Safe in God's Hands

 Then the devil took him to the holy city and

placed him on the pinnacle of the temple saying to him,

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone

What sort of place comes to mind when you imagine a wilderness? 

A dry and weary place, an inner, personal space of hardship?

It's comforting to imagine a wilderness this way because we can then place our trust and hope in Jesus who experienced this type of wilderness.

Living in the Poconos as I do, the wilderness is more for recreation so placing hope and trust in Jesus is far from the need for placing hope and trust in the Israelite wilderness.

The Israelites’ wilderness was a place of survival testing.

As their journey went from generation to generation, they had to continue to build on their hope and trust.

It is this same trust and hope that is tested in Jesus’s own wilderness story.

Jesus is tempted by food, by who to worship, and by the power of the nations and shows the path to righteousness as he resists Satan’s temptations.

Jesus’ trust and hope came from the scriptures based on God’s promises in Deuteronomy.

As followers of Jesus, we can expect temptations to distract us from doing the work of a disciple.

Our trust and hope are anchored in the promises of God, especially as we navigate moments of suffering and trials.

Just as Jesus confronted temptation, we too are invited to place our confidence in God’s faithfulness.

Its is God’s Word that sustains as we wait for the fulfillment of God, s kingdom.

God's Got Your Back

 

And he was transfigured before them,

and his face shone like the sun,

and his clothes became bright as light.

(From Matthew 17:1-9)

For years, Elaine and I made a pilgrimage to Southwest Harbor, a little village in Acadia National Park.

We “soaked in God” in quiet moments: sitting on sun-warmed rocks, awe inspired watching sunlight glitter across the breaking waves, and the endless blue.

We “soaked in God” hiking, walking Carriage Roads and climbing mountains with awe views of the harbors and coastline.

During our stay at our cottage, we made friends with a lobsterman, housekeeping staff, and manager so We visited together, shared meals, of fresh lobster rolls or fish chowder.

As time passed travel became difficult, our routine changed, because we could no longer travel that distance to Acadia.

Understanding Matthew’s Gospel means knowing what was going on at the time.

The synagogues were experiencing arguments about membership and worries about the Roman Empire: A sort of “fighting’s and fears, within, without,” as the old hymn says.

People were losing confidence in the coming of Christ and drifting away.

 Matthew’s transfiguration story is meant as an assurance that Jesus will return and complete the work he has started.

Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God even when you doubt, hold on God’s promises are real and a new beginning coming.

God’s got your back.

Just as God was faithful to Jesus along the rough road to the cross, God is faithful to us no matter what we face, on our journey.

Maybe it's job loss, health, doubting our faith, feeling alone. or hope feeling distant.

Listen to Jesus, trust that God keeps promises, and don’t stop, even if the journey is tough.

There’s a reason to hope and a light ahead, no matter how rough the road feels right now.

Liam, Micah and Me

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

    And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

    and to walk humbly[a] with your God.

(from Micah 6:1-8)

The image of 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his bunny hat surrounded by ICE soldiers still haunts me.

Recognizing he was walking home from preschool, taken from his dad, transferred to a detention facility, and gets sick while confined, doesn’t help.

What kind of experience of loneliness and darkness is this poor child having?

How terrified is this boy being transferred from one place to another by soldiers?

I find this blog difficult to write because I have been through my own “terrors of the night” (PS 91:5) some as a child, some as a teen, some as a young adult, now some as an elder.

This phrase comes from Psalm 91:5, which speaks to finding comfort in faith during times of fear.

What creates the difficulty is the apparent lack of hope in a “terror of the night.”

My hope for Liam Ramos and anyone experiencing loneliness and darkness comes from the Word of the Lord through Micah’s ancient wisdom offering guidance for responding to suffering with justice and compassion."

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

For me, this a vision of Jesus’s peaceable kingdom where God’s love defeats the enemies of loneliness and abandonment.

It is a hopeful vision of healing in the dark and broken places of our world.

God's Mountain of Blessings

 "I waited patiently for the Lord;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand."

(from Psalm 40)

Wilson Bentley, also known as Snowflake Bentley, a farmer, American meteorologist, photographer, was the first known person capturing and documenting detailed snowflake photographs.

With his camera he developed a method to photograph snowflakes on black velvet before they melted, discovering that each one has a distinct shape.

A major scientific contribution of his time was the theory that no two snowflakes were identical.

Reflecting on the belief of God as Creator leads me to meditate on the snowflake as a blessing of God’s creation.

Looking at a huge, plowed heap of snow at my driveway’s end, I can either see a pile of snow or a mountain of God’s blessings.

With continuing media coverage of violence, I feel like I’m in the “slimy pit with mud and mire.” described at the beginning of Psalm 40.

So, like the Psalm, “I am waiting patiently for the Lord; knowing he will turn to me and hear my cry.
    he turned to me and heard my cry. “

Amid violence, God's hope surrounds us with blessings, much like snow in my driveway’s end strengthening and encouraging us.

God’s hope and love Psalm 40 and in the mountain of snow is a reminder that God constantly surrounding us and as Psalm 40 concludes:

He set our feet on a rock
    and gave us a firm place to stand.

In the thick of discouraging media images of violence, there’ the mountain of hope in a driveway’s pile of God’s blessings.

Ride on, 3 Kings, Ride On

I hardly know what to write.

One horrifying video after another surfaces revealing a shocking act of shooting by ICE officers.

As I watch the videos, I realize that I’m seeing the forces of evil overpower, however briefly, the power of God.

I realize though that there is hope coming from the east in the story of the Three Magi.

The hope for me is their following the star, God's direction for them in their searching.

As the story goes, The Magi have ridden from the East, they arrive, give gifts and, under the direction of God return to their hometowns by a different route.

In other words, I seem as protectors of Jesus.

And here is my hope, no matter how disastrous the situation, no matter how much evil may seem to be overpowering God, there is a holy protection. 

As I pray each morning, as I read the scripture God reminds me of the protection and hope given through Jesus Christ.

The Way of Righteousness

Charlotte Rhodes Butterfly Park
Southwest Harbor, ME

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous:

but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 1:6

As one year ends and another begins, I feel a strong need to strengthen my righteous grounding. 

 I define the way of the righteous as happiness coming from having a right relationship with God and have chosen Psalm 1 as my biblical bases.

The Righteous according to Psalm 1 have three things to avoid.

Walking in the counsel of the ungodly (following their advice/worldview).

Standing in the path of sinners (adopting their lifestyle).

Sitting in the seat of mockers (identifying fully with those who ridicule truth).

Characteristics of the Righteous

Rootedness: Like a tree planted by streams of water, the righteous remain steady and fruitful even in difficult seasons.

Integrity: Their conduct reflects honesty, kindness, and adherence to moral principles.

Divine Oversight: Scripture promises that the Lord "watches over" or "knows" the way of the righteous, offering protection and intimate care.

Spiritual Practices

Scriptural Meditation: Engaging deeply with the Bible to inform daily decisions.

Intentional Fellowship: Choosing associations that encourage ethical living and spiritual health.

Justice and Compassion: Actively seeking to uphold the rights of the vulnerable and acting with fairness in all dealings.