O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. (Psalm 95: 8-9)

Shortly after the drowning of Pharoah's army in the sea, the people of the exodus found themselves in the midst of a wilderness with little food (Exodus 16). They quarreled with Moses and expressed doubt in the faithfulness of God. In response to the prayers of Moses, bread from heaven was provided.

As the exodus approached Mt. Sinai there was insufficient water and the doubts and quarrels resumed (Exodus 17). The people talked of turning back to Egypt. Once again Moses turned to God in prayer and a fountain of water was brought forth from a rock. Moses named this place Meribah - to quarrel - and Massah - temptation.

In fear and doubt I can become quarrelsome. In fear and doubt I am often tempted to turn away from my true purpose and accept some other - seemingly more secure - existence. But if I will keep my heart open to God and listen I am led to new possibilities.

Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. (Psalm 73: 1-2)

The Hebrew words translated here as stumbled and slipped both imply being stretched out, poured, or over extended. This is contrasted with bar lebab: the pure in heart.

The pure in heart are simple, clear, and sincere. The pure in heart are focused. The pure in heart have found their purpose and are committed to achieving that purpose.

In the seventh verse the psalmist writes of the wicked, "Their eye bulges from fatness; the imaginations of their heart run riot." The wicked are unfocused, undisciplined, greedy, and self-indulgent.

I have stumbled and lost my focus. I have slipped and undertaken much that is outside my purpose.

Like the psalmist I know, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my true home forever." (verse 26)

The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. (Psalm 145: 17-18)

The nature of God is tsaddiyq: righteous, coherent, whole, having integrity.

The actions of God are chaciyd: kind, loving, and faithful.

God is qarowb: near in place, near in time, near in personal relationship, near in kinship.

We are children of God. We have inherited much of God's nature: freedom, creativity, and the knowledge of good and evil. In our freedom we sometimes choose badly. But we are innately drawn to live with integrity and to be kind.

To claim this inheritance we are to call - qara - on God which can also mean to meet, encounter, or even to accost.

Above is Two Figures by Robert Motherwell.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100)

Make a joyful noise - ruwa - a loud shout.

Serve with gladness - simchah - be merry, mirthful, and light-hearted.

Sing - rananah - exuberant, ringing, even raucous noise.

This is the day the Lord has made. This is the life the Lord has given us. In each day and every life - no matter the struggle - there is cause for thanksgiving. Especially in the midst of struggle, finding cause for joy is both faithful and helpful. If we lose ourselves in praise, we may find ourselves in joy.

You may listen to the Beatles sing Twist and Shout courtesty of Delta Records (warning over 1.5 megabytes).

For his anger is but for a moment; his favour is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!’ (Psalm 30: 5, 10)

Be my helper, the Hebrew is 'azar. Be my support. Add to my strength. Isaiah 41 offers, "'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand ."

In its most ancient use the English "helper" means to feed another. In its modern usage it is to fulfil another's needs, further another's efforts, or advance another's purpose.

I need - truly depend on - the help of God. Without this support I bend to breaking. With this support I can survive the storm. But I have also learned I must ask for help and, crucially, must accept the help. Finding the humility to accept is often difficult.

You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever. (Psalm 30: 11-12)

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. (Psalm 19: 1-4)

At five the old moon was a buttery sliver hanging behind darkened trees. A half-hour later it was sharp white against a brightening sky.

Venus shone brilliant above. To the right stretched Scorpio pointing to my own great horse of stars. I cannot find the horse on any star chart, but to my eyes it prances proudly through the southeastern sky.

At six the moon was still climbing, silver in the soft blue sky. Then it was gone, lost in the sun's light rising rosy at the horizon. Welcome to a new day.

Above is a photograph of the waning moon from Utah Skies.

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands—O prosper the work of our hands! (Psalm 90: 14-17)

Our God is clearly - perhaps principally - a creator God. We share this character. Each of us are creators.

We invest time, energy, and much of our self-identity in our creating. Whether the creation is a family, a business, a garden, poetry, art, dinner or building a truck engine it is difficult - perhaps inappropriate - to completely separate ourselves from our creation.

The psalmist sings of the work of our hands: ma'aseh yad. This might also be translated as the outcome of our power or the product of our strength.

This psalmist is thought to be Moses. He asks that we pay attention to the model of God's work and that we be confirmed by God in our work. Both God's work and our work, two different Hebrew words, can also be translated as staves, as are used to stablize a young tree or straighten a foundation.

