Tag Archives: God’s nurture

Our Journey with God

Perfect in WeaknessLent
February 27, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 13:1-9

Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”’ –Luke 13:6-9

Most young fig trees do not produce fruit for four or five years. Yet once they begin to bear they will bring forth fruit for many, many years depending on the weather. Is this scripture a discourse on patience? Is it a suggestion that it is wise to listen to one with more experience? Does it serve to discourage us from jumping to soon to judgment? All seem plausible.

It is interestingly set between a parable that in my study bible is headed “Repent or Perish” and one headed “Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman”. Are these stories included with it meaningful, or does it just capture random parables of Jesus to save them for posterity? I suppose both are possible.

It may be a bit fanciful on my part, but I tried to think what message having the three together delivered. The best I could do was this: If we know what we are doing is wrong, we should stop doing it, although that is easier said than done. We need to be patient with ourselves and rely on our “gardener” the Holy Spirit to nurture us and bring us to fruition. And even if we totally mess up and end up with a crippled soul God can and will, if we let God, heal our souls.

Prayer: God of Might and Miracles, bless us this day to living our lives to your glory, forgive us when we fail, nourish us on our journey, and accept our imperfect love until it is made perfect through you. 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.

Conquerors of the World

Eastertide
May 8Storm, 2015

Scripture Reading: 1 John 5:1-6

For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? –1 John 5:3-5

A swarm of tornados passed through the central part of the USA yesterday. The weather forecasters had lost count of how many when I went to bed. They were more concerned about alerting people to take cover than keeping statistics. Most of the tornados in Oklahoma struck 10 to 20 miles south of where I live. Tornados are a challenge to predict and most of these were wrapped in rain making it even harder. Being vigilant is prudent. I was also, however, trying to watch a TV show that was about terrorist who have a lot in common with tornados. Terrorist are just as hard to predict only they are wrapped in hate. In particular this show was highlighting how terrorist use children to work their evil deeds.

Needless to say when I read the scripture for today I somehow did not feel like a world conqueror. Living with the reality of tornados must be somewhat similar to being on a battlefield. While praying for our own safekeeping, we are literally watching on TV other people’s homes, just a few miles away, being blown away.

I somehow though do have faith that we do become world conquerors through our love of God and our love of our neighbors as commanded by Jesus Christ. Our faith leads us to do what we can in regard to returning others who have been damaged by natural or human disasters to wholeness as much as it leads us to do the practical things we can to ameliorate or prevent the impacts of climate change and the systemic evil that targets God’s children to infect.

Prayer: O Lord, we pray for those who are recovering from the storms of life and ask you to hold us all in the palm of your hands so that we may be nurtured into becoming your world conquerors. 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.