Daily Lesson for November 15, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 19 verses 11 through 16:

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. 13He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’.

This morning’s Lesson comes from Revelation of John, or in Greek — the “apocalypse” of John. 

Apocalypse literally means “showing” or “revelation”. And apocalyptic literature is a way of writing which shows or reveals the world as it is in heaven and/or as it shall be on earth. It is a kind of window into the realm of the kingdom of God i heaven and into the future when that kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven. 

Today’s apocalyptic vision gives us us a vision of the one who is “Faithful and True”, riding upon a white horse of deliverance, with all the armies of heaven. It is John’s the Seer’s way of describing to a people held in bondage by ruthless and cruel rulers a coming deliverance by the one who is “King of Kings and LORD of Lords”.

Believe the vision, friends. It will not always be as it is now. Truth and Fidelity will win out. The sharp sword of justice shall prevail. And with righteousness God will judge the nations.

So may it be.


For something fresh and new inspired by this text see:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hkCUdiP2Qsc

Daily Lesson for November 14, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 34 verses 1 through 6:

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; *

his praise shall ever be in my mouth.

2 I will glory in the Lord; *

let the humble hear and rejoice.

3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord; *

let us exalt his Name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me *

and delivered me out of all my terror.

5 Look upon him and be radiant, *

and let not your faces be ashamed.

6 I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me *

and saved me from all my troubles.

I have some friends who received some tough news this week and everyone is shaken. Yet in talking with them, their sense of God’s goodness and grace remains.  I called to console them, but they kept talking about how blessed they’ve feel.

This followed on the heels of a conversation I had with a friend’s dad who buried his wife this week. He, too, talked about grace, the grace of the life he had with his wife of 67 years and the family they made together. “The LORD knows I couldn’t handle money so He didn’t give me any,” he told me. “But He gave me 67 years with wonderful wife, and children, and grand children.  I’ve been exceedingly blessed.”

So the first words in today’s Psalm leap off the page at me this morning:

“I will bless the LORD at all times,

His praise shall ever be in my mouth.”

I think I want to live like that . . .

Daily Lesson for November 13, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 119 verses 105 to 112:

105 Your word is a lantern to my feet *
and a light upon my path.

106 I have sworn and am determined *
to keep your righteous judgments.

107 I am deeply troubled; *
preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word.

108 Accept, O Lord, the willing tribute of my lips, *
and teach me your judgments.

109 My life is always in my hand, *
yet I do not forget your law.

110 The wicked have set a trap for me, *
but I have not strayed from your commandments.

111 Your decrees are my inheritance for ever; *
truly, they are the joy of my heart.

112 I have applied my heart to fulfill your statutes *
for ever and to the end.

Reflecting on the first verse of today’s Lesson, Saint Augustine said, God’s word is both a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path because we need a lamp at our side to see our next near step and we also need a bright shining light down distance to give some direction as to where we are going.

The word of God comes to us to give guide our feet and assure our paths. We don’t know where to go next, God’s word comes with a gentle whisper saying, “I will show you my ways and teach you my paths. Go on, just take the next step.”  We don’t know where we or this world are headed, but God’s word shines its beacon from way down distance, “Behold, I will be with you always, even unto the very end of the age. Alpha and Omega. So keep walking towards the light you can see.”

Soundtrack: Below I am posting a Spiritual for today, “Guide My Feet LORD” sung by the good choir at First Presbyterian Brooklyn, NY.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z-WVIppNBls

Daily Lesson for November 12, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 78 verses 9 through 20:

9 The people of Ephraim, armed with the bow, *

turned back in the day of battle;

10 They did not keep the covenant of God, *

and refused to walk in his law;

11 They forgot what he had done, *

and the wonders he had shown them.

12 He worked marvels in the sight of their forefathers, *

in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

13 He split open the sea and let them pass through; *

he made the waters stand up like walls.

14 He led them with a cloud by day, *

and all the night through with a glow of fire.

15 He split the hard rocks in the wilderness *

and gave them drink as from the great deep.

16 He brought streams out of the cliff, *

and the waters gushed out like rivers.

17 But they went on sinning against him, *

rebelling in the desert against the Most High.

18 They tested God in their hearts, *

demanding food for their craving.

19 They railed against God and said, *

"Can God set a table in the wilderness?

20 True, he struck the rock, the waters gushed out, and the

gullies overflowed; *

but is he able to give bread

or to provide meat for his people?"

This morning’s Lesson gives us the day of battle — a moment at hand which calls on a people to rise up in defense of their nation or people, or values, or freedoms.

But the tribe of Ephraim did not come for the battle. Even armed with bows in their hands, they refused the fight. 