In the example of God's work and in choosing our own work we can have two strong supports for becoming whole.

Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honour them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation. (Psalm 91: 14-16)

The psalms assigned for today highlight extremes.

In some the psalmist is sure he has been forsaken. "You have put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves." (Psalm 88: 6-7)

In other readings the psalmist exalts. "Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling-place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. "(Psalm 91: 9-10)

In our human relationships misplaced expectations can be especially treacherous. A spouse, a friend, a child, a parent, an employer, a colleague can - seemingly out of thin air -come to expect us to be and behave outside what we understand to be our appropriate role, even our essential character.

I have a tendency - especially at my most manic - to do the same with God.

The psalms assigned for today are 81, 88, 91, 92, and 95.

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps. (Psalm 85:10-13)

We experience a divided world. We often cherish our differences. We are happy when our own strengths are contrasted with the weakness of others. When others have strengths we do not, we are inclinded to denial or envy.

Rather than embrace the chance to complement one another we will often compete over our differences.

We are each unique expressions of God. Our differences reflect the varied aspects of God. Together, much more than apart, we are likely to achieve God's intention for each of us. May righteousness (tsedeq, true self) and peace (shalom, wholeness) kiss.

Above is The Kiss by Rob Milliken.

I hear a voice I had not known: ‘I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. In distress you called, and I rescued you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Hear, O my people, while I admonish you; O Israel, if you would but listen to me! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. (Psalm 81: 5-10)

God inspired Moses. Moses inspired his people and confronted those who would oppress his people. Moses spoke to God on behalf of his people and spoke to his people on behalf of God.

At first Moses resisted, but finally he accepted God's invitation. Moses opened his mouth wide. In relationship with God Moses was transformed from a fearful middle-aged shepherd with a stutter into the founder of a great nation.

In this context - linked with an open mouth - the Hebrew verb male certainly means fill. But in other contexts the verb can also mean accomplish, complete, and fulfill.

In Jesus we see the fulfillment of the whole person. Jesus opened his mind and soul to God and was fulfilled.

May I open even one nostril, one ear, one pore to the love of God.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. (Psalm 25: 4-5)

There are at least twenty-six Hebrew words that can, depending on context, be translated as wait. Many suggest lying in wait, as when planning an ambush. Others - such as nuwach - are to be passive, at rest, and to be idle.

In the twenty-fifth psalm the verb is once again qavah. This suggests waiting eagerly or to hope or to confidently expect. It also means to gather or collect. So in Genesis 1:9 we read, "Then God said, 'Let the waters below the heavens be gathered (qavah) into one place, and let the dry land appear '; and it was so. "

Expectant waiting involves collecting our resources, preparing for that which is expected, being ready. The farmer waits until Spring. But the farmer is not passive. The fisherman waits, but is constantly looking. The person of faith puts waiting to productive use.

My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me. (Psalm 42: 6-7)

Last evening I returned home from a long business trip. My soul is cast down. Despite my intention to give up worry for Lent, I have broken the fast. I feel as if I am drowning in worry. I awoke too early and could not return to sleep.

It is, however, good to be home. This is paradoxical. The problems that worry me are - I guess - more susceptible to solution face-to-face with clients and colleagues.

But I have, instead, come home, traveling south through the long-valley at the close of a sunny day. All around me streams and forests tremble on the edge of Winter and Spring. Crossing the mountains in lengthening shadows I arrived home.

My wife and I walked beneath the first stars. Daffodils appeared as specters in the last light. The blossoms of the plum tree might have been a galaxy of dim stars.

I am a small part of God's creation. Shallow in skill and sight, I struggle with my own creating. I am inspired and restored by God's depth and power. May deep call to deep. I should not worry, but there is a real need for whatever depth God has given me.

Above is Bush Plum Dreaming by Kathleen Kngale.

Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. (Psalm 34: 11-14)

I will teach you the fear - yir'ah or reverence - of God, how to be in relationship with God.

Do not speak evil - ra or unkind, hurtful, or vicious - words.

Do not speak deceitful - mirmah or treacherous or deceptive - words.

Depart - turn aside - from evil (ra again). Do - 'asah or create, produce, prepare - that which is pleasant, agreeable, and achieves its potential.

Seek - baqash or desire, request, search for - peace (shalom or completeness, soundness, wholeness) and pursue - radaph or follow, run after, chase - shalom.

What we say and how that impacts others is enormously important to our relationship with God. Actively cultivating potential both in ourselves and in others is crucial to our relationship with God. Constantly and urgently working to fulfill the wholeness of that potential is our way to God.

