space is beyond my comprehension; I can't take in space. The Law is beyond my comprehension; I can't take in the Law. Can I take in Jesus Christ? In Christ is God finally small enough for me to manage? Actually, in Christ God is humble and holy beyond my imagination, farther even beyond my comprehension than space or the Law. In Christ God is available, yet never, never less grand or less of a cause for holy fear than are space and Sinai. Christ is a telescope into glory not a tradeoff for it.

Matthew 21:33-46
"Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir, Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him." (vss. 37-39)
He is cast out and dies to me unless He is both the compassionate available One AND ALSO the infinitely incomprehensible One who surpasses the glory revealed in space and at Sinai.

Receiving September 27, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for September 27, 2008
Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
As you "take in" the Word, prepare to enjoy it and savor it, and if you don't, prepare to benefit from it anyway. It's life and spirit you are taking in as you receive the Word. There are some simple suggestions for how to do this at http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html


Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)

Prayer for Receptivity
Your Word as spirit and life is something for my heart to take in. God, You know I've been taught more, a lot more, about thinking things through than about hearting things through. Give me a receptive heart, please. Show me how to cooperate so my heart will be more and more receptive.

Exodus 17:1-7
"...there was no water for the people to drink." (vs. 1)

"Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" (vs 3)

"So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, 'What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!'" (vs. 4)

Consider the words and tone of what the children of Israel said (vs. 3).
Then consider the words and tone of what Moses said (vs. 4).
A why question full of judgment and blame, and coming from the head, is so much different than a cry of distress and expression of need.
What might the people have said to God instead of what they said to Moses?
How might their words have sounded if they were being "obedient to the point of death" (see this week's Philippians passage)?

Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
"He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
He also brought streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers." (vss. 15, 16)
Fearing death by thirst and then having abundant streams of water flow from the rock--this is very different than having plenty of water the whole time.

Philippians 2:1-13
Consolation in Christ
comfort of love
fellowship of the Spirit
affection and mercy (vs. 1)
These are words associated with feelings. Then the following verses connect these words with the mind. Verses 5-8 show that the ultimate in humility and obedience are the focus. Having the mind (Greek nous) of Christ is about something more than intellectual functioning. This passage invites a lot of growth in wholeness, a lot of appreciation of every aspect of being.

Matthew 21:23-32

Receiving September 20, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for September 20, 2008
Exodus 16:2-15
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
Philippians 1:21-30
Matthew 20:1-16

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself

Study it. Analyze it. Discuss it. Whatever you do with the Word, don't fail to receive it as spirit and life. Receiving God's Word as spirit and life is what this blog is about. Part I of each post encourages you, the reader, to first of all receive the week's worship scriptures as spirit and life for yourself. There are suggestions for how to do this at: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place for you to compare notes)
Exodus 16:2-15
"But what are we, that you complain against us?" (vss. 7, 8)
What are we? Are we strong enough to have brought you here? Are we able to keep you from hunger? What are we? You need to understand what your leaders are, and what your leaders are not and can never be.

"...I will rain bread from heaven for you." (vs. 4)
"...At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out..." (vs. 6)
"And in the the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD..." (vs. 7)
Knowing the LORD's deliverance. Seeing the LORD's glory. These connect with receiving physical food. Consider how meal time and spiritual nurture time--continually increased capacity for knowing and seeing God--how these can be integrated more meaningfully for you and those you love.

Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45

Life and vitality flow from the Psalms, and doing what the Psalms invite draws us into life and vitality. In connection with this week's other scriptures, this becomes an invitation to more fully, deeply, and exuberantly enter into knowing and seeing the LORD.

Philippians 1:21-30

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (vs. 21)

This is powerful freedom and hope to love and assimilate more every day!

Matthew 20:1-16

"Is your eye evil because I am good?" (vs. 15)

This is a question to spend some time with!

Receiving September 13, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for September 13
Exodus 14:19-31
Psalm 114
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-35

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself

This blog is a weekly invitation for you to receive the week's scriptures as spirit and life. Words received as spirit and life are quite different than words received as, for one example, words to be puzzled over or debated. Best and most of all, the Word is spirit and life. We can choose to received it as the spirit and life it is. At http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html there are some simple suggestions for doing this.

After you receive for yourself, when the spirit and life of the Word are fresh in your own being, then you can compare with others who are also receiving the Word as spirit and life.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)

Prayer for receptivity
You, God, far beyond me;
You, God, within me, closer than my very breath.
You not ignored;
You received.
Receptivity that opens me to You and to Your Word as spirit and life,
this is my prayer right now.

