Today is Saturday, September 11, 2021.
Shalom Aleichem!
Day 23,193
Eleven more days until the Autumnal Equinox, the official beginning of Autumn
Temperatures are beginning to drop a bit, already, as Fall approaches. Over the next ten days, today’s projected high of 94 (the upper limit of “warm,” in my view) is the highest temp predicted. We have a couple of days that may not reach 90, with possible rain and/or thunderstorms on those days. Yesterday morning, around ten or so, C and I went out and walked up and down our street, and it was rather nice out.
Speaking of C, she is experiencing a bit more pain, this morning, but hasn’t taken any pain meds since mid-day, yesterday (I think). I commented to her, yesterday, that this has not gone anything like I had envisioned, pre-surgery. I seriously had this picture of her being completely immobile for, like, at least a week. Little did I know that they stress getting up and moving around for quicker recovery, which is awesome.
There isn’t much on the agenda for today. Grocery pickup between 11 and 12, and probably either a delivery from or trip to Albertson’s to get things we don’t get from Walmart Neighborhood Market. I cooked Pecan-Crusted Buttermilk Chicken for dinner, last night, so the leftovers from that will be lunch, today.
Today is No News is Good News Day. It would probably be a good idea to not look at any news for a day or so, every now and then. I saw a great meme yesterday that talked about how news was pre-Internet. Back in those days, we only got hit with “bad news” once or twice a day. Now, with Internet access and 26/7 “news” sources, we get barraged with bad news constantly. It’s bad for our mental health, and I believe that this is evident in the state of the world around us. People are simply going mad all over.
Speaking of bad news, our Keurig coffee maker just broke. Fortunately, I had one cup already. The second attempt made a nice mess, and we discovered that the bottom needle, that punctures the bottom of the K-cup, was broken off. Also fortunately, we discovered that we can buy a whole new cup-holder insert thingy (technical language, there) for less than $20, and for a mere $2.99, have it delivered this afternoon. Cheaper than paying $200+ for a new coffee maker!
The word for today is yclept. This one is a little strange. On the actual definition page, it says that it is a past participle of clepe, which means “to call; name.” It’s an archaic word, seldom used in today’s world.
Today’s quote is another from Oscar Wilde: “Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.” More and more, I find this to be true.
Significant birthdays on September 11:
O. Henry, American short story writer (William Sydney Porter), 1862-1910 Tom Landry, American NFL player (NY Giants) and coach (Dallas Cowboys), 1924-2000 Virginia Madsen, American actress, 1961 (60) Kristy McNichol, American actress, 1962 (59) Moby (Richard Hall), American musician, 1965 (56) Harry Connick Jr, American singer, 1967 (54)
Ariana Richards, American actress (Lex in the original Jurassic Park), 1979 (42)
Jacoby Ellsbury, Native American MLB player (first full-blooded Navajo in MLB; debuted with Boston Red Sox), 1983 (38)
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS
Lord, let us pray As I am, where I am For you love me As I am, where I am Receive Your love As I am, where I am And share Your love As I am, where I am A life divine Where I am, As I AM
All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you!
(Psalms 145:10 ESV)
Today I am grateful:
1. that wherever I am, You are, and always have been 2. that You love me just as I am, and always have 3. for the example of people like Moses, in Your Word 4. for the admonition to pray for justice and righteousness in our leaders 5. that You work mercy for the afflicted and oppressed
Scriptures and Prayers from Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year
ORDINARY TIME – WEEK SIXTEEN – DAY SEVEN
INVITATION
Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him.
(Nahum 1:7 WEB)
This morning, as I pause during this quiet time, I consider Your loving presence in my life, the fact that You are always, and have always been, present with me, and loving me, just as I am.
BIBLE SONG
Of Solomon.
Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.
Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.
(Psalms 72:1-4, 18-19 NIV)
BIBLE READING
Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land . . . Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”
And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.
Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
(Deuteronomy 34:1a, 4-7, 10-12 NIV)
DWELLING: SILENCE AND MEDITATION
There are some biblical passages that are always more challenging than others, especially when it comes to meditation. As I linger over these selections, this morning, I’m leaning heavily on the Holy Spirit to show me what I should be learning from them.
Right off the bat, I see, in the passage from Psalm 72, that this would be a good prayer to pray for the leadership of any nation. We don’t have a “king,” but we have a President and Vice-President, as well as other elected leaders. So it is good to pray for the Lord to “endow” these leaders with justice and righteousness. It is good to pray that our court’s judges, all across our land, would judge people with righteousness and equity, and especially treat the afflicted and oppressed with justice.
It is good to pray for prosperity in our land, whether it come from the “mountains” or the seas or the plains. And then, in verse 4, we see the prayer that our leaders would defend afflicted, rescue or save the children of the needy, and “crush the oppressor.” I love this prayer, as I would love to see oppression cease all over the world.
The ending of the psalm is simply a hymn of praise, requesting, finally, that the whole earth be filled with the glory of the Lord. A wonderful prayer for any time and any place.
In the Deuteronomy passage, we see the ending of an era in the history of Israel. After Moses’s lengthy farewell speech, which takes up most of the book of Deuteronomy (the word “Deuteronomion” literally means “the second law”), he is allowed to view the Promised Land from Mount Nebo, and then he died in Moab. According to verse 6, the Lord, Himself, buried Moses in Moab, and no one knows where his grave is located. So even the bones of Moses were not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
We also learn that Moses lived to be 120 years old, and maintained full vision and bodily strength. Whoever tagged on the last couple of verses made note that there was never another prophet in Israel who equaled Moses, “whom the LORD knew face to face.”
We learn a lot from following the life of Moses, but the thing that I am most grateful for is that we see his faults. Even though he performed some pretty miraculous deeds (or, rather, he was the vessel and channel for those deeds, as it was truly the Lord who did them), he was flawed in many ways. As previously noted, it is always good to see that the people that God used were (are) human in every way, possessing the same kinds of flaws that you and I possess.
Father, I thank You for the examples of the people in the Bible, people like Moses and Aaron, who, while they did some pretty great things, also had some pretty great faults. This gives me encouragement and hope, and helps me to not focus so much on my faults, but, rather, on the things that You are able to do in spite of those faults. Help me to pray more effectively, following the examples given me in the Psalms. Solomon’s Psalm today, encourages me to pray more fervently for the leaders of my country and state, and even my local leaders. I do pray, Lord for the just and righteous treatment of those who are afflicted and oppressed, and relief for their children. I also pray that You would, indeed, crush the oppressors, both in our own land, and around the world.
I pray that Your Church would work for the common good and benefit of the communities in which she resides, all over the nation. May “deep care, bold love, and rich community” be experienced within the walls and boundaries of Your Church, wherever and however she meets. I pray for Your Holy Spirit to be active in the elders and leaders within the churches.
"Ancient of Days, I don't have enough days in my lifetime to see the complete fulfillment of Your kingdom vision. But give me the faith to embrace and act on Your promises for this life and the world to come, whether or not I see its fruit. By faith, help me to invest the days You have given me for the good of the world, with a living hope for Your coming kingdom. Amen."
BLESSING
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:29-30 WEB)
To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
(Psalms 123:1 ESV)
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
(Psalms 123:2-3 ESV)
My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes among the lilies.
(Song of Solomon 2:16 ESV)
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
(Titus 2:11-14 ESV)
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.
(1 John 4:10-19 ESV)
I pray for peace in our nation, peace in our world. I pray for racial injustice to end, and I pray for the pandemic to be over. Above all else, though, I pray for Your will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven. For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. (Kyrie)
Grace and peace, friends.
Spaces of Beauty, Grace, Prayer, and Mercy 