He Meant What He Said and He Said What He Meant

Enjoyable discussion on Holy Communion & the early church fathers at Visits to Candyland. I look forward to reading Wednesday's revelations after work, sorry I won't be around to participate... :-(

One last parting thought:
And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:17-20

The Song in my Heart this Sunday

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Pray for the ELCA Congregations

Tough decisions ahead for many Lutherans.

ELCA votes to allow gay pastors.

The Art of Coincidence

Yesterday, Wednesday August 19th, the weather here was rainy with temperatures in the 60s. Just a day-long moderate soaking rain. No thunder & lightning. No hail. Little wind. No wall clouds. No black sky. No green sky. Only grey. No watches. No warnings.

Yet out of nowhere a tornado descends from the sky and strikes the Minneapolis Convention Center and Central Lutheran Church (across the street from each other). Inside the convention center the ELCA was holding its nationwide assembly. The main topic? Homosexuality.

Here's the story online: Lutherans, assembled in Minneapolis, move toward more open stance on homosexuality

And here is a slide show including a picture of the damage to the church (also ELCA). Note the upside-down cross.

Thankfully no one was injured by the storm.

I usually don't pay heed to those who blame the victims for the storm that harms them. Jesus says, "For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45b)

But there is something about this scenario. It gives me chills.

#2 & #10

Corn on the cob was great!

Pickles came out too salty. Will have to try another recipe.

Potential

(Hat tip to the discussion of Onan at Daughter of Wisdom)

Pictured above is a peek into a Robin's nest that was under my deck this May.

Every year Robins build a nest somewhere around my house. Usually in a terribly vulnerable spot - in a small bush, in the rain gutter, or on the brick ledge by the front window. And every year the eggs or chicks are destroyed. Usually crows find them. Sometimes a cat. Sometimes a storm disrupts the nest and spills the tender contents on the ground. Most often I don't know what happens - one day a bird is sitting on the eggs in the nest and the next day the bird is gone and so are the eggs.

The Robins' nest always becomes a "circle of life" lesson.

However, failure does not stop the Robins. They keep trying year after year. They build the nest, they lay the eggs, and they guard them as best as they can from enemies who are much bigger and stronger. When the chicks hatch they tirelessly feed them and defend them until the violent end.

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” Genesis 1:20-22

The birds, acting on instinct, are faithful to God's plan for them. They do it, even though the situation is never ideal. They do it, even though odds are that their work will be destroyed. They do it, and work very hard to preserve and protect it. They do it because the ability to do it is a blessing from the Lord.

They do it because if they didn't do it they would surely become extinct.

The Lord commands:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28

And the Lord promises:

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127:3-4

If only being faithful to His Word and trusting in His Promise was as easy for us as it is for the birds.

As for the Robin's eggs in the picture above - three of the four hatched and after about 2 weeks they fledged. It was wonderful!

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:25-26