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.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
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:
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.
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