Talk in an Elevator Day – Spaces of Beauty, Grace, Prayer, and Mercy

Slow and Steady

July 28, 2017 Jeff

Today is Friday, July 28, 2017. Day 21,687. 22 days until S’s birthday!

“I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.” ~ Fred Allen
BrainyQuote

The word of the day is ballon, a noun meaning, “the lightness and grace of movement that make a dancer appear buoyant.” It is a French word.

Today is Talk In An Elevator Day. The odds are that I will not be in an elevator today. But if you are, go ahead, I dare you.

We had a great time at our gathering last night. Lots of funny stories and laughter, as well as young boys playing with dry ice and water bottles. Did you know that if you put dry ice in an empty water bottle and put the lid on it, it will eventually explode? Anyway . . . C and I ordered Subway on line, payed with Paypal, and just walked in and picked it up. That is awesome!

Friday finally arrived. Of course, I’ll probably have to work late tonight. Oh, well.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS
All Scriptures are from the ESV unless otherwise noted

(From The Divine Hours)

The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
Psalm 99:1
Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!
Psalm 70:1
For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
Psalm 71:5
Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 100:3
“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”
Mark 13:24-27
Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?
They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.
He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.
Psalm 94:20-23

(From The President’s Devotional)

Today’s reading is called “Obedience More than Sacrifice.”

And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”
1 Samuel 15:22

“Use, do not abuse; the wise man arranged things so. I flee Epictetus and Petronius alike. Neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy.” Voltaire, Sept Discours en Vers sur l’Homme

We often tend to go to extremes between sacrifice and indulgence. But “all God really wants is obedience.”

“The slow and steady work of right living. One foot in front of the other, pointed toward him.” A previous pastor of ours used to call it “the one percent grade.”

“Reading the Bible. Communicating daily with God. Loving our neighbor. Fulfilling our obligations.” God has planted seeds in our lives. When we water them with obedience, the harvest could surprise us.

“Dear God, let me not swing to the extremes of indulgence or sacrifice but instead remain steady on the path of obedience to your word. Amen.” (Joshua DuBois)

Yes, Father! Help me to be on a steady path of obedience, walking in your Kingdom, in the steps and words of Jesus. Most of all, help me to love my neighbor, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and everyone I meet. Once again, as yesterday, I pray that I might find you in the souls of those I meet today.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Grace and peace, friends.

Clouds Are the Dust of His Feet

July 29, 2016 Jeff

Today is Friday, July 29, 2016. The trade deadline is Sunday.

Quote of the Day

“I love the way that each book—any book—is its own journey. You open it, and off you go….” ― Sharon Creech

Word of the Day

Skylark – to frolic; sport: The children were skylarking on the beach. There once was a Buick called “Skylark.”

Today is Talk In An Elevator Day. I probably won’t be in an elevator today, so someone talk for me, okay?

Friday is here! The weekend is just around the corner. I have a few things that need to get done. For example, I need to put together music for band rehearsal, which kicks back off Monday night. But wait . . . I don’t know what part I’m going to be playing on this round. I’ll have to get with our section leader and find out. If I’m not playing first, I’ll have to get new music.

The gate is finally finished. So our fence is done. Now, we just wait for the replacement part on our pool heater, and all of this will be done. The guys did a great job on the fence and gate, in my opinion.

Nothing much going on this weekend, I think, other than a PAT meeting after church on Sunday. I do have a little “work” to do before the meeting, as we are supposed to do an analysis on how we think the church is doing since we moved to the Y location. I’ve been thinking about it, I just don’t have anything written down.

The Rangers pulled off a win, last night, over KC, 3-2, while the Red Sox managed to lose to the Angels in the bottom of the 9th, 2-1. Needless to say, I’m concerned about them, as they have now lost four in a row, and six of their last ten. But as “they” say, there’s still a lot of baseball left.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

(From Praying With the Psalms)

He has broken my strength in midcourse; he has shortened my days.
“O my God,” I say, “take me not away in the midst of my days— you whose years endure throughout all generations!”
Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you. Psalm 102:23-28

“All life is unfinished.” At face value, a rather depressing sentence. It seems like nothing in our lives is ever complete. But when we join the work of God, “we find a proper beginning and a satisfying ending to our existence.” Only then do our lives make sense.

