One Of Us

Jeff

Good morning. It is Saturday, August 2, 2014.

Today is Mead Day. In case you don’t know what mead is, it is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey with water. Sometimes other fruits, spiced, or grains are added as well. It is, to some people, excessively sweet. I love the stuff. I had my first taste of mead at Scarborough Renaissance Festival about five years ago. It’s very difficult to find. Apparently, you can make it yourself, at home. Perhaps I should look into that.

Last night, Christi, Stephanie, and I went to Arlington, to Prince of Peace Church, to see and worship with Dennis Jernigan. We have not seen him in a long time, and it was a very pleasant and refreshing time of worship. We sang a few songs from his latest album, “Days of Awe.” I need to give that CD a listen again, as some of those songs were very good. Stephanie, of course, had a wonderful time, as he is one of her heroes.

This morning, I have to take my care in to the dealership for 15,000 mile service. I’m supposed to be there at 10:15, so I may have to hurry through some of this.

Tonight, we have our worship service at 5:45, preceded by our “Anchor” prayer gathering at 4:45. We are The Exchange. If you live close by, we welcome you to come visit.

(Source: This Day In History)

On this date in 1776, fifty-six delegates of Congress wrote their names on an enlarged copy of the Declaration of Independence. They went in order from north to south, beginning with New Hampshire’s Josiah Bartlett and ending with Georgia’s George Walton. Refusing to sign were John Dickson of Pennsylvania, James Duane, Robert Livingston, and John Jay of New York.

Sharing a birthday today are Myrna Loy, Mary-Louise Parker, Victoria Jackson, Peter O’Toole, Carroll O’Connor, Wes Craven, Grady Sizemore, Tim Wakefield, Butch Patrick, Frederic August Bartoldi, Beatrice Straight, Joanna Cassidy, and Andrew Gold.

Tim Wakefield is a retired MLB pitcher. He played the majority of his career with the Boston Red Sox, and was a great knuckleball pitcher. Here is a short clip of him in action against the Milwaukee Brewers.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah.
Psalm 66:1-4
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Psalm 33:22
For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
Psalm 92:4
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’
John 14:27-28a
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm 121

Today’s reading in Reflections for Ragamuffins is “One of Us.”

When Jesus acted passionately in the cleansing of the Temple in John 2, it may be somewhat disturbing to people who believe that our life in Christ to be “sweetly insipid or airily otherworldly.” In this passage, we see a “portrait of an angry Savior.” This Jesus, who said, “Forgive your neighbor seventy times seven,” and, “Learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart,” made “a homemade whip and is tearing through the Temple overturning stalls and showcases, thrashing the merchants and roaring, ‘Get out of here! This isn’t Winn Dixie! You will not turn sacred space into a supermarket!'”

“Like fear, love, and hatred, anger is an emotion both basic and necessary to human nature. When God drew aside the curtain of eternity and stepped into human history in the man Jesus, he fully assumed the human condition down to the last joyful or painful experience. The Word was made flesh. he was really one of us. Jesus is no stained-glass figure, no pastel face on a religious card.”

Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
John 11:35-36

Father, may we not forget that Jesus was, indeed, one of us for a few years. Let us remember that he felt the same emotions we feel; saw the same things we see; had the same experiences we experience. He was fully human, fully divine, as impossible as this seems. May we not be guilty of thinking that this life is “sweetly insipid or airily otherworldly.” We must live in this world, while attempting to be “not of this world.” We cannot walk around with our heads in the clouds, being “too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good.” May we keep our feet firmly planted on this earth, while focusing on things above, keeping our lives hidden with you.

I pray for this day. I pray for safe travel for Christi and me, as we go about our errands today. May your grace fill our day and keep us focused on you and your plan for us. May our worship this evening be full of your grace and truth, lifting you high and exalting your name.

May we remember that Jesus was not plastic. He had and showed emotion, just as we do. He just managed to do all of that without sinning. Our Savior was, indeed, one of us.

Grace and peace, friends.

8 thoughts on “One Of Us”

    1. It’s kind of like wine, only thicker and sweeter. If you like sweet wines, you might like it. I hope your weekend is fabulous! Thank you for reading and commenting! 🙂

  2. Hey Jeff — I like how you accidentally refer to your car as your “care” — I know I care about my car!
    And, I learned something I should have known — that Josiah Bartlett of WEST WING was based on a real person (name wise anyway – the character as much as says it on one episode and it sailed right by me).
    And, Jesus remains fully human as I understand the Word. In heaven with His Father He continues to maintain his human form — yes?
    Sorry I haven’t been around WP much lately; I’m writing away on a sequel to GANI & SEAN.
    Blessings for this day to you and yours.
    Carley

    1. You are correct, I believe, in that Jesus has remained in his human form. I guess he always will be? Not sure about that.

      I didn’t catch the misspelling this time. I hurried through the preview, because I had to get going to the dealership. Heh.

      Thank you for your blessing. I pray you have a blessed day today.

      1. Jeff, I am pretty sure that Jesus will remain physically human for all time. For Paul (somewhere in one of his many letters) stated that one day we will have BODIES like His — glorified. The idea that heaven is a physical place has always been difficult for me to picture. I truly hope it doesn’t have big walls and gold paved streets but that is just me. I prefer the idea that we can go anywhere and do anything or just sit with the Master and listen to Him. Anyway, have a wonderful day. Carley

      2. It is difficult to picture heaven, since the only real descriptions of it we have are in Revelation. I have come to believe that “heaven” will actually be on the new earth.

Comments are closed.