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27: 13-14)

Today's psalms begin with an angry God who holds us accountable. We often deserve this anger. To be held fully accountable for my intentional wrongs would be tough enough. Include my unintentional wrongs and there would simply be no escape.

But instead, as we read in Psalm 103: 8-12

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger for ever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.

Still we must do our part. Our role in redemption is modest, but crucial. We must believe - the Hebrew is 'aman - we are to have faith, be confirmed, trust. We should also be strong - chazaq - courageous, firm, resolute, full of urgency. We must wait - qavah - hope, expect, wait eagerly, bind together, and collect.

This week I met a good person who - faced with many troubles - commented that this period had tested his faith and patience. I perceive that he certainly has faith and strength. But his waiting is passive, while God is better able to work with urgency and eagerness. We are to wait with an exclamation point.

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast towards you. Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. (Psalm 73: 21-23)

Fear, anger, disappointment, discouragement, and death may surround us. Bitterness may claim us.

I have been treated badly and unjustly. Some who claimed to love me have, instead, mistreated and forsaken me. At least this is what I perceive and it may even be true.

But what is the benefit of this knowledge? Should I take revenge? Should I avoid love and loving? Should I choose to nurture my victimness?

Surely it is better to acknowledge how I have also treated others badly. I have misunderstood, misled, and victimized others.

I choose badly. Others choose badly. None are innocent. We all need the right hand of God.

Above is Redemption by Joe Novak.

O God, why do you cast us off for ever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell. Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary. Your foes have roared within your holy place; they set up their emblems there. At the upper entrance they hacked the wooden trellis with axes. And then, with hatchets and hammers, they smashed all its carved work. They set your sanctuary on fire; they desecrated the dwelling-place of your name, bringing it to the ground. They said to themselves, ‘We will utterly subdue them’; they burned all the meeting-places of God in the land. We do not see our emblems; there is no longer any prophet, and there is no one among us who knows how long. How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name for ever? Why do you hold back your hand; why do you keep your hand in your bosom? (Psalm 74: 1-11)

The persistence of evil, the oppression of the weak, the perversion of justice challenges the faith of many believers. Painful evidence is cited by many non-believers as cause for their non-belief.

Despite the testimony of many prophets I do not perceive that God uses pain as an instructional device or redemptive tool. Pain may, in fact, prompt learning and lead to redemption, but the pain originates with others, not with God.

Some claim an all-powerful God is missing in action. They say, surely when Pol-Pot, Hitler, and Stalin were playing as gods of death, our God must have been asleep; otherwise our God would have intervened. But I perceive we have received free choice as a divine gift. It is a gift we cannot return nor will God reclaim. But God is ready and able to inspire and guide our free choice and help us defeat the evil choices of ourselves and others.

Some assert that God has failed in keeping covenant. Many good people have turned to God as refuge and still have been raped, tortured, and suffered horrible death. I have never faced these sort of challenges, but I have found that the more difficult my life the more likely I am to open myself to God and I have always found God present and full of help.

Freedom is an enormous burden. I choose badly everyday. I know many well-meaning men and women who are everflowing streams of confusion and turmoil. I know a few who clearly delight in inflicting pain and suffering. Each of us, in our own way, have desecrated the dwelling place of God. The problem is not God's absense or passivity, but our choice to separate ourselves from God.

But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love. (Psalm 31:14-16)

Good morning God. Thank you for the gifts of life. Thank you for the opportunities surrounding me. Thank you for your love so freely given. Help me today to embrace your gifts. Help me to fulfill the potential you have presented. Help me to dedicate the gifts to your purposes.

Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honour me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God. (Psalm 50:23)

A sacrifice of thanksgiving will transform live flesh into fresh meat. It is a bloody slaughter of something we might prefer to keep but need to kill. To sacrifice is to change the ordinary into the sacred.

Rather than sacrifice something of external value, we are told to sacrifice our selves. The sacred cow is killed. But a dead carcass is beside the point.

A sacrifice of thanksgiving exchanges our own sense of control for an acknowledgement of being in relationship with God. In thanksgiving we exchange the illusion of control for the reality of love.

Above is Sacrifice by Emmanuel Jegede.

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by. I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfils his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me, he will put to shame those who trample on me. God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness. (57:1-3)

The four psalms assigned for today are full of enemies and calls for vengeance. Psalm 58 asks that those who oppose David, "Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime."