The Pslamist said it was a kind of fear, a timidity based upon amnesia. They had forgotten what all God had done before. So they lacked faith and had not courage. 

We all have some battle before us today. The Psalm is given us to remind us to be of good courage, to look down and see that we are armed, and to remember how God has fought our battles for us in times past. 

Now is not the time to loose heart. Now is the time to stand up. It is time to stand up for the cause of truth, and righteousness, and equality, and justice for all. Now is the time to see what is in our hands and bring it. 

A hymn text for today, written in 1845 by New England poet James Russell Lowell in protest against the Union’s annexation of yet another slave state, Texas:

Once to ev'ry man and nation 

Comes the moment to decide, 

In the strife of truth and falsehood, 

For the good or evil side; 

Some great cause, some great decision, 

Off'ring each the bloom or blight, 

And the choice goes by forever 

'Twixt that darkness and that light. 

2 Then to side with truth is noble, 

When we share her wretched crust, 

Ere her cause bring fame and profit, 

And 'tis prosperous to be just; 

Then it is the brave man chooses 

While the coward stands aside. 

Till the multitude make virtue 

Of the faith they had denied. 

3 By the light of burning martyrs, 

Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track, 

Toiling up new Calv'ries ever 

With the cross that turns not back; 

New occasions teach new duties, 

Ancient values test our youth; 

They must upward still and onward, 

Who would keep abreast of truth. 

4 Tho' the cause of evil prosper, 

Yet the truth alone is strong; 

Tho' her portion be the scaffold, 

And upon the throne be wrong; 

Yet that scaffold sways the future, 

And, behind the dim unknown, 

Standeth God within the shadow, 

Keeping watch above His own.

Lesson for Veterans Day, November 11, 2019

Today’s Lesson comes from Psalm 80:

1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; 

shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.

2 In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, 

stir up your strength and come to help us.

3 Restore us, O God of hosts; 

show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

4 O Lord God of hosts, 

how long will you be angered

despite the prayers of your people?

5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; 

you have given them bowls of tears to drink.

6 You have made us the derision of our neighbors, 

and our enemies laugh us to scorn.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts; 

show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt; 

you cast out the nations and planted it.

.

9 You prepared the ground for it; 

it took root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered by its shadow 

and the towering cedar trees by its boughs.

11 You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea 

and its branches to the River.

12 Why have you broken down its wall, 

so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?

13 The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, 

and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.

14 Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven;

behold and tend this vine; 

preserve what your right hand has planted.

15 They burn it with fire like rubbish; 

at the rebuke of your countenance let them perish.

16 Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, 

the son of man you have made so strong for yourself.

17 And so will we never turn away from you; 

give us life, that we may call upon your Name.

18 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; 

show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

Today is Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor all those — living and dead — who have served our country in times of both war and peace. We give thanks and honor for their service and remember their sacrifices. America is greater for all its Veterans who have served their country and helped protect and defend its Constitution. 

The Lesson this morning is a prayer for a nation.  It is a psalm asking for God’s help and preservation in a time of trouble. 

The nation is in an uproar. And the Psalmist prays fervently:

“Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; 

show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.”

We, too, are in a time of uproar as a nation. We, too, pray to the Lord God of hosts for our salvation. The sacrifices made on behalf of our country and Constitution have been great. We pray now that they be not in vain, but in the psalmist’s words also ask God to:

“look down from heaven;

behold and tend this vine; 

preserve what you right hand has planted.”

Lord, hear our prayer. Amen. 

Revelation 15

5 After this I looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6and out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, robed in pure bright linen, with golden sashes across their chests. 7Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever; 8and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended.

On Sunday we sang the magisterial hymn “For All the Saints” with the lines:

O blest communion, fellowship divine,

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine . . .

It was our reminder that that those saints who have departed are now free and at rest, but we on the other hand still have struggle ahead. 

It’s tempting to want to live in the age to come, and to be already at rest. Perfect rest sounds delightful right about now. So, too, does the end of all our disappointment — with our friends, families, cities, churches, and nation.

But there is still struggle ahead; and it’s both heresy and foolishness to believe that we can can, as the text from Revelation makes clear, enter the Temple without enduring our part of the plagues. 

So hold tight friends. Do not dismay and do not be front of heart. Don’t give up the struggle. Keep fighting the good fight. Endure. 

For the doors of the Temple are open; and in God’s own good time the righteous shall surely enter. 

A word for All Saints Day from Alice Walker:

The spirit of our helpers incarnates in us, making us more ourselves by extending us far beyond. And to that spirit there is no “beginning” as we know it (although we might finally know a historical figure who expressed it) and no end.  Always a hello, from the concerned spiritual ancestor you may not even know you had — but this could strike at any time. Never a good-bye.