Exodus 14:19-31
"And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other." (vss. 19, 20)
The same Angel of God is darkness and light. Other contrasts in this passage include:
divine and human
the sea into dry land
saving and destroying.

"So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians..." (vs. 27)
The Israelites and their leader were trusting the One who was defending them, not their own judgment or strategies or warfare. That doesn't mean the Israelites and Moses weren't fully involved! It must have stretched their endurance and faith immensely! But they did not overthrow the Egyptians.

Psalm 114
"Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion." (vs. 2)
Endearing and comforting! Amazing also. The Psalmist frequently says God is our refuge. In this case Judah is His sanctuary. Imagine Judah as a place of refuge for God. Imagine!

"Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob." (vs. 7)

Romans 14:1-12
"Receive one who is weak in the faith,
but not to disputes over doubtful things." (vs. 1)
Ah! What a keynote!

"For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord." (vss. 7, 8)

There's something going on in this Romans passage that deserves our careful consideration (as all scripture does!).
This time a little picture may help. This passage is about a group, or "community" of people, who are held together by living to the Lord. They are to each faithfully focus on and account to the Lord. It is not by agreeing, or by having the same degree of faith, or by eating the same way, or by any other form of sameness that they show their love to each other and to God. It is by living to the Lord. Consider the arrows by the two triangles. At the left, the primary emphasis is on the interaction between the people at point A and the people at point B. In the second triangle the primary emphasis is on the interaction between A people and God, and between B people and God. Ponder the two ways. As I ponder the two ways, I see potential for beautiful, strong, endearing connections when the primary emphasis is on the interaction between A people and God, and between B people and God. And one of the wonderful outcomes of this way is that the A people and the B people help each other with their primary interaction with God, instead of trying to make each other think, act and be the same. It moves the whole dynamic out of "disputes over doubtful things" and into life-giving experience with God and each other. I'm hearing Paul say that individuals and groups within the Christian church are to live to the Lord and support others in doing the same. That's what needs to be worked out, or "faithed" out, not sameness.

"For it is written:
'As I live, says the LORD,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.'
So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." (vss. 11, 12)
The passage ends strongly emphasizing individual accountability to God. Keep each believer's union with God primary; and then life among believers falls into place. The essential priority of individual accountability to God becomes a stronger uniting power than sameness ever could be. In fact, accepting and entering into that essential priority is the secret of strong, lasting, loving community.

Matthew 18:21-35
"'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'" (vs. 33)
It occurs to me, especially after receiving the Romans passage, that the servant's response to the King is the essential starting, or pivotal, point. Had the King's servant gotten that right, he would have treated his own servant differently. The decisive interaction in this parable is between the servant and the King. This is what, in turn, shaped the interaction between the two servants.

Receiving September 6, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for September 6
Exodus 12:1-14
Psalm 149
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
Some people worship where the scriptures of the day are integrated into a service that is an "ordered unity." For example, see http://www.lasierraliturgy.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=57 where this type of service happens each Sabbath.
If you could attend that kind of service, it would provide an occasion for you to focus on the week's worship scriptures--as part of the day's total worship experience. You would be doing this together with other worshippers who are doing the same. Being with the scriptures this way, as act of worship, would be part of a reverent and coordinated service that helps a person actually worship.
One way to prepare for worship is to receive the week's worship scriptures as spirit and life--for yourself. This blogspot encourages you to do that each week. See http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html for a few simple suggestions about how to receive the scriptures as spirit and life for yourself. After you have received the scriptures as spirit and life for yourself, you are prepared to compare notes with others who are doing the same thing; and you are more prepared for the next church worship service.
If you don't have a place to worship where the service is an ordered unity, and where the week's scriptures are an integrated part of worship, you can still benefit from this exercise. You can also begin to talk with people who may be able to help a worship service like that happen as a part of the total program at your church.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)

Prayer for receptivity
"Continuing steadfastly in prayer" speaks to me today about my prayer to You for receptivity. The heart-to-Heart receptivity I seek is not something I ask for just once. It's a prayer I continue in, steadfastly. My heart connected to Your Heart and receiving Your Word as spirit and life--this is what I continue to seek in steadfast prayer right now.

