Reflecting God for Sunday, July 12, 2009

Today’s Question
Where are you in your life development?

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 51:13-19

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise.

16-17 Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.

18-19 Make Zion the place you delight in,
repair Jerusalem's broken-down walls.
Then you'll get real worship from us,
acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls
they can heave onto your altar! (The Message)

KEY VERSE: A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Ps. 51:17).

Restoration and Forgiveness
Despise is a strong word full of loathing and hate, but it matches well David's deep contrition. When Job received a vision of the Almighty in the midst of his terrible suffering, he said, "I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (42:6). While David despised himself for what he had done, he prayed that God would not despise his broken heart, his contrite spirit.
Only God is able to separate the deed from the doer. When someone hurts us, it is natural for us to respond with disdain for that person. It is a supernatural grace to love someone who sins against us, a grace only God can give.
While God despises sin, He is the great lover of souls. He hates sin precisely because it separates Him from the object of His love. When we think we have sinned so greatly that God could never forgive us, we undercut the person of God himself and transfer our human limits to Him. "God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything" (1 John 3:20). "He remembers that we are dust [human]" (Ps. 103:14). How graciously He restores us; how patiently He forgives.
-Marlene Chase

SING TO THE LORD
And from my smitten heart, with tears,
These wonders I confess:
The wonder of His glorious love,
And my unworthiness.
"Beneath the Cross of Jesus" by Elizabeth C. Clephane

REACH OUT IN PRAYER
Many people in Guinea Bissau will come to know Christ and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me; Spirit of the living God.

SECOND THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Becoming Food For the World
When Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, he summarized in these gestures his own life. Jesus is chosen from all eternity, blessed at his baptism in the Jordan River, broken on the cross, and given as bread to the world. Being chosen, blessed, broken, and given is the sacred journey of the Son of God, Jesus the Christ.
When we take bread, bless it, break it, and give it with the words "This is the Body of Christ," we express our commitment to make our lives conform to the life of Christ. We too want to live as people chosen, blessed, and broken, and thus become food for the world.--Henri J. M. Nouwen

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THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Isaiah 16-18

A New Government in the David Tradition

1-4 "Dispatch a gift of lambs," says Moab, "to the leaders in Jerusalem—
Lambs from Sela sent across the desert
to buy the goodwill of Jerusalem.
The towns and people of Moab
are at a loss,
New-hatched birds knocked from the nest,
fluttering helplessly
At the banks of the Arnon River,
unable to cross:
'Tell us what to do,
help us out!
Protect us,
hide us!
Give the refugees from Moab
sanctuary with you.
Be a safe place for those on the run
from the killing fields.'"
4-5"When this is all over," Judah answers,
"the tyrant toppled,
The killing at an end,
all signs of these cruelties long gone,
A new government of love will be established
in the venerable David tradition.
A Ruler you can depend upon
will head this government,
A Ruler passionate for justice,
a Ruler quick to set things right."

6-12We've heard—everyone's heard!—of Moab's pride,
world-famous for pride—
Arrogant, self-important, insufferable,
full of hot air.
So now let Moab lament for a change,
with antiphonal mock-laments from the neighbors!
What a shame! How terrible!
No more fine fruitcakes and Kir-hareseth candies!
All those lush Heshbon fields dried up,
the rich Sibmah vineyards withered!
Foreign thugs have crushed and torn out
the famous grapevines
That once reached all the way to Jazer,
right to the edge of the desert,
Ripped out the crops in every direction
as far as the eye can see.
I'll join the weeping. I'll weep right along with Jazer,
weep for the Sibmah vineyards.
And yes, Heshbon and Elealeh,
I'll mingle my tears with your tears!
The joyful shouting at harvest is gone.
Instead of song and celebration, dead silence.
No more boisterous laughter in the orchards,
no more hearty work songs in the vineyards.
Instead of the bustle and sound of good work in the fields,
silence—deathly and deadening silence.
My heartstrings throb like harp strings for Moab,
my soul in sympathy for sad Kir-heres.
When Moab trudges to the shrine to pray,
he wastes both time and energy.
Going to the sanctuary and praying for relief
is useless. Nothing ever happens.

