9/2/07 1 Samuel 3 (NRSV :6 The LORD called again, "Samuel!". Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if He calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

 

7/9/07; 9/3/07 LIGHT out of Darkness (link) (Let there be LIGHT) 2 Corinthians 4: 6 (NRSV) For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.... in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God.... and does not come from us.

6/9/07 Philippians 4 (NRSV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always.... again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds, in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable.... if there is any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise.... think about these things.

1/19/07 Romans 8: (NRSV) 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit.... because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

12/8/06 Acts 17: (NRSV) 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, He who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything.... since He himself gives to all mortals life, and breath, and all things. 26 From one ancestor He made all nations to inhabit the whole earth; and He allotted the times of their existence, and the boundaries of the places where they would live.... 27 so that they would search for God, and perhaps grope for Him and find Him.... though indeed He is not far from each one of us. 28 For 'In Him we live and move, and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we too are His offspring (link).' 29 Since we are God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone.... an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals.

12/8/06 Ecclesiastes 12: 11 (Moffatt translation) A wise man's words are like goads; and his collected sayings are like nails driven home. They put the mind of one man into many a life.

8/23/06 Colossians 1 ( NRSV) 9 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you, and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him.... as you bear fruit in every good work, and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from His glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience.... while joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints, in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son....

6/13/06 Psalm 71 (NRSV) 17 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. 18 So.... even to old age and gray hair, O God.... do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. 19 Your power and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens. You, who have done great things, O God.... who is like you? 20 You, who have made me see many troubles and calamities, will revive me again. From the depths of the earth, you will bring me up again. 21 You will increase my honor, and comfort me once again.

4/8/06 Philippians 4 (NRSV) 6 Do not worry about anything; but in everything.... by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.... let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds, in Christ Jesus.

5/14/05 Matthew 14 (NRSV) Walking on water 24 By this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning He came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid." 28 Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened.... and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

5/13/05 Isaiah 29 (NRSV) 10 For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep; he has closed your eyes, you prophets, and covered your heads, you seers. 11 The vision of all this has become for you like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to those who can read, with the command, "Read this," they say, "We cannot, for it is sealed." 12 And if it is given to those who cannot read, saying, "Read this," they say, "We cannot read." 13 The Lord said: Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote; 14 so I will again do amazing things with this people, shocking and amazing. The wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden. 15 Ha! You who hide a plan too deep for the LORD, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?" 16 You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay? Shall the thing made say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of the one who formed it, "He has no understanding"? 17 Shall not Lebanon in a very little while become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest? 18 On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a scroll, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. 19 The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. 20 For the tyrant shall be no more, and the scoffer shall cease to be; all those alert to do evil shall be cut off -- 21 those who cause a person to lose a lawsuit, who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate, and without grounds deny justice to the one in the right. 22 Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: No longer shall Jacob be ashamed, no longer shall his face grow pale. 23 For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. 24 And those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction.

5/11/05 Exodus 33 (NRSV) 12 Moses said to the LORD, "See, you have said to me, 'Bring up this people'; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.' 13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you, and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation (link) is your people (link)." 14 He (God) said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 15 And he said to Him, "If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth." 17 The LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name." 18 Moses said, "Show me your glory, I pray." 19 And He said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, 'The LORD'; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. (See link Chosen by God.) 20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live." 21 And the LORD continued, "See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; 23 then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen."

8/4/04 Jeremiah 18 (NRSV) The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 "Come, go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck-up and break down and destroy it, 8 but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9 And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 but if it does evil in my sight.... not listening to my voice; then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you, and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way; and amend your ways, and your doings.