From asimpledesire.wordpress.com, emu.edu, thirdway.com, biblegateway.com:
Daily Readings and Devotionals:
Daily Scripture:
Trust
When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall.
Reference: Psalm 27: 2
Psalm 27:2 (New King James Version)
2 When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
**************************************************************
Related Blog
A Simple Desire
The weblog "a simple desire" provides brief commentaries on "A Sip of Scripture" from a Mennonite perspective, The commentaries are written by Carole Boshart, of Oregon; Will Fitzgerald, of Michigan; and others on occasion.
Short commentary on “A Sip of Scripture” from Third Way Cafe
Safe from “lions and tigers and bears – oh my!”
leave a comment »
“When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall. “ ( Psalm 27: 2 )
In case you have stumbled across this, the writer of Psalm is not talking about zombies. But don’t be embarrassed; that thought flitted across my mind too. The analogy comes from wild beast – “lions and tigers and bears (oh my!)” – tearing into their prey. I do not know what mental image this passage brings to your mind. So let me share mine with you.
In keeping with the metaphor of the passage, I envision a lion charging out at me. I am standing in the open, no where to run. I shut me eyes, and brace myself for the onslaught. But it never comes. So I open my eyes, and to my amazement, the lion’s hind leg is shackled to a steel stack firmly planted in the ground. The lion tugs and roars, but it cannot get to me.
So I casually wander over to the lion, keeping out of his reach. And I just sit and watch him. For hours. Until he tires out. And lays down. And over a matter of time – days, months, years – I befriend the lion.
We have no guarantee that there will not be misfortune in this world. What we do have is the promise that what is most important and sacred to us will not be harmed. The missional word is not safety from all things, but refuge from those things that scare the wits out of us!
May you missional reader find safety in our Lord, and may you spread the word that we can trust that our Lord will keep us safe. Selah!
Written by Carole
March 4, 2011 at 12:50 am
**************************************************************
Related Website
Soul Space
You are invited to take some time each day for "Soul Space," written by Wendy Miller and posted on the Eastern Mennonite University website. Each day's guidance centers around a theme for reflection and prayer drawn from the lectionary readings for the week.
Morning- Week Four
Opening the day with prayer.
As darkness fades and dawn awakens
Lord, give me the joy of your saving help
And sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
In the tender light of morning
Help me as I pray.
In the name of Jesus, bright and morning star. Amen.
Morning by morning God wakens–
wakens my ear
to listen
as those who are taught. Isaiah 50:5
Coming
Loving God,
Help me to hear your call
To be with you –
In the solitude of the desert.
Awaken my mind and soul to your work
And your guidance;
help me not to run into busy avoidance,
Open my eyes to see Jesus.
Amen
Silence
Be still.
Open your awareness to God’s presence
Within and all around.
“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
Being With- Lent Week One
Prayer before reading:
Lord Jesus Christ,
You call us to come
To be with you.
By your Spirit help me
To see you,
To hear you,
To receive your Spirit,
To be led by your Spirit.
Amen
Read slowly. Listen deeply. Indwell the scripture.
Season of Lent: Week One
The Lenten journey draws us into the desert and in many ways leaves us there for a season. Why the desert? “The desert has nothing to offer. It affords no hiding place, no refuge. It is a place of desolation and liberation. But the desert is not merely a place. It is a symbol of Christian experience. The desert as both place and experience becomes associated with journeying; with testing (to discern and sift); with seeking another country, a promised land – the reality of the kingdom of God.” (from John Moses, The Desert: An Anthology for Lent. Morehouse, 1997. 15)
Being in the desert is no escape from the realities of the world’s system, rather it is a place where God frees us from our captivity to what the world offers. This season in the wilderness releases us gradually from our attachments and from the myriad of distractions that keep us occupied and unable to see God’s presence and work within and around us. This season in the desert prepares us to be in the world, but not of the world. Jesus is here, in this desert place – facing into the lure of how to be successful, how to attract people’s attention, how to prove God is present. But he chooses to trust, to rest in Abba. He sees the temptation for what it is. Rather than turning stones into bread, he trusts God to offer manna in the wilderness.
As the lectionary guides us into the gospel narratives which in turn lead us to Jerusalem, we will become aware of the tension this journey to Golgotha sets up for Jesus’ followers. This journey to Jerusalem is a desert for them – for the structures and attachments to which they cling are being exposed and challenged. And they are not yet ready to receive the map Jesus offers them in this wilderness of life and soul.
The invitation here is to enter into the silence and solitude of this desert journey, and to learn to be with Jesus – who in turn dwells in the presence of Abba God, and receives help and sustenance. Here we are brought face to face with our own interior world, and God. This is the Lenten journey.
Prayer before reading:
Lord Jesus Christ,
You come to us.
Help me to see as you see,
To recognize your presence
In the desert,
And to learn God’s way.
Amen
Responding
The third movement within Soul Space is Responding. Here we shift our focus towards outward engagement.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
RESPONDING
Pray for the coming day. Pray for persons, families, who need the healing and compassionate care of Jesus, especially for ___________________________ .