“Take, Lord, all my parts–whatever years and whatever acts you can salvage out of my sin–and build a new life. Lay foundations of eternity in me; construct spacious stretches of salvation around me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

(From My Utmost For His Highest)

What Do You See in Your Clouds?

Behold, he is coming with the clouds. . . Revelation 1:7

“In the Bible clouds are always connected with God.” However, clouds also seem to symbolize sorrows, sufferings, or other troubles that make us doubt God’s very existence. “It is by those very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were no clouds, we should have no faith.” That reminds me of a false statement that became very popular a few years ago, “God will never give you more than you can handle.” Poppycock! If God did not give me more than I could handle, I would never need him, would I? It’s the same with the clouds. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (Nahum 1:3)

Now, Chambers makes an interesting statement. God does not want to teach us something in our trials. Rather, “He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in the cloud is to simplify our belief until our relationship to Him is exactly that of a child.” Other people in our lives will become shadows in our clouds. If we are relying on anyone but Jesus, our cloud will get darker.

Father, I pray that, when clouds come, I will recognize your presence in them. I pray that I will “unlearn” anything unhealthy that I have begun to believe about you and our relationship, while in the clouds. Let me get to a place where my life is so simplified that you are all there is, and that nothing else matters, at least spiritually. I pray for the wisdom and strength to rely solely on Jesus and no one else.

Come, Lord Jesus!

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Grace and peace, friends.

We Have Been Called Friends

Is there any other “religion” in this world whose “deity” speaks with such “tenderness, incredible familiarity, indomitable confidence, and spellbinding power?”

July 25, 2014 Jeff

Good morning. It is Friday, July 25, 2014. My data plan resets today. 😀

Today is Talk In An Elevator Day. Go on! You can do it!

Christi had a pretty good day again, yesterday. In fact, she beat me home from work! Then we made breakfast for dinner. Yum!

Christi’s step-dad cooked some fresh green beans and new potatoes the other day, and shared some with us. She stopped by and picked them up on, I think, Wednesday evening. They were delicious. It’s really good to see him cooking like that again. They seem to really be thriving in their new environment. We are pleasantly surprised.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

(From The Divine Hours)

Today’s reading in Reflections for Ragamuffins is “No Greater Love.”

Consider these statements:

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)
I have called you friends (John 15:15)
Abide in my love. (John 15:9)
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:11)
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. (John 14:1)
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:3)
You did not choose me, but I chose you (John 15:16)

“These are phenomenal statements!” Is there any other “religion” in this world whose “deity” speaks with such “tenderness, incredible familiarity, indomitable confidence, and spellbinding power?”

You did not choose me,
but I chose you and appointed you
that you should go and bear fruit
and that your fruit should abide,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name,
he may give it to you.
John 15:16

Ah, Father, what love! Help me to know this love beyond reason. Help me to abide in this love; to have faith in the provision that comes with this love. Help my unbelief! You have shown me this great love, and I constantly ignore it. You have laid down your life for me, and called me “friend.” You are preparing a place for me, and will return someday to take me there. I pray that your joy will find a permanent home within me, that it may be full. Increase my faith; increase my belief, that my heart will never be troubled. Thank you, Father, for choosing me.

I pray for this day, that it will be a good work day for both Christi and me. Keep us safe as we drive to and from work. I pray for a good weekend, with time to rest. I also pray that our worship time tomorrow evening will be glorifying to you. I pray for Stephanie today, that she would be drawn closer into your loving arms. I pray for you to give her life meaning.

Your grace is sufficient.

Consider the verses quoted above and what marvelous statements our Savior has made.

Grace and peace, friends.

Gimme Shelter; Gimme Unity

July 26, 2013 Jeff

Good morning. It is Friday, July 26, 2013.

Today is “Talk in an Elevator Day.” Go ahead. I dare you. Sadly, I probably won’t have a reason to be in an elevator today. Unless we go to the gym and use the elevator instead of the stairs. In which case, it will likely be only Stephanie and me in the elevator.