I often want God to very practically protect me. In another translation of the second verse above it is written, "I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me."

But I prefer God who fulfils my purpose. The Hebrew verb is gamar: to complete or to perfect. Does God complete things or perfect me?

At sunset today the Jewish festival of Purim begins. Over the next three days the story of Esther will be remembered.

Esther and her uncle saved their people from extermination through faithful intelligence and effective action. God worked through Esther. Esther did her part. In making good choices Esther allowed God to fulfill her purpose.

More information on Purim is available from EverythingJewish.com.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour. (Psalm 8: 3-5)

We are children of God. We share an essential character with God. Our purpose and potential is divine. We find joy in fulfilling that purpose and potential.

Why do we expend so much energy on other purposes? Why do we so often resist - even reject - our fundamental character?

While each of us are unique expressions of God, we share the impulse to love and create. How did you fulfill this purpose yesterday? How will you advance this purpose today?

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)

This must be a favored prayer in Las Vegas. The translator's "burden" is the Hebrew yahab. It more commonly means what one is given, one's lot, perhaps one's fate. But there is a strong sense of randomness, as in the cards one might draw or dice thrown.

This is reinforced by the verb shalak which is precisely what is used in casting lots.

We may be the target of intentional harm by our enemies. This is their choice, not God's.

We may be the victim of a natural calamity. If I happen to step in to the path of a natural process running its course, this should not immediately imply that God intended the calamity for my personal edification.

We may suffer from an accident or momentary bad judgment. Bad luck is possible. We should not blame our distraction or mistake on the intervention of God.

But whatever our lot, our fundamental character need not be shaken. The true self (righteous or tsedeq) can be preserved in a relationship with God. Or even if we lose ourselves - or lose God - for awhile, our self and our relationship can always be redeemed.

Above is Casting Lots for His Clothes by James Ceaser.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 51: 1-2)

Transgression is a translation of the Hebrew pesha' meaning rebellion.

Iniquity is the English for 'avon which is a twisting into crookedness.

Sin is chatta'ah which is to become lost, to take the wrong turn, to lose one's self.

We often rebel against our essential character. We bend the truth. We twist reality. Our lives become a contortion. We have difficulty discerning good from bad. No wonder we sometimes choose the wrong way and become lost.

Restore me. Make me the true me that you intended.

Let me see clearly and behave honestly. Help me to be real and fully engage reality.

Bring me back to the right path and point me in the right direction.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. (Psalm 138: 7-8)

The hand of God is offered to me. But I must choose to accept it. I must open my hand and hold the hand of God.

Together with God my purpose is fulfilled. Whether this purpose is easy or hard changes over time and circumstance. But together with God whatever the struggle and its outcome, good purposes will be advanced.

When I try to walk the path alone I often choose the wrong way. Alone the struggle can seem insurmountable. Walking hand in hand with God I make good progress. Even when storms and trouble descend on the path I do not lose my way.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. (Psalm 51: 10-12)

Redemption is literally to purchase again. Something valuable that has been lost or given away is reclaimed. When the loan is repaid you may redeem your collateral from the pawn shop.

It is taught that we have been endowed with much of the same spirit, wisdom, and creative power of God. In the words of the Eighth Psalm we are "little less than angels." This is our birthright, our origin, our essential character.

Many of us have treated this birthright as a prodigal son or daughter. We have misused it until we have seemed to lose it. I have often forgotten my true home and purpose.

In the life and teachings of Jesus we have been reminded. We are invited to return to our origins and to redeem our purposes. We may have lost our way, but we may always choose to return and reclaim what we cannot really give away.

And we may choose to do so today.

Above is Prodigal Son by Oleg Korolev. (This site may be difficult and time-consuming for some users)

God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm. (Psalm 47: 5-7)

In the psalms God is palpably present. God roams the earth, joins in battle, counsels, defends, and disciplines. God rules.

In today's Gospel reading Jesus announces "The time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand." (Mark 1: 15) In the life of Jesus God was always close at hand.

God is also with us today. But we often fail to acknowledge the presence - much less the rule - of God.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19: 7-11)

If my redeemer is present why do I remain separated from my origins and purposes? Why do I continue to be confused and often go the wrong way?

Perhaps it is because I seek and expect the wrong reward. My understanding of redemption is that we reclaim - or are reclaimed to - our origins in God and behave consistently with divine intent.

What is the outcome of redemption? The images are often of the good being taken up to a perfect place or the righteous being rewarded with health, happiness, and even much fine gold. I am not sure how these images claimed our imagination.

