Sunday Devotional

For this Sunday's thoughts on prayer and provision read this piece which was written three years ago.  Be sure to read the comments, for the conversation may be more powerful than the article. --vanilla

God's Mercy

Progress in Perfect

This is the  view from our kitchen window on Christmas

Day, on Christmas Day in the morning.

A commercial well drilling company is moving in, 

is moving in to our neighborhood.

A closer look at the goings on 

the goings on, a closer look

at t he goings on in our neighborhood.

Here we are looking back at our house, 

back at our house from the other side of

the construction site.  

The big trees are ours.

 Across the road Verizon has blessed us with 

a honking big tower, a great big tower.

On the parcel next to the tower we are building a jail, 

we are building a big new jail.

(The community may or may not be growing, but

evidently the criminal element is, 

for it will have eighty beds, eighty beds,

thrice the number we have now.)

(To the tune and lilt of "Lazy Mary Will You Get Up."  

See if that get stuck in your head.) 

Merry Christmas!

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Jigsawyers at it Again

This picture was taken on the --st birthday of BBBH

and sweet Erin had it made into a puzzle and presented it to us.

Lest you assume that the picture chopped into bits and pieces, as it was, was entirely too easy to assemble, I hereby attest that it was more difficult than it looks.  Witness that when down to the last eight pieces there was no way it would go together, hence, BBBH , persevering to the end, disassembled a portion of it and did it over.  Success!

Thank you, Erin!

C'mon, Fingers, Thaw!

 Here we go!  Leaving the house for an evening of

cookies and candy and hot cider on The Square.

 And who should greet us there but Old Saint Nick--

or an imposter:  looks suspiciously young for a white beard.

 Even the old stone court house is in a festive mood (mode).

Me doubting that stones have "moods."

And whom should we meet on the street but my most-recently

born greatgrandson, age three months.

 Then we arrived safely home in spite of the biting cold and

the arduous walk.  (Six blocks, and that is arduous-- for us.)

Haven't mastered the "selfie"  Actually something

these folk seldom engage in.

Remember

 

December 7, 1941

Tick tock

Admittedly BBBH did more than I did, but I made a significant contribution.  She's good with color, I with orientation.  Well, she's good at that, too.

(She says things like "Do you see any more purple pieces?" 

Well, no, I don't say, I never saw any "purple pieces" in the first place.)

I say lavender, she says puce; I say tan, she says beige.  Okay, you see how that  works.

Love and Correction

Many people raised in the Christian faith memorized the 23rd Psalm when they were yet children.  This Psalm of David is held in high esteem by both Jews and Christians as an expression of joy in the Lord, our shepherd, our provider, our guide, our protector, and our salvation.  Most people, even those of other faiths or no faith are familiar with this Psalm, given its value as literature and its frequent use.
 
This morning, though, we will focus on one line, quoting from the KJV: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

It was only recently that I really grasped the import of the rod and staff imagery.  We readily think of the shepherd using his staff to rescue a sheep from a pit, and this is good.  We may think of the rod as an instrument of protection used by the herder to fend off the wolves.  Also good.  But it occurred to me that the rod throughout scripture was a symbol of the head of household, and even as the Master is the Head of His flock.  Moreover and equally important, I think, we see references to the rod as an instrument of correction.  You may verify this observation by checking some of the references listed at the end of this article.  These will suffice for openers.

From the Pentateuch: 

Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chastens his son, so the Lord thy God chastens thee.  Deuteronomy 8:5

From the Proverbs:  

He that spares his rod hates his son: but he that loves him chastens him betimes. Proverbs 13:24

And from the Revelation:  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.  Revelation 3:19

 Because He loves us he corrects us, guiding us from sin and error.

For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives. Hebrews 12:6

If ye endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not?  Hebrews 12;7

Are you comforted by the Lord's correction?

References:  Deuteronomy 21:18, 2 Samuel 7:14, Job 5:17,  Psalm 94:12, Psalm 118:18, Proverbs 3:11. Job 5:17 1 Corinthians 11:32