Exodus 12:1-14
"You shall keep it (the LORD's Passover) as a feast by an everlasting ordinance." (vs. 14)
Maybe the LORD's Passover isn't as "done away with" as some think. What if the meaning, the heart and soul, in the LORD's Passover were comprehended? What if those who claim to have Jesus instead of that Old Testament event, discovered Jesus more profoundly and fully in that Old Testament event? Or put another way, what if Jesus encompasses and surpasses, instead of replacing, this everlasting ordinance? What if this everlasting ordinance were meant to help today's Christian discover more of the depths of the mystery of God's Love in Jesus Christ?
It also occurs to me that an everlasting ordinance may be called for because the people of God need to revisit the hard and earthy, as well as transcendent, realities in this account over and over--forever. Who could kill a spotless yearling lamb, without great pain. Who can begin to comprehend the pain--most of all in the heart of God--that this everlasting ordinance exposes. Who can comprehend to any significant degree, without many approaches to this everlasting ordinance, how the Love of God is expressed in every part of the LORD's Passover. It takes time and repetition; it takes an everlasting ordinance to enter and participate in this life-giving, Love-giving mystery.

Psalm 149
"He will beautify the humble with salvation." (vs. 4)
That makes a person want to have a humility checkup! Which person or organization is prepared to provide such a checkup? Humility, like beauty, can often be in the eye of the beholder. Just being agreeable and not making waves may be enough to cause me to pass a humility checkup in some settings. The verse says it's the LORD who beautifies with salvation. Wouldn't the LORD also be the best one to ask about humility? I can ask the LORD about humility, then listen and look for the ways it begins to unfold. Asking the LORD, then listening to those who are sent to help, is different than choosing a right person or organization to ask.

Praise (vs. 1)
Sing to the LORD a new song (vs. 2)
Rejoice in (vs. 2)
Be joyful (vs. 2)
Praise with dance (vs. 3)
Sing praises with timbrel and harp (vs. 3)
Be joyful (vs. 5)
Sing aloud on their beds (vs. 5)
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth (vs. 6)
Vibrant, fully engaged, exuberant!

Romans 13:8-14
"...now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed." (vs. 11)
"...put on the armor of light." (vs. 12)
"...put on the Lord Jesus Christ." (vs. 14)
Salvation moves closer through the centuries from the Exodus (before that from Adam) to the Psalmist (Psalm 149:4) to Paul (Romans 13:11). Now (in Paul's day) that Jesus has lived, died and lives again, our salvation is nearer.
What about in 2008? Is our salvation nearer than in Paul's day? Are we closer or further away from a full appreciation for Jesus Christ? How does salvation get nearer to an individual or a group? Verse 11 is about salvation being nearer than when we first believed. Nearness has to do with growth or development in believing and trusting.
The nearness of salvation (how close, real and realized it is) has to do with the "putting on" of verse 12 and 14, doesn't it? The more Light we are immersed in, the more Light that fills us--the closer salvation is. The more we put on the Lord Jesus Christ, the closer salvation is.
Major events in salvation history have moved us nearer to the consummation at the glorious coming of Christ. Believing, trusting and putting on the Light, our Lord Jesus Christ, also move salvation nearer to God's people every day.

Matthew 18:15-20

Receiving August 30, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for August 30
Exodus 3:1-15
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 16:21-28

Part I -Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
If you have been visiting this blog, you know its purpose is to invite people to receive the Word as spirit and life. Studying, analyzing, and discussing all have their place. But this blog is not about those activities.
There is a time to simply receive the Word as the spirit and life it is. This blog is about doing that.
If some parts of the week's worship scriptures don't seem to you like spirit and life, simply let go of those parts and receive the parts that you do recognize as spirit and life. It may just be a word or phrase that is life for you. Receive that word and phrase. Let it be spirit and life in you.
There are some simple suggestions for receiving the week's worship scriptures as spirit and life at: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html

After receiving for yourself, you can compare with others who are doing the same. The spirit and life others have received from the same scriptures may increase the ways the scriptures are spirit and life for you.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)

Prayer for receptivity
Guardian of my heart
save me from the ways
I divide my own heart
attending to part, and
neglecting part
of who I am in You.
Forgive me for returning like I do
to long-familiar ways that
hinder and hurt, ways of
head dominion and heart neglect.
Forgive me.
Meet me again in
my undivided, undefended heart.
There, with You, is my hope of
receiving Your Word
as spirit and life.

Exodus 3:1-15
As I receive this whole passage, it strikes me how visible and audible God is here. Moses saw and heard. This wasn't Moses thinking up a strategy for freeing the Israelites and then attributing his strategy to God.

"Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." (vs. 5)
"Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God." (vs. 6)
When the encounter with God is realized to the place of being visible and audible, when a person actually sees and hears, then what? How does a person respond?
Does the absence of visible and audible presence of God mean that my response to God's presence may or should be different?

"'I AM has sent me to you.'" (vs. 14)
I AM is present in every time and place, and also in every circumstance.

Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c
Give thanks
call upon
make known
sing to
sing psalms
talk of
glory in
let hearts rejoice
seek
remember

His deeds
wondrous works
holy name
strength
face
marvelous works
wonders
the judgments of His mouth.
The Psalmist is urging me, urging us, to somehow take in, realize, or grasp, who God is and what God has done--and to respond in ways appropriate to God's being and doing!

"He sent Moses His servant..." (vs. 26)
This is a wonder and marvelous work of God, an expression of God's holiness and strength, and the judgments of God's mouth.

Romans 12:9-21
"Love... Overcome evil with good." (vss. 9-21)
If I receive verses 9-21 as a list of behavioral "shoulds" and "oughts," I'll miss the spirit and life in them. If, instead, I see in these verses evidences or glimpses of how love expresses itself, then they are more likely to be spirit and life.
Love is bigger and better than these verses reveal, of course, but these are some beautiful glimpses into love. The previous eleven chapters in Romans have shown me the love of God that is beyond my best or wildest imagination; and Romans has shown me how to receive and be received into that love. Now at the end of the book, I'm given some pointers that will help me realize that Love is in me and I in Love.

Matthew 16:21-28
"'Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!'" (vs. 22)
"'You are not mindful of the things of God..." (vs. 23)
What a dialog of love this was!
The impulse of love, as humans know love, is to spare the loved one from rejection, mistreatment and suffering. The impulse of divine love goes beyond that and into depths and mystery that aren't easy to follow. The things of God include suffering many things and dying and rising (vs. 21). And, the things of God are worked out, or realized, in the followers of Jesus by taking up Jesus' Cross, by losing one's life for Jesus' sake, and by anticipating Jesus' coming in glory (vss. 24-27).

Receiving August 23, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for August 23
Exodus 1:8 - 2:10
Psalm 124
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:13-20

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself

This blog spot is a weekly invitation to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself. Doing this is different than just reading the scriptures. It is also different than studying the scriptures.
When we receive the Word as spirit and life we enter into a willing receptivity. This begins with prayer for willing receptivity. We seek a kind of receptivity that increases and flourishes, more and more all the time.
Then we receive (more than just read) letting the spirit and life be real and realized. This way of engaging the Scripture is prayer continued. Doing this often and patiently we begin to recognize a difference between "working with" or "figuring out" the text, and simply receiving. Receiving, with a sense of the life and spirit in it, is a graced and blessed experience. This experience is available to all who are willing.
Simple steps for entering into this spiritual exercise are provided at: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html
After receiving for yourself, compare notes with others who are doing the same. Compare notes primarily for the purpose of continuing and expanding your receptivity to the Word as spirit and life.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures (one place to compare notes)

Prayer for receptivity
Your Word is spirit and life. Enable me to receive it as the spirit and life it is. Please cause my feelings and thoughts to all serve receptivity right now. I confess that I let feelings and thoughts become hindrances. Please change my feelings and thoughts into servants of receptivity.

Exodus 1:8 - 2:10
"So she called his name Moses, saying, 'Because I drew him out of the water.'" (2:10)
The water was a river.
Also, this week's Psalm shows that the water is circumstances that threaten to swamp or drown our soul. Consider the waters Moses was drawn out of: The Israelites had been favored in Joseph's day. Then political changes brought a new king who didn't "know Joseph." Then came affliction (but the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew [1:12]). More intense affliction followed. Then came the king's order for newborn boys to be killed. Favor turned to affliction that turned to more intense affliction that led to a death sentence for newborn boys. Those were threatening waters.

Psalm 124
"'If it had not been the LORD who was on our side...
Then the waters would have overwhelmed us...'" (vss. 1-2, 4)
Having the LORD on their side did not prevent the Israelites from suffering; it prevented them from being overwhelmed by suffering. Our impulse is to pray for escape (and to praise God when escape happens). However, what we need to pray for even more than escape is the quality and completeness of surrender to, and union with, God that will take us through the waters that would otherwise drown our soul.
God-given escape is praiseworthy and delightful. Pure and complete surrender to God and union with God in suffering goes beyond that. It takes us into the mystery where grief and joy mingle.

Romans 12:1-8
"...present your bodies as a living sacrifice..." (vs. 1)
Presenting my body as a living sacrifice involves letting go of my will in favor of God's will. The "simple" and supremely challenging prayer that makes it possible to be either a living or dying sacrifice is: "Not as I will but as You will" (Matthew 26:39). Qualifiers like "I know it's Your will for this or that to happen or not happen" destroy this prayer and prevent us from being either a living or dying sacrifice. An unqualified "Not as I will but as You will" is the way to become a living sacrifice.