Dear God and Father, You who mother us with your mercy, and gentle us into peace with your consolation, console us in all our suffering and affliction So that we may be able to console those who suffer with the comfort and care we receive from you.
By your kind Spirit, be present with those who suffer and are crushed. Breathe your comfort and consolation upon the dry ground of their despair. Through your grace and saving love, surround them with your protection, give them healing and restoration.
In the name of Jesus, our Healer and Burden Bearer. Amen.
*Based on 2 Cor.1:3-5
INTERCESSION
Pray for the coming day, and for the persons whom God has called to minister and give oversight in the church, the body of Christ.
Dear God,
You are at work this day.
Help us, your servants, to pay attention to your presence
And what you are doing. Pry us loose from our own agenda,
tight schedules, strategic outcomes.
Wash the lens of our hearts, to see you –
to wait with you; to listen as you listen
to feel the gentle breeze of your Spirit breathing among persons
who sit in the shadow of death;
to speak as you give words,
to touch with gentleness; we are your hands;
to be hospitable within to your good news, and
happy in its overflow in word, touch, and being.
To see evil as you see–all that blocks, stifles, robs,
and destroys, and yet to stand in trusting hope–
in you, Lord Christ, who died to set us free from
sin’s power to rob us of life, faith, hope, and love.
Help us to love ourselves, and so in turn to love others;
to welcome the pilgrim and neighbor within our own soul,
and so not to be a stranger to ourselves, or to others,
but in offering welcome and shelter to our own hungers
we may learn the way of offering welcome and shelter
to those who are searching, hungry, sick, in prison,
alone, naked, and thirsty: for this where you dwell.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
CLOSING PRAYER
Loving God,
Help me to hear your call
To be with you –
In the solitude of the desert.
Awaken my mind and soul to your work
And your guidance;
help me not to run into busy avoidance,
Open my eyes to see Jesus.
Amen
Evening- Week Four
Closing the day with gratefulness.
It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;
To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning
And of your faithfulness in the night season.
Psalm 92:1,2
As I come to the end of this day,
For what am I thankful?
How have I known God’s faithfulness this day?
What do bring to God . . .?
For confession . . .
For forgiveness . . .
For help . . .
For God’s holding.
Reading
The psalm for this week’s lectionary readings.
Silence
Closing Prayer
Living God,
In you there is no darkness;
Shed upon us through this night the light of your forgiveness,
Your healing and your peace.
Cover us with the blanket of your protection.
When we wake from sleep
May we know once more the light of your presence,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Daily Readings and Devotionals:
Daily Scripture:
Trust
When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall.
Reference: Psalm 27: 2
Psalm 27:2 (New King James Version)
2 When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
**************************************************************
Related Blog
A Simple Desire
The weblog "a simple desire" provides brief commentaries on "A Sip of Scripture" from a Mennonite perspective, The commentaries are written by Carole Boshart, of Oregon; Will Fitzgerald, of Michigan; and others on occasion.
Short commentary on “A Sip of Scripture” from Third Way Cafe
Safe from “lions and tigers and bears – oh my!”
leave a comment »
“When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall. “ ( Psalm 27: 2 )
In case you have stumbled across this, the writer of Psalm is not talking about zombies. But don’t be embarrassed; that thought flitted across my mind too. The analogy comes from wild beast – “lions and tigers and bears (oh my!)” – tearing into their prey. I do not know what mental image this passage brings to your mind. So let me share mine with you.
In keeping with the metaphor of the passage, I envision a lion charging out at me. I am standing in the open, no where to run. I shut me eyes, and brace myself for the onslaught. But it never comes. So I open my eyes, and to my amazement, the lion’s hind leg is shackled to a steel stack firmly planted in the ground. The lion tugs and roars, but it cannot get to me.
So I casually wander over to the lion, keeping out of his reach. And I just sit and watch him. For hours. Until he tires out. And lays down. And over a matter of time – days, months, years – I befriend the lion.
We have no guarantee that there will not be misfortune in this world. What we do have is the promise that what is most important and sacred to us will not be harmed. The missional word is not safety from all things, but refuge from those things that scare the wits out of us!
May you missional reader find safety in our Lord, and may you spread the word that we can trust that our Lord will keep us safe. Selah!
Written by Carole
March 4, 2011 at 12:50 am
**************************************************************
Related Website
Soul Space
You are invited to take some time each day for "Soul Space," written by Wendy Miller and posted on the Eastern Mennonite University website. Each day's guidance centers around a theme for reflection and prayer drawn from the lectionary readings for the week.
Morning- Week Four
Opening the day with prayer.
As darkness fades and dawn awakens
Lord, give me the joy of your saving help
And sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
In the tender light of morning
Help me as I pray.
In the name of Jesus, bright and morning star. Amen.
Morning by morning God wakens–
wakens my ear
to listen
as those who are taught. Isaiah 50:5
Coming
Loving God,
Help me to hear your call
To be with you –
In the solitude of the desert.
