Psalm 70:5 Yet I am poor and needy; Come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer.

It amazes me, really, that we never fail to cry out to God when we are desperate, and that he keeps on listening to us wail. Poverty of one kind or another helps us see our need for God, helps us rely on someone or something other than ourselves and our measly schemes. We are called to serve the truly poor, and to recognize our own brand of poverty.

Psalm 71:14 But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.

The people of God are never without hope. They are never without SOMETHING for which to give thanks and praise to God. At the beginning of this life, in its final moments, somewhere in between, God is present and accounted for. He is with us, and we praise him more and more.

John 12:2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table.

I love that—Lazarus eating his dinner there at the table like everybody else. This is the same Lazarus who lay in the grave for four days, before Jesus called him back to life. His sisters were afraid that day, that the grave would smell horrible. One of his sisters opened a jar of perfume this night that filled the whole house with a beautiful smell. The bible really never talks about what things smell like, but in this case it is a sign of life, beauty, belief, and joy.

Isaiah 50:6 I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

Not long after entering Jerusalem in triumph, surrounded by his fans and followers, Jesus would come to know mocking and spitting, and much worse. He would come to know flogging and dying. Never did he hide his face from such ill treatment. How did he do it? I wonder.

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore, we do not lose heart.

Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians about experiencing things like beatings, shipwrecks, hunger, cold, rejection, stoning—quite a list of ministry experiences! He was preaching and teaching among people who had never even heard of the one God, or the prophets of the Hebrew people. He must have made them quite anxious, hence all the hardships. He never lost heart, though, and he tells us to never lose heart. Whatever the situation, keep on in the sure and certain hope of life eternal, the life with Christ.

2Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

We are the jars of clay. St. Paul was a jar of clay. The jar is nothing flashy or particularly powerful or beautiful or unique. What is inside the jar—the Good News of Jesus Christ –has all the power and wonder and glory, and Paul doesn’t want us to get in the way of that really good news. That’s why we’re not a diamond-studded solid gold vase!! We would get all the attention.

Psalm 45:6 Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

Righteousness and justice are the two things that appear over and over again in descriptions of a reign that is pleasing to God. A king who is righteous and just, providing for widows and orphans and resident aliens, can expect to be blessed in his rule. The kings of Israel knew this, it’s just hard to do.

Exodus 7:16 The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you, “Let my people go!”

This came to be the most famous line of Moses, as he confronted the Pharaoh of Egypt over and over, and said over and over, “Let my people go.” After great suffering the Pharaoh relented, only to change his mind and chase them to the banks of the Red Sea. God delivered the people that day, and set them on the long journey forward to the promised land. It was their exit, or “Exodus.”

Mark 9:50 Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other.

Jesus told the people gathered around him one day that they were the light of the world and the salt of the earth. He warned them about hiding the light or losing that saltiness that gives life. Stay alive and full of flavor and radiance. His peace will be the result.

Psalm 31:5 Into your hands I commit my spirit.

Jesus must have known this particular psalm well—he said these exact words as he died on the cross. His work on earth was finished, and he freely gave himself over to the Father. He was never apart from those hands of God, maybe it was for the benefit of those standing by that he spoke. Or maybe the Psalm was just in there, and needed to come out.

Philippians 3:7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

Paul had once been quite an over-achiever in spiritual and religious matters. He gave more, prayed more, learned more, and followed the law more than anybody else, and was quite proud of himself. No more, he says. None of that mattered one bit when he considered what Christ had done for him. It was all nothing compared to the glory of the grace of the Lord Jesus.

1Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol.

Paul writes to the Corinthians about all of the awesome gifts of the Holy Spirit that they might experience, and the wonders of that spirit-filled life. No matter what the gifts are, though, love must be the foundation of all. Without love, he says, all ministry and teaching and preaching and singing and speaking is lost. They are worthless unless the love is in them.

Luke 2:39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

Today is the feast day of St. Joseph, and we remember and give thanks for him. He became the earthly father of the Lord Jesus, at great cost to himself, and provided a home and safety for his family. He raised his children to know God and to love him, to know the Scriptures and the ways of the prophets. It would be hard to overestimate what we, the human family, owe St. Joseph for that important work of his.

Exodus 1:15-16 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth ...

... and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him.”

As a nurse, this is one of my very favorite verses in all of Scripture. Of course the midwives ignored the king and chose to honor God instead. Their choice caused the life of Moses to be spared, who would deliver all their people from bondage. I wonder what the king’s name was? He was so insignificant to the narrative we don’t even know which King it was, but we are given the names of the important ones in the story—Shiphrah and Puah. From them, we learn.

Mark 8:24 “I see people, they look like trees walking around.”

These are the unique words of a man who had been entirely blind, whom Jesus healed in 2 installments! After the first anointing, he saw what he describes here--people like trees. After the second round, he saw everything quite clearly. Why did JESUS have to pray for him twice? We don’t know, but we know not to give up if our first attempt at something seems to yield half way results.