"And do not be conformed to this world..." (vs. 2)
Being conformed to this world affects our experience of power. If we are conformed to this world, it will affect how we get power, and how we use it or are subject to it.

"that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (vs. 2)
Living sacrifices who are transformed rather than being conformed to this world (and its way with power) are " this way" in order to prove what is the will of God. They don't sacrifice themselves to nothing, or because sacrifice is somehow noble. They sacrifice themselves to God's will. They are immersed in God's will and testimony to its power and desirability. Consider how different this is than being a representative or interpreter of God's will.

Matthew 16:13-20
"'You are the Christ, the son of the living God.'" (vs. 16)
Today we hear things like, "This person is the greatest Olympian of all time." Or "This person is our party's candidate for President of the United States." What's it like for us to hear or relay those kinds of acknowledgements or confessions?
What was it like for Peter to look into the face of Jesus of Nazareth and say, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." How can I let my heart "be there" with Peter, confessing that? How can I be there with Peter, receiving Jesus for who He is?

"Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ." (vs. 20)
Don't tell. Just when Peter had really Big News to share, he's told not to tell! Jesus is not to be known as the conquering Christ. He is to be known first and fully as the suffering Savior. Instead of conquering by power, He entered into unspeakable suffering and powerlessness.

A Christian Chapel

If you know about "having a dream," you'll know why I'm writing this. I "have a dream" for a Christian chapel in Tri-Cities, Washington, where I live.

There is already at least one generic hospital chapel here.
There are also chapels connected with specific Christian churches, to be used according to the denomination's guidelines.

But I haven't found a Christian chapel like I'm hoping for.
The chapel I hope for would be expressly Christian, and not specific to one denomination. While seated in the chapel, a person would be able to see (at eye level) a series of art on the walls around the room. This art would show the Cross as it has been portrayed since the beginning of Christianity.
The color, lighting, and other aspects of the room would all be chosen to serve reverence, prayerfulness and worship.

This Christian chapel would be available for use by individuals or groups. A small group or individual could schedule one-time or recurring events in the chapel and invite the public. Use would be approved by a Christian "mission group" that cares for the chapel. Use of the chapel would not involve approval by a particular denomination. This kind of chapel would serve all Christians and also interested people who may not currently be Christians.

If you, or someone you know, shares a similar dream, please let me know. Or if you have suggestions for how to help this dream be realized, let me know. You can respond to this post, or you can send an email to charistis@owt.com

Receiving August 16, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for August 16
Genesis 45:1-15
Psalm 133
Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself

Why do I keep inviting you, week after week, to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself? Because it is spirit and life! Because each child of God can come directly to God in the Word. There are many, many words about the Word--in sermons, devotionals, seminars, and in writing that's published on the Internet and in books, magazines and other resources. All words about the Word are secondary. The Word itself is primary. You will know best how to benefit from words about the Word, when you participate in the spiritual discipline of receiving the Word itself--as spirit and life--for yourself.
The following provides suggestions for how to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html It isn't necessary for you to understand or explain every word in each scripture. But it is necessary, more necessary than eating physical food, to receive the Word, being open to what you recognize as spirit and life.

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures

Prayer for receptivity
Present to You, God, with all my heart. Free hearted, full hearted. That's my desire. Forgive the times I come gingerly, with a partial heart, a partial presence. Heart and presence affect the receptivity I seek--so much. In this prayer I seek the quality of heart, presence and receptivity You want me to have.

Genesis 45:1-15
"God sent me before you to preserve life." (vs. 5)
"God sent me before you..." (vs. 7)
"It was not you who sent me here, but God." (vs. 8)
Being sent by God was such a keynote in Joseph's life, and he emphasized it by repeating it three times.

"He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." (vs. 8)
The man God sent was sold as a slave, imprisoned and tested (Psalm 105:17-19) and later became father to pharaoh, lord and ruler. When did a prayer of surrender and powerlessness apply for Joseph?
When he was in the pit before he was sold to the Ishmaelites and taken to Egypt?
When he was in chains in prison in Egypt?
When he was father to Pharaoh, lord, and ruler?
Was Joseph any less powerless as lord and ruler than he had been in the pit and in prison?

Psalm 133
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!" (vs. 1)
What a great Psalm for the sons of Jacob!
How good and pleasant it is for each brother, and for all of them together!
How good and pleasant it is for their dad!
How good and pleasant it is for their descendants!
Dwelling together in unity--what a pebble to drop in the pond of humanity. How the ripples extend out to families and nations, forever.

