March 12, 2011

3-12-11 Saturday, 6:32 am Springfield, clear, 36 degrees.

I stepped out onto the deck and experienced the beauty of the moments before sunrise. The birds are singing, the earth appears ready to burst forth into springtime. My garden awaits the vegetables and flowers which I have sprouted in the basement. The last frost is about a month away, after which I will plant and tend the tomatoes, okra, zucchini and marigolds. It seems healthy for me to daily pay attention to the natural world, the weather, the growing season, as otherwise it is too easy to be insulated in home and car and office. Riding a motorcycle also helps me stay closer to the natural world as I ride through the elements. The Kawasaki mechanics are about finished with the tune up of the Concours, but are having difficulty getting tires.

Isaiah 48

The message continues to be the revelation of who God is, what God has done, and how the people of Judah have had this revelation for a long time. Verses 17-19 speak to me this morning:
“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, and your offspring like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from my presence.’”

I pay attention to God’s commandments, and I teach and lead a congregation in paying attention to them. The promised results are powerful: “well-being like a river, righteousness like the waves of the sea!” Guide me Lord today as I visit and share with a family about baptism and their children, celebrate with the Upward participants and officiate at the wedding of two delightful young adults at the Pythian Castle. Use the message I am preparing on your beatitude “blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” to foster well-being like a river. In Jesus name I pray this morning.