Psalm 100:3 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.

This is a traditional canticle for services of Morning Prayer. It seems that we may need a daily reminder of who made whom! We are the beloved members of a flock, and our shepherd stands ready to provide for us.

1Corinthians 10:17 Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

On Sundays, a portion of the bread and wine that has been blessed goes out to members who are shut-in for some reason, and can’t make it to 2200 Avenue E for services. That Communion is a sign to them and to us that we are all one Body of Christ.

Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.

God’s time is not like our linear time as we work or watch or weep. All of the human family in a thousand years are gone in a single day, yet He loves and treasures each and every one. What an awesome God we serve.

Genesis 47:7 Then Joseph brought in his father, Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

We know, of course, that the one with spiritual authority of some kind blesses the one who does not have the authority. A blessing is willingly given and willingly received, and in this case it was received by the mighty Pharaoh of Egypt. Jacob, also known by the name Israel, had been through a lot, but he never forgot the covenant with his heavenly Father, and the unique place of holiness and authority that he had been given.

Mark 6:48 When Jesus saw that they were straining against the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, ...

... walking on the sea.

What on earth did the disciples think? The Scripture says that at first they thought it was a ghost, then they knew that it was the Lord. On the water. They were another step further along in the process of recognizing the Lord Jesus for who he was. He was like nothing they had ever seen before. Same for us.

Psalm 83:1 O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!

The psalmist here is calling God down on treacherous and unrighteous enemies. He is confident that when God shows up it will be all the good for his side. I am not quite so persistent/confident in asking God to show up in full force with a Word for all of my situations!

1Corinthians 8:1 Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

We are always in pursuit of knowledge, and value education so highly as we raise our families. Paul himself was quite a smarty, and had the best education available in his day, but he knew that love was needed alongside learning. Love and learning—they go hand in hand.

Genesis 45:4-5 I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; ..

... for God sent me before you to preserve life.

What the brothers had intended for evil, God had used for good. In one of the most amazing moments in all of Scripture, Joseph---the one who had been harmfully misused—embraced that whole overarching idea. Can we possibly see God at work when we are abused in some way, probably a lot less traumatic than being sold off into slavery by our own family??!

March 8: Psalm 80:8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.

A vine, or a vineyard, take a lot of patience and loving kindness and work before you see any sign of grapes. Years go by, years of watering and pruning and protection, before any results can be seen. That’s why God is always calling his people a vineyard or a vine—we are a lot of trouble, but we are his precious planting.

March 7: Exodus 3:4 God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses.” And he said, “Here I am.”

Look out for God calling your name out twice—it usually means trouble or a really big job that needs to be done. On the other hand, Moses know the exact response we are all called to make: Here I Am. Before we say that, God knows where we are already, but by saying it out loud begins the conversation that God is planning.

March 6: Mark 5:5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones.

This is part of the description of a very unfortunate man, possessed by a legion of demons and unable to be a part of his family, village, or home. Jesus command them to leave him at once, and all the howling and bruising stops at once. We have an awesome savior—ask the guy among the tombs!

March 5: Psalm 95:7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

Not be sheep-herders ourselves, the image of being sheep is a stretch. What would the Psalmist use as a twenty-first century image? We are the students in his class, or the children in his family, or the operators in his plant? However we imagine it, God leads, shelters, teaches, loves, and saves those in his flock.

March 4: Mark 4:31 The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground is the smallest of all the seeds on earth.

Jesus described the roots of his kingdom in this way—verrrryyy tiny! He know that one day, the reign of his father would stretch out over all the earth. One sows, another waters, but God himself causes the growth. The smaller the beginning, the greater the potential!

March 3: 1Corinthians 6:7 In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged?

The Christians in Corinth are suing each other, and appearing before judges who are non-believers. This horrible witness is appalling to Paul. Is our witness one iota better? The problem is that both parties in the lawsuits think they are right, think they are justified. I wonder what Paul is telling us?

March 2: Genesis 42:6 Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.

Joseph had been sold into slavery by these 11 brothers, because they didn’t like Joseph’s dreams about them all bowing down before him. They had no idea, as they groveled before Pharoah’s governor that the dream had actually come true. Ultimately they were all reconciled in one of the most powerful moments in all Scripture—God had been at work in all of them, all along.

March 1: Romans 4:10 We are fools for the sake of Christ.

Paul writes here of his own lengthy experience preaching, teaching, and writing. From the very beginning, he has been careful not to try and be too clever, too wise, or sharp. He wants us to be saved by the simplicity of Christ crucified, not by a clever argument or witty style. He will gladly be thought of as a fool, if it means that someone has come to Christ and has not been impressed by a flashy witness or made to feel foolish himself.