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
"For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all." (vs. 32)
It's not disobedience, that He might reject and punish.
It's disobedience, that He might have mercy.
The truth is disobedience, and the truth is mercy. Those are companion truths that bare the human heart, and the divine heart.

Matthew 15:21-28
"...a woman of Canaan... cried out to Him, saying, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!'" (vs. 22)
The ways of His mercy are deep, unsearchable and past finding out. The One who commits all to disobedience in order to have mercy on all (Romans 11:32) uses ways past finding out (Romans 11:33). His way of responding to this woman of Canaan illustrates that. And the results are faith and mercy that shine forever.

Receiving August 9, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for August 9
Genesis 37:3-4, 12-28
Psalm 105:1-8, 16-22, 45c
Romans 10:5-15
Matthew 14:22-33

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
My hope is that you will receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself, and then compare notes with others who are doing the same. The following provides suggestions for how to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself: http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures

Prayer for receptivity
Being receptive is a gift given, a gift to be loved and grown into. Thank you God for this gift. Please enable me to grow into this gift. Make my heart soft, strong, and responsive in receiving Your Word as spirit and life.

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-28
"'Look, this dreamer is coming!'" (vs. 19)
"...'We shall see what will become of his dreams!'" (vs. 20)
A dream--where it comes from, how it's shared, what becomes of it--stands out for me as something to ponder.
And, of course, the account that flows through all of these verses invites a person to get acquainted with these siblings and their striving. There is glaring meanness and hatred (how could they be that way!) surpassed by values or virtues ("he is our brother and our flesh"). And the worst and best in these siblings is far surpassing by providence, which doesn't prevent conflict or suffering.

Psalm 105:1-8, 16-22, 45c
"You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!" (vs. 6)
That's plural. It wasn't just Joseph that was chosen.

"He sent a man before them--Joseph--who was sold as a slave." (vs. 17)
Consider what might be involved in being sent by God.

"Until the time that his word came to pass,
The word of the LORD tested him." (vs. 19)
The word of the LORD as hope; the word of the LORD as test. Is it any less spirit and life in either case?

"Remember the LORD's marvelous works which he has done,
His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth." (vs. 5)
It is a wonder and a marvelous work that God would choose that bunch of siblings, do with them what He did, and specifically send Joseph, and do with him as He did.

"Praise the LORD!" (vs. 45)
Psalm 105 comes out praise.
In his book about praying the psalms (Answering God), Eugene Peterson points out that the whole thing, the whole book of Psalms, comes out praise in Psalm 150. That everything in the Psalms (and the Psalms are wide and deep territory) comes out praise is a great, great reality. It takes everything together to give fullness and power to praise. If we skim off what we find pleasant, focus on desirable outcomes, and select this or that favorite verse, our praise will be feeble at best.

Romans 10:5-15
"For with the heart one believes unto righteousness." (vs. 10)
With the heart one believes. Some say it's with reason (how you think). Some say it's with emotion (how you feel). But this verse says it's with the heart. The rest of Scripture and life show that heart is the center of the whole person. It can take some time and intention to move belief into the heart. But it's an essential move into life and spirit.

""How shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!'" (vs. 15)
And don't forget what "being sent" may involve!

Matthew 14:22-33
"Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him." (vs. 33)
Consider the wind, the waves, and the alternating fear and amazement in verses 22-33. There were depths and heights, depths and heights in quick succession. This account includes being real about fear, and also having fear surpassed.
The outcome is worship. The outcome is worship! That is an outcome to love every day for the rest of life here, and hereafter!

Receiving August 2, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for August 2
Genesis 32:22-31
Psalm 17:1-7, 15
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:13-21

Part I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
My hope is that you will receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself, and then compare notes with others who are doing the same. The following provides suggestions for how to receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself
http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html

Part II - Reflections on this week's scriptures

Prayer for receptivity
My heart runs away from home. It runs in attempts to be responsible or to cope, or to do something that seems important or compelling. But it runs. Forgive me. Return me to Your forgiveness and compassion. At home in Your righteousness and love, my heart receives Your words as the spirit and life they are.

Genesis 32:22-31
"'Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel;' for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.'" (vs. 28)
Consider God who wrestles with. God wrestling with. Wrestling Jacob into Love's light.
Consider Jacob wrestled and wrestling. Struggling to move from attempts to control into surrender. Knowing as he struggled that he must be blessed.

Psalm 17:1-7, 15
"Hear a just cause..."
"Attend to my cry;"
Give ear to my prayer..." (vs. 1)
A triple request

You have tested my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tried me..." (vs. 3)
Another triple.

