Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6 Jeremiah receives his calling as a prophet from God to which he replies, “I can’t do it since I’m only a boy.” God reminds him that God knew him before he was in his mother’s womb and had him consecrated – set aside – for this job before he was born. God calms his fears by stressing how God will direct him to the people God sends and he will speak whatever God commands him to say. It is as if God tells him to lean on the Lord. This is eloquently stated in our Psalm that God is the Psalmist’s hope and trust that he has leaned on from birth. God has been his protector since he was in his mother’s womb. The Psalm begins stating that the Lord is who he has taken refuge, a strong fortress he can depend on to save him from the wicked, unjust, and cruel. Back to Jeremiah’s call, the Lord tells him not to be afraid of the people God is sending him to since the Lord will be with him and will deliver him. To encourage him further the Lord touches his mout...

  Isaiah 1:1,10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 22, 23 Isaiah in a vision sees, or should that be heard, the words of the Lord regarding Judah and Jerusalem. A lot of frustration mixed with anger is evident here. The Lord is sick of all the sacrifices they offer him along with the incense and other religious rigmarole since they only do the rituals, but they don’t live out the God centered life in their daily lives. God is weary of them, these acts with no daily lived out meaning and practice becoming a burden to God. They are worthless acts since God knows that their hands are full of blood and lives full of evil deeds. God begs them to wash themselves of sin making them clean. There is no justice, the oppressed go on being ignored and no one pleads for or takes up the cause of the orphan or widow. God begs them to cease to do evil and learn to do good. This would include seeking justice, rescuing the oppressed and defending, taking up the cause of the widow and orphan. God gives them a cha...

Psalm 107:1-9, Colossians 3:1-11 Psalm 107 talks about people wandering in desert waste finding no satisfaction for their thirst and their hunger. When they cry out in their distress God delivers them by leading them a straight way to where there are inhabitants and they can quench their hunger and thirst. This could easily be a metaphor for the spiritual life. Sometimes we succumb to a desert of the soul – the desert wastes talking about going the wrong way in life seeking things that bring no lasting satisfaction. These desert wastes are told of in Colossians 3. Paul tells us to put to death the earthly things that keep us from God. These are immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language. Instead in order to reach true fulfillment for what you truly hunger and thirst for you need to clothe yourself – seek the right path of the new self in Christ. This new self is being renewed in the knowledge of its creator. We have the...

Psalm 85:7-13, Luke 11:5-13 In Psalm 85 the psalmist talks about the good gifts God will give. These include salvation, steadfast love, faithfulness, and peace. It tells how the Lord will give what is good so their land will increase in its yields. Our passage in Luke follows the Lord’s Prayer and tells a parable about waking up one’s neighbor asking for bread for your guests. Though they refuse at first due to your persistence they will give you what you need. Jesus tells the disciples to ask and it shall be given to you, search and it will be found (The Lord helps me a lot with this one when I look for something I’ve misplaced). Then knock and the door will be opened. He repeats this by saying everyone who asks will receive, everyone who searches finds, and everyone who knocks on the door it will be opened. We are told to ask for good things to be given to you. Search for the right path and God as Holy Spirit will help you find it. Then knock on the doors of opportunities and t...