Job's Woes

Read Job 18-25 today. Job is an interesting book on how people talk theology. Job's friends think that God blesses only the good and punishes only the wicked therefore Job is wicked. Poor Job says no, the wicked prosper on earth so prosperity must not come directly from God. Job feels abandoned by both friends and God. This is also good study in the difference between the theology of prosperity (God wants the faithful to be wealthy) and the theology of abundance (God is able to provide all things necessary for God's work on earth.) I side with Job and the theology of abundance.

New Beginnigs

Some of us have decided to read the Bible in a year. This weeks readings are
Deuteronomy 29-34; Joshua 1-10; Acts 7:1-10:48; Job 18-25.
I read the Deuteronomy passages today. Chapter thirty was the one which has me thinking. Verses 11-14 and 15-20. I was using The Jewish Study Bible. God's instruction has been put in our hearts so we might observe it. God sets before us life and prosperity or death and adversity. God says choose life. Life, blessing, prosperity is loving the Lord, heeding God's commands and holding fast to God. According to the Tanakh this should not be baffling. Today I choose life.

let the light shine

One of those scriptures which intrigues me is from Matthew as the wise men have seen the baby Jesus, it reads "they left for their own country by another road." Yesterday I spent the day driving 2 hours to Columbia and then 2 hours coming back home. Even though I literally was on the same road both ways, I traveled by what seemed another route. Going the sky was gray. It felt like one shade of gray and the gray surrounded everything. The trees, the grass, the hills, the valleys, the highway, everything was gray. The mist fell continuously which caused everything to blend together. It was one monochromatic blur with little form.

But on the way back, the sun broke through the clouds. The blue of the sky peeked through with bursts of light shining down. Suddenly the landscape was brillant with colors. Bright red, orange, yellow, gold, and purple leaves were seen on trees among the dark evergreens. Each tree was distinct standing on its own. The fields were shining with late crops and grasses. Even the clouds as they parted for the sun were many hues of gray. There was dark grays and light greys and white. As I traveled I delighted in the beauty of the creation and pondered how different everything looks with the light shining.

How often do we wander through life as if it is one gray blob? How often do we not see clearly each thing God bring before us because a gray mood blinds our eyes? If I understand the scripture, when the light of Christ shines on our lives, our eyes are illuminated to see clearly. We are able to see every person, thing, and opportunity without a veil over them . We are able to distinquish the beauty around us. We are able to travel by another route. I am so glad God took me home by another route yesterday. The path was breath-taking and breath-giving.

sacred places

My devotions lately have been on finding sacred places. Sacred places are those that bring us closer to the Holy. Sacred places are those that focus our thoughts and passions on God. Some of us find sacred places outside in the beauty of creation. Some of us find sacred places inside in church. Some of us find sacred places alone and others find that sacred place in the presence of others. Today I cannot forget the moment my couch became a sacred place. As I watched the television 8 years ago, my couch became a sacred place of prayer longing for God's comfort and strength. I thank God, who is beyond time and space, that every place can be a sacred place when my heart and mind are turned to the Lord.

poetry of life

My spiritual retreat filled me with a poetry of life. God fed my soul with words, sights, and sounds that reminded me that time alone is necessary. We need the ebb and flow, the in and out, the high and low, all the rhythms of life. We need harmony and discord, we need activity and rest, we need noise and quiet. To use a medicial term, we were not created to be flat lines. God has put a rhythm within our hearts, minds, and spirits. When we are all that God desires us to be, it is like dancing with God. When we are dancing, we experience a rhythm that makes life glorious.

Shrines or Talismans

One of my morning devotions referred to Shaun McNeff Earth Angels. He wrote that if aboriginal people came to your house and saw what was on the dresser top or bathroom vanity, they might consider these items a shrine or talismans. That was a whisper from God. What are the little things that are front and center to my day? What are the things that I see upon rising and again at the end of the day? Are the things on the dresser top and the bathroom vanity what I want to speak to me or about me to others? I certainly don't think of these items as things of worship. But if they are the things which start and end my day, if they are the things which speak about me to visitors, then re-evaluating their place in my life is worth time. Do you have shrines or talismans to ponder? If we want to start and end our day with God then the things which surround us make a difference. I think I will take time to build new shrines for the beginning and ending of each day.

quotes to make you think.

Lately God has been sending quotes to make me think. In devotions, in the Bible, in books there have been little gems to stimulate the brain. My favorite though, is a note written on a 3-5 card left in a plant in the house the last time our eight year old granddaughter visited. "If you are reading this card, Holly wrote it to say I love you." God's love and wisdom comes in lots of packages. I am glad when my heart is open to receive them. Is God sending you messages?