What is the psalmist's prayer?
"Let my vindication come from Your presence..." (vs. 2)
"Uphold my steps in Your paths..." (vs. 5)
"Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand..." (vs. 7)
"Keep me as the apple of Your eye..." (vs. 8)
"Hide me under the shadow of Your wings..." (vs. 8)
"Deliver my life from the wicked..." (vs. 13)

What response does he most desire? What will satisfy the psalmist?
"As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness." (vs. 15)

Maybe a list of petitions is a way of wrestling into, and being wrestled into, the righteousness and love that are the ultimate satisfaction.

Romans 9:1-5
"I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart." (vs. 2)
Israelites! My relatives!
The triumph of God and God's ultimate Israel is not without great sorrow and continual grief. It is a triumph of suffering Love, not a triumph of sheer strength.
Out of profound sorrow and grief into promises that are fulfilled in surpassing, all-encompassing ways. It takes a brave and broken heart to participate in that kind of Love.

Matthew 14:13-21
"When Jesus heard it (that Herod had John the Baptist beheaded), He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself." (vs. 13)
Grief is the starting point, or reference point, in this scripture also--grief that sees with compassion and heals and nourishes.
When the disciples suggested sending the multitudes away to get their own food, Jesus said "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." (vs. 16)
Let grief be a driving force that fuels compassion.

Receiving July 26, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for July 26
Genesis 29:15-28
Psalm 128
Romans 8:26-39
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

PART I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html provides suggestions for how to receive the Word as spirit and life. Part II of this post provides notes that are a result of following those suggestions. My hope is that you will receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself, and then compare notes with others who are doing the same.

PART II - Reflections on this week's scriptures

Prayer for receptivity
Please increase in me the receptivity that is grounded in confession and surrender. Enable me to receive Your light and love and be united with You in the way this day calls for. And in the way these scriptures call for.

Genesis 29:15-28
"Why then have you deceived me?" (Jacob to Laban, vs. 25)
Consider Jacob's experience with deception. What would Jacob say prevents a person from being deceived, or a deceiver?

"And Laban said, 'It must not be done so in our country...'" (vs. 26)
Consider the power of custom.
Also, consider how honor was both supreme and compromised in this Genesis account.
Then consider the essentials (about deception and the forgiveness it calls for) that were true for that culture and for every culture that has followed it.
Each culture is powerful, and the spirit and life in the Word is more powerful.

Psalm 128
"Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
Who walks in His ways." (vs. 1)
Do and be what feeds the fear of the LORD. That's where the blessing is.
Ponder how fear of the LORD as a focus is different from "don't deceive" or "do forgive" as focus.
Ponder how fear of the LORD threads through and transcends all cultures.
Consider how fear of the LORD is informed and shaped by culture. Shaped but not limited by culture. Consider how fear of the LORD is much bigger than any culture or all cultures.
The fear of the LORD is common to all cultures--cultures that are not at all common to each other.

Romans 8:26-39
"...the Spirit... makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." (vs. 27)
"It is Christ who... also makes intercession for us." (vs. 34)
Let it "sink in" and comfort that the Holy Spirit and Christ intercede. They shape our prayer, conforming it to the will of God--to Supreme Righteousness and Love.

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (vss. 38, 39)
Ponder what keeps your heart in touch with this Surpassing Love, especially in the most difficult times.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Mustard Seed
The kingdom of heaven is like a seed sown and growing.

Leaven
The kingdom of heaven is like leaven (increase and expansion).

Hidden Treasure
The kingdom of heaven is a supreme and singular value.

Pearl of Great Price
The kingdom of heaven is a supreme singular value.

Consider the growth of the kingdom of heaven (and everything in it!)--in the life of nations, families, and individuals. Growing is life unfolding (life that encompasses death and resurrection). In a kingdom that is growing, everything--faith, hope, love and worship included--is becoming.

Receiving July 19, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for July 19
Genesis 28:10-19a
Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24
Romans 8:12-25
Matthew 13:24-30 36-43

PART I - Receiving the Word as spirit and life for yourself
http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html provides suggestions for how to receive the Word as spirit and life. Part II of this post provides notes that are a result of following those suggestions. Receive the Word as spirit and life for yourself and compare notes with others who are doing the same.

PART II - Notes about this week's scriptures

Prayer for receptivity
Receptivity is a way of my heart that You initiate and that You cause to thrive. Please, God, let this receptivity be realized again and more so right now.