Awaken my mind and soul to your work
And your guidance;
help me not to run into busy avoidance,
Open my eyes to see Jesus.
Amen
Silence
Be still.
Open your awareness to God’s presence
Within and all around.
“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
Being With- Lent Week One
Prayer before reading:
Lord Jesus Christ,
You call us to come
To be with you.
By your Spirit help me
To see you,
To hear you,
To receive your Spirit,
To be led by your Spirit.
Amen
Read slowly. Listen deeply. Indwell the scripture.
Season of Lent: Week One
The Lenten journey draws us into the desert and in many ways leaves us there for a season. Why the desert? “The desert has nothing to offer. It affords no hiding place, no refuge. It is a place of desolation and liberation. But the desert is not merely a place. It is a symbol of Christian experience. The desert as both place and experience becomes associated with journeying; with testing (to discern and sift); with seeking another country, a promised land – the reality of the kingdom of God.” (from John Moses, The Desert: An Anthology for Lent. Morehouse, 1997. 15)
Being in the desert is no escape from the realities of the world’s system, rather it is a place where God frees us from our captivity to what the world offers. This season in the wilderness releases us gradually from our attachments and from the myriad of distractions that keep us occupied and unable to see God’s presence and work within and around us. This season in the desert prepares us to be in the world, but not of the world. Jesus is here, in this desert place – facing into the lure of how to be successful, how to attract people’s attention, how to prove God is present. But he chooses to trust, to rest in Abba. He sees the temptation for what it is. Rather than turning stones into bread, he trusts God to offer manna in the wilderness.
As the lectionary guides us into the gospel narratives which in turn lead us to Jerusalem, we will become aware of the tension this journey to Golgotha sets up for Jesus’ followers. This journey to Jerusalem is a desert for them – for the structures and attachments to which they cling are being exposed and challenged. And they are not yet ready to receive the map Jesus offers them in this wilderness of life and soul.
The invitation here is to enter into the silence and solitude of this desert journey, and to learn to be with Jesus – who in turn dwells in the presence of Abba God, and receives help and sustenance. Here we are brought face to face with our own interior world, and God. This is the Lenten journey.
Prayer before reading:
Lord Jesus Christ,
You come to us.
Help me to see as you see,
To recognize your presence
In the desert,
And to learn God’s way.
Amen
Responding
The third movement within Soul Space is Responding. Here we shift our focus towards outward engagement.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
RESPONDING
Pray for the coming day. Pray for persons, families, who need the healing and compassionate care of Jesus, especially for ___________________________ .
Dear God and Father, You who mother us with your mercy, and gentle us into peace with your consolation, console us in all our suffering and affliction So that we may be able to console those who suffer with the comfort and care we receive from you.
By your kind Spirit, be present with those who suffer and are crushed. Breathe your comfort and consolation upon the dry ground of their despair. Through your grace and saving love, surround them with your protection, give them healing and restoration.
In the name of Jesus, our Healer and Burden Bearer. Amen.
*Based on 2 Cor.1:3-5
INTERCESSION
Pray for the coming day, and for the persons whom God has called to minister and give oversight in the church, the body of Christ.
Dear God,
You are at work this day.
Help us, your servants, to pay attention to your presence
And what you are doing. Pry us loose from our own agenda,
tight schedules, strategic outcomes.
Wash the lens of our hearts, to see you –
to wait with you; to listen as you listen
to feel the gentle breeze of your Spirit breathing among persons
who sit in the shadow of death;
to speak as you give words,
to touch with gentleness; we are your hands;
to be hospitable within to your good news, and
happy in its overflow in word, touch, and being.
To see evil as you see–all that blocks, stifles, robs,
and destroys, and yet to stand in trusting hope–
in you, Lord Christ, who died to set us free from
sin’s power to rob us of life, faith, hope, and love.
Help us to love ourselves, and so in turn to love others;
to welcome the pilgrim and neighbor within our own soul,
and so not to be a stranger to ourselves, or to others,
but in offering welcome and shelter to our own hungers
we may learn the way of offering welcome and shelter
to those who are searching, hungry, sick, in prison,
alone, naked, and thirsty: for this where you dwell.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
CLOSING PRAYER
Loving God,
Help me to hear your call
To be with you –
In the solitude of the desert.
Awaken my mind and soul to your work
And your guidance;
help me not to run into busy avoidance,
Open my eyes to see Jesus.
Amen
Evening- Week Four
Closing the day with gratefulness.
It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;
To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning
And of your faithfulness in the night season.
Psalm 92:1,2
As I come to the end of this day,
For what am I thankful?
How have I known God’s faithfulness this day?
What do bring to God . . .?
For confession . . .
For forgiveness . . .
For help . . .
For God’s holding.
Reading
The psalm for this week’s lectionary readings.
Silence
Closing Prayer
Living God,
In you there is no darkness;
Shed upon us through this night the light of your forgiveness,
Your healing and your peace.
Cover us with the blanket of your protection.
When we wake from sleep
May we know once more the light of your presence,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.
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