Yesterday ended up being a bit of a bummer. I didn’t pay close enough attention to everything yesterday afternoon (there was a lot going on to distract me, in my defense) and a couple of things didn’t get done that needed to be done before today’s shipping can happen. Fortunately, my manager told me that it wasn’t that big a deal, and not to lose any sleep over it. In other words, he wasn’t angry about it. But it’s my first day of any kind of real “failure” at this new job responsibility. So I was a little down when I left, but resolved to never let it happen again. These are the kinds of things you learn from, hopefully. (I seem to remember praying for humility yesterday . . .) This also caused me to have to stay late, as well, so we wound up not making our planned trip to the gym last night. We plan to try to make it tonight, though.

(From Great Stories from History for Every Day)

On this date in 1826, in the town of Rizaffa, Cayetano Ripoll was hanged, becoming the final victim of the Spanish Inquisition.

“Ripoll was a schoolteacher who was imprisoned for two years and then executed for the grievous crime of insisting that the only necessary religious teaching was the keeping of the Ten Commandments.” Originally, the Inquisition was created by Pope Gregory IX in 1231. It came to Spain “in the wake of the Spanish conquest of the Muslim Moors and reached its peak under the tender ministrations of the first Grand Inquisitor, the Dominican Tomas de Torquemada. Torquemada condemned at least 2000 people to the stake, calling this process auto da fe, or “act of faith.”

Today’s birthday is . . . okay. Mick Jagger. I know. But the man is still rocking at the age of 70! He still “moves like Jagger.” Which has always been just a little disturbing. But the Rolling Stones have cranked out a veritable plethora of hit songs in their long, long, long career. My very favorite Stones song is “Gimme Shelter,” featured here in a homemade video of scenes from the sixties.

Honorable mentions go to Sandra Bullock, 49, Kate Beckinsale, 40, Kevin Spacey, 54, Helen Mirren, 68, Vivian Vance, 1909-1979, Dorothy Hamill, 57, Stanley Kubrick, 1928-1999, Blake Edwards, 1922-2010, Gracie Allen, 1902-1964, Aldous Huxley, 1894-1963, George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Carl Jung, 1875-1961, Roger Meddows, 64, Rebecca St. James, 36, Jason Robards, Jr., 1922-2000, and Bob Lilly, 74.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!” Psalm 70:4
O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. Psalm 116:16
And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. . . . For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:14-15, 21-23
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

“O Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon me.
O Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon me.
O Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world, grant me your peace.”

Father, I pray for your peace this morning, and I ask you to reveal something of yourself to me as I read and meditate on your words this morning, and throughout this day.

Today’s reading in A Year With God is called “The Good Work of Unity.” The scripture reading is Psalm 133:1-3.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

The version quoted in the book (which I believe is the NRSV) uses the word “kindred” instead of “brothers” in verse 1. This meant people who could trace their ancestry back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But in our day, the word “brothers” is more appropriate, anyway, because we are referring to anyone who is in Christ, that can be considered our brother or sister. This song was one of the “songs of ascent,” which were sung by people as they made pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and it celebrates the “unity of God’s people.” We are reminded to “celebrate and work for such refreshing unity.”

If you recall the reading from Philippians from yesterday, you’ll note that such unity was also Paul’s goal for the Christian community. What does it mean to dwell in unity? What would it look like in our homes, in our churches? “As you being your practice of recognizing Christ in others and considering others as better than yourself, think about whether it makes you feel more united with your fellow Christians.”

Father, I pray that this day will bring more humility for me (I know . . . I’m out of my head, here), and that, as I go through this day, I will look for your presence, all around me, and, possibly, within those I come in contact with. May I be a man of peace, showing others your peace in the way I approach anything that comes my way today. I confess that I have not always been good at this, but you are molding me, shaping me into this attitude of peacemaker. Keep working in me, Lord. It feels good for your hand of grace to be molding me into something better, more Christlike, more humble. And when I am gather with the saints on Sunday (or any other time we gather), may I work to recognize Christ in all of them. May we work together for unity within the body.

I pray for this day. May Christi and I have a good day at work today, and a refreshing weekend ahead. Grant us your peace, your mercy, and your grace as we go about our daily lives. Show Stephanie your steadfast love today. Helps us find a purpose for her, something to do with her life. Show her that she has value in your kingdom.

Your grace is sufficient.

May we all work together for unity withing the Body. Look for Christ in others. May we show the world that God is the “shelter” that the Rolling Stones cried out for.

Grace and peace, friends.