Genesis 28:10-19a

What were Rebekah and Jacob believing in and committed to?
What can I learn from them about the strength and the breakdown of faith?
More than trying to figuring out where or why they went wrong, it's occurring to me that I need to confess the ways my faith breaks down. For example, in what ways do I try to help God do what God has promised to do? How often, how readily, do I shift from faith to performance, from trust to achievement? Do I make faith a springboard into works? Do I use faith to get the job done? Or is my trust bearing fruit in confession and surrender followed by light and union with God?
July 19, 2008, note: Oops, today I discovered the mistake I made last week. When open to Genesis 28:10 my Bible is also open to 27:10-19a, which I mistakenly used. Verses 10-19a in Chapter 27 were spirit and life for me in a timely and very valuable way, but they weren't the intended passage in Genesis 28 about Jacob's Vow at Bethel.

Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24
"You know..."
You understand..."
You comprehend my path..."
And are acquainted with all my ways." (vss. 2, 3)

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;" (vs. 23)

That God knows and understands is hope and comfort. Opening my heart and my anxieties to His knowing is trust and surrender. These are dynamics that need to be renewed and deepened as circumstances intensify.

Romans 8:12-25
"...joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." (vs. 17)
There's an essential connection between "suffer with" and "glorified together." There are some things that get in the way of suffering with Him: some victims specialize in suffering; pill-taking Americans dodge suffering; joy-joy Christians deny suffering. We need to find our way through distortions in order to suffer with Him as a joint heir.

"...the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed." (vs. 18)
When we have been staggered by suffering; when suffering has hit like a 10.0 earthquake in our soul, this verse can help us reaccess, redefine, realize more fully what we can never fully realize: the incomparable glory.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
"'Let both grow together until the harvest..." (vs 30)
"The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels." (vss. 38, 39)
When and how good and evil get sorted out is a question that is expressed or implied everywhere these days. Ponder how this parable informs tolerance and integrity.

Receiving July 12, 2008, worship scriptures

Scriptures for July 12
Genesis 25:21-34
Psalm 119:105-112
Romans 8:1-11
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Please go to http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html to find ways to receive the Word as spirit and life--for yourself. Then compare notes with others who are doing the same. One example follows.

July 5 prayer for receptivity
Spirit and life are always and only Your doing. Not even receiving Your Word as spirit and life is my doing. Make my heart the soft, strong place where receptivity can thrive, please God.

Genesis 25:21-34
"Isaac pleaded..." (vs. 21)
"the children struggled..." (vs. 22)
"'If all is well, why...?' So she went to inquire of the LORD." (vs. 22)
"Isaac loved Esau..." (vs. 28)
"Rebekah loved Jacob." (vs. 28)
"Esau was weary and said..., 'Please feed me...'" (vss. 29, 30)
"Jacob said, 'Sell me your birthright.'" (vs. 31)
"'...what is this birthright to me?'" (vs. 31)

What a mingling of desires.
Consider the desire each one felt, and what each did about his or her desire.
What made each desire what it was for each one in this family?

"And the LORD said to her:
'Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.'" (vs. 23)

Consider how the Word of God affected and influenced the people and events in verses 21-34. How did each receive and act on that Word?
Ponder what it is to stay with God's Word, completely confident it will happen, without trying to make it happen?

Psalm 119:105-112
"Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path." (vs. 105)
Consider how this was so, and how it could have been more so, for Rebekah and the whole family.

"Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever,
For they are the rejoicing of my heart." (vs. 111)
Desire and a rejoicing heart relate to each other. Explore the path from desire to rejoicing and back to desire. What has that been like for you? What increases the desire and rejoicing cycle; what keeps both desire and rejoicing expanding?

Romans 8:1-11
"...in Christ Jesus...walk according to...the Spirit." (vs. 1)
"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." (vs. 5)

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
"'But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit..." (vs. 23)
Understanding the word--being a good ground hearer--is a basic human capacity. It begins very early. In The Religious Potential of the Child, Sofia Cavalletti wrote:

We should not be afraid to approach the greatest themes with the youngest children... As long as we are able to stay on a plane of essentiality, the children will listen to us, enchanted, happy, and never tiring; as soon as we leave this level, their attention will abandon us. Maria Montessori gave as a rule for her teachers the words of Dante: "Le parole tue sian conte," "Let your words be counted." May our words be few, but great in weight, above all with the youngest children. It is necessary for us to concentrate on a few, essential themes, not only to respond to the children's needs, but also to give them something that is able to grow along with them; that is, a vital nucleus that can open itself to ever widening horizons...

What is good for children remains good for the child in each adult. If our attention abandons us, we can return to receiving what is essential; we can recognize and explore the vital nucleus. We can give our inner child what is essential, the vital nucleus that opens to ever widening horizons. Respecting our inner child will help us receive the Word as spirit and life, as a lamp and light, and the rejoicing of our hearts.