Living in the Spirit
September 2, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 125

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
   which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
   so the Lord surrounds his people,
   from this time on and for evermore.
 For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest
   on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous may not stretch out
   their hands to do wrong.
 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
   and to those who are upright in their hearts.
 But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways
   the Lord will lead away with evildoers.
   Peace be upon Israel!

This Psalm is described as a song of Ascent, a song sang as worshippers journeyed toward the temple. The imagery of God being as permanent as a mountain surrounding and protecting God’s people is strong, but then the Psalmist speaks of wickedness on the land. The righteous are challenged to do no wrong.

I saw on the news just yesterday that one of the icebergs in Alaska that once was easily visible from the land now could only be seen from a boat three miles in from the shore. Our whole earth is changing and the projected consequences of those changes are dire for all of us but even worse for some.

We were given domain over the earth the Bible tells us, but domain means responsibility not license to rob it of its resources without thought of the consequences. Not doing so would be like taking the boards off the sides of our homes and burning them to stay warm or worse burning them as the source of the fire for a wiener roast.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for our foolish waste of the storehouse of resources you provided for us. Show us the right way, your righteous way to conserve and protect the earth. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.