If I believe Jesus is redeemed and redeemer, why should I expect the end of struggle? The struggle did not end for Jesus, or Elijah, or Moses, or Jacob. Why should this be my reward?

The reward of redemption may be sweeter than honey, but the life of Jesus does not suggest this reward will always involve quiet prosperity.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord. Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity. (Psalm 98: 4-9)

It is my emerging conviction that redemption - what some would call the second coming or parousia - is ongoing. The invitation has been extended to be joyously reconciled with our origins and purposes. We may choose to accept the invitation or not.

I understand Jesus to be my redeemer. During his life many were looking to the arrival of a redeemer. Jesus was rejected by some because he did not conform to their expectations of the redemptive process. Today many look for Jesus to return. I perceive he is already with us. But we often do not recognize the opportunity for redemption because it does not conform with our expectations.

The translator has chosen a future tense for the ninth verse. Ancient Hebrew does not have a future tense, rather a verb is either finished or not finished. Another translation - more accurate its seems to me - would be, "Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He is judging the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity."

Our redeemer is coming, judging, loving, abiding, listening, acting, doing, singing and redeeming. Our redeemer is with us today.

Above is The Bride (Unfinished) by Gustav Klimt.

To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication: ‘What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!’ You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever. (Psalm 30: 8-12)

Over a quarter-century ago I seriously considered taking my own life. I had descended into a pit. A sense of failure, loneliness, and despair dominated every horizon.

The pit was both very real and a complete illusion. Because the pit commanded my perspective and influenced every decision it grew deeper and darker.

I had not stumbled into the pit. I had dug it. It was my creation. There was a brighter and better reality beyond the pit that I could hear and see, but I chose to keep digging.

With help I ultimately chose to climb out of the pit. Over time I filled it and planted a garden in the turned soil. Today this garden is a memorial to the power of choosing and helping.

Despite the flowers that grow there now, on occasion I still feel the cold shadow of the pit. Remembering my role in creating that dark reality, I am more certain of my role in creating other realities.

In you, O Lord, I seek refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me. Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me. You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead me and guide me, take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. (Psalm 31: 1-5)

Many months ago I chose a difficult path. There were not many other paths available, so there was no particular honor in the choice. But as I began the path I was full of dread.

At the very beginning of the path the words of this psalm were offered to me. For more than one year, closer to two years, these words have encouraged me.

Despite my fear, pride, fret, and stupidity I have been led. I have been guided in surprising - really fantastic - ways.

In the words of the Psalms, in the lessons of Deuteronomy, in the beauty of an ancient language I have been offered wisdom and redemption.

The path is still difficult. Perhaps the difficulty is also a gift. There is no temptation to believe in my own sufficiency. But walking this path and experiencing these words is thrilling and fulfilling.

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. (Psalm 95: 1-7)

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil. For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. (Psalm 37: 3-9)

Trust - batach - be confident, feel safe, be careless.

Do good - towb - be pleasant, joyful, happy

Take delight - 'anag - be exquisitely pleased, indulgently happy, partake of delicacies.

Commit -galal - lose yourself to God as if rolling down a hill.

Be still - damam - be quiet, be silent as if you are dead, rest.

Wait - chuwl - twist, whirl, dance, wait actively.

Do not fret - charah - do not be angry, grieved, cynical, dry, or hot.

Cease anger - 'aph raphah - let your anger sink down, relax, be quiet.

Forsake wrath - chemah - give away rage, depart from indignation, stay cool.

Nine instructions for living with God. Nine ways to co-create in redeeming this life and this day.

A tenth instruction: Love your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your being.

Help me to hear and do.

Above is Dare to Trust by unidentified Australian artist.

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path. (Psalm 143: 10)

Today many churches begin a season of preparation for Easter known as Lent. This is an old German word simply meaning Spring.

In the early church there was no separate festival of Easter. But by the third century it was increasingly common for the Church to give seasonal attention to the Easter story. The gospels situate the story during the Jewish season of Passover. Accordingly a specific Sunday in the Passover period came to be selected as the date for the greatest of Christian festivals.

Over time the forty days before Easter came to be a period in which fasting and other disciplines were practiced. The purpose being to put aside distractions and focus more intently on the will of God as exemplified in the life and teachings of Jesus.

My greatest distractions are worry, pride, and a closely related preference for being in control. I hope that during this period of Lent I might fast from these distractions.

Teach me and lead me God of all.