13-14This is God's earlier Message on Moab. God's updated Message is, "In three years, no longer than the term of an enlisted soldier, Moab's impressive presence will be gone, that splendid hot-air balloon will be punctured, and instead of a vigorous population, just a few shuffling bums cadging handouts."
Damascus: A Pile of Dust and Rubble

1-3 A Message concerning Damascus: "Watch this: Damascus undone as a city,
a pile of dust and rubble!
Her towns emptied of people.
The sheep and goats will move in
And take over the towns
as if they owned them—which they will!
Not a sign of a fort is left in Ephraim,
not a trace of government left in Damascus.
What's left of Aram?
The same as what's left of Israel—not much."
Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
The Day Is Coming

4-6"The Day is coming when Jacob's robust splendor goes pale
and his well-fed body turns skinny.
The country will be left empty, picked clean
as a field harvested by field hands.
She'll be like a few stalks of barley left standing
in the lush Valley of Rephaim after harvest,
Or like the couple of ripe olives overlooked
in the top of the olive tree,
Or the four or five apples
that the pickers couldn't reach in the orchard."
Decree of the God of Israel.
7-8Yes, the Day is coming when people will notice The One Who Made Them, take a long hard look at The Holy of Israel. They'll lose interest in all the stuff they've made—altars and monuments and rituals, their homemade, handmade religion—however impressive it is.

9And yes, the Day is coming when their fortress cities will be abandoned —the very same cities that the Hivites and Amorites abandoned when Israel invaded! And the country will be empty, desolate.

You Have Forgotten God

10-11And why? Because you have forgotten God-Your-Salvation,
not remembered your Rock-of-Refuge.
And so, even though you are very religious,
planting all sorts of bushes and herbs and trees
to honor and influence your fertility gods,
And even though you make them grow so well,
bursting with buds and sprouts and blossoms,
Nothing will come of them. Instead of a harvest
you'll get nothing but grief and pain, pain, pain.
12-13Oh my! Thunder! A thundering herd of people!
Thunder like the crashing of ocean waves!
Nations roaring, roaring,
like the roar of a massive waterfall,
Roaring like a deafening Niagara!
But God will silence them with a word,
And then he'll blow them away like dead leaves off a tree,
like down from a thistle.

14At bedtime, terror fills the air.
By morning it's gone—not a sign of it anywhere!
This is what happens to those who would ruin us,
this is the fate of those out to get us.
People Mighty and Merciless

1-2 Doom to the land of flies and mosquitoes beyond the Ethiopian rivers,
Shipping emissaries all over the world,
down rivers and across seas.
Go, swift messengers,
go to this people tall and handsome,
This people held in respect everywhere,
this people mighty and merciless,
from the land crisscrossed with rivers.

3Everybody everywhere,
all earth-dwellers:
When you see a flag flying on the mountain, look!
When you hear the trumpet blown, listen!

4-6For here's what God told me:

"I'm not going to say anything,
but simply look on from where I live,
Quiet as warmth that comes from the sun,
silent as dew during harvest."
And then, just before harvest, after the blossom
has turned into a maturing grape,
He'll step in and prune back the new shoots,
ruthlessly hack off all the growing branches.
He'll leave them piled on the ground
for birds and animals to feed on—
Fodder for the summering birds,
fodder for the wintering animals.

7Then tribute will be brought to God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
brought from this people tall and handsome,
This people once held in respect everywhere,
this people once mighty and merciless,
From the land crisscrossed with rivers,
to Mount Zion, God's place. (The Message)

All Scripture quotations not otherwise designated are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV®). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
All hymn texts are taken from the hymnal Sing to the Lord. Copyright © 1993 by Lillenas Publishing Company.
Copyright © 2009 by WordAction Publishing Company. All rights reserved. WordAction.com

Weekly Prayer:
Dear God, many times I wish you would just write out in the clouds what you want me to do. Wouldn’t that be easier? Then I realize that you don’t want me to be a passive robot, spinelessly following orders, but a fully alive human being choosing to walk with you each day. Thank you for that freedom. Guide me in that awesome responsibility. Amen.
Prayer Tip:
The words “mid-life crisis” can conjure up an endless examination of everything that has happened in our lives up until now, followed by another endless contemplation of the future stretched out before us. Seen that way, a “crisis” can bring us to a complete standstill, unable to leave the past, or move forward trusting God for the future.
A prayer exercise, called Examen, can help you review your life each day. It also reminds you that the best life examination focuses your attention on God and God’s movement in your life.
Examen is usually a reflection on the day just completed. It should not be a long process. About fifteen minutes is ideal, no more than thirty. Don’t overthink. Let the Holy Spirit lead. Writing in a journal or a pad of paper is helpful. Do this prayer exercise in a quiet, private place, if possible. There are five basic movements:
Celebrate and give thanks. Quiet yourself and give thanks to God for your life, and for anything from the day past that comes to mind. Reflect on God’s presence throughout the day, and how without God, no good thing could exist.
Pray for illumination – the grace to see clearly and understand God’s guidance in your life. Record the places you clearly saw God’s presence in the day past.
Inventory your day, beginning when you first woke and ending with at your prayer time. What happened? How did God work in you?
Repent. Review your spiritual health and asking for forgiveness and healing. Let God comfort you and show you what you need to see.
Ask for and accept forgiveness, and give thanks.
End with the Lord’s Prayer, as Jesus taught his disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.
–Jennifer Creager, Resurrection Prayer Ministries