Today's Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 6 verses 12 through 16:
12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
Last month the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, Lubbock Choral, and Texas Tech Department of Music combined to put on a powerful production of Verdi's Requiem. The most famous score from Requiem is Dies irae -- or "Day of wrath". With its sudden, shrieking beginning, frenetic pace, and startling shouts of lighting played by timpani, the piece captures the terror of the Day of Judgment recorded in Revelation chapter 6. With the sudden realization that the day is now nigh, and all must stand with our deeds exposed before God. Who indeed could stand? We would all fall over in shame and terror.
We can be thankful Verdi doesn't leave us there and that God doesn't either. As awful as chapter 6 of Revelation is, you turn the page to chapter 7 and read these words: “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” This is the assurance that the people of God will endure the day of dread.
Verdi's Requiem -- jarring and frenetic -- in its beginning, turns soft and quiet at its end. The Dies irae turns finally to something like a prayer of deep, deep trust and surrender. It takes us to the place of complete peace and serenity.
This is how the people of God are to think of the Day of Judgment, and all other days of terror also.
For a taste of Verdi's Dies irae see https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDFFHaz9GsY.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 29, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 13 verse 23:
23 "As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
Yesterday I had the honor of taking part in the South Plains Food Bank Harvest of Hope Luncheon.
During his speech at the luncheon, David Weaver, Executive Director of the SPFB and Second B member, told the story of being stopped at a stop light when a woman got out of the car in front of him, opened her back door, and pulled out a sack David recognized as one from the food bank. She rifled through the sack for a second and then out came an apple.
David then went on to tell the story of that apple and the orchard it came from. Twenty-five years ago, when he 65-years-old and newly retired, Howard Mercer, another Second B member, had the idea of planting an orchard for the food bank. He wanted to leave some kind of legacy. David said he talked with Howard a few years later and Howard had said that that for him was a part of the meaning of life: "To plant a tree under whose shade another generation will sit."
That was as powerful an image as I've ever heard.
I had the task of wrapping up the event with a closing word. I quoted an old aphorism which what I had heard in David's speech reminded of: "You can count the seeds in the apple; but you can never number the apples in the seed."
May we all go out today and plant some small seed somewhere; and when the seed grows up may those from another generation sit under its shade and eat from its fruit.
Missed a Lesson? Find archived Daily Lessons at ryonprice.blogspot.com.
Want to plant a seed with the SPFB orchard? Go to spfb.org/give_help and click the "Donate Now" button.
23 "As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
Yesterday I had the honor of taking part in the South Plains Food Bank Harvest of Hope Luncheon.
During his speech at the luncheon, David Weaver, Executive Director of the SPFB and Second B member, told the story of being stopped at a stop light when a woman got out of the car in front of him, opened her back door, and pulled out a sack David recognized as one from the food bank. She rifled through the sack for a second and then out came an apple.
David then went on to tell the story of that apple and the orchard it came from. Twenty-five years ago, when he 65-years-old and newly retired, Howard Mercer, another Second B member, had the idea of planting an orchard for the food bank. He wanted to leave some kind of legacy. David said he talked with Howard a few years later and Howard had said that that for him was a part of the meaning of life: "To plant a tree under whose shade another generation will sit."
That was as powerful an image as I've ever heard.
I had the task of wrapping up the event with a closing word. I quoted an old aphorism which what I had heard in David's speech reminded of: "You can count the seeds in the apple; but you can never number the apples in the seed."
May we all go out today and plant some small seed somewhere; and when the seed grows up may those from another generation sit under its shade and eat from its fruit.
Missed a Lesson? Find archived Daily Lessons at ryonprice.blogspot.com.
Want to plant a seed with the SPFB orchard? Go to spfb.org/give_help and click the "Donate Now" button.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 28, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Revelation chapter 5 verses 1 through 5:
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
In the book of Revelation the Scroll of History is revealed and John the Seer weeps loudly in terror and in fear at its sight. Who will open this scroll? Whose hands will it fall into? Who holds the future in their hands? Will they be good or will they be evil?
But then there is the voice of an elder -- a voice of wisdom and assurance, "Weep no more;" the elder says. "The Lion has conquered. He will open the Scroll."
We live in a time of great anxiety about the future of our country and our world. Who will be president? Will they be from my party? Will there be social security? Will ISIS continue to rise? What about climate change? What about the Russians? We too could weep from fear.
But let us remember the elder's words, "The Lion has conquered. He will open the Scroll."
Someone once said, "I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future."
I know Him too; and I trust Him.
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
In the book of Revelation the Scroll of History is revealed and John the Seer weeps loudly in terror and in fear at its sight. Who will open this scroll? Whose hands will it fall into? Who holds the future in their hands? Will they be good or will they be evil?
But then there is the voice of an elder -- a voice of wisdom and assurance, "Weep no more;" the elder says. "The Lion has conquered. He will open the Scroll."
We live in a time of great anxiety about the future of our country and our world. Who will be president? Will they be from my party? Will there be social security? Will ISIS continue to rise? What about climate change? What about the Russians? We too could weep from fear.
But let us remember the elder's words, "The Lion has conquered. He will open the Scroll."
Someone once said, "I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future."
I know Him too; and I trust Him.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 27, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 45 verses 3 through
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
in your splendor and majesty!
4 In your majesty ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
Last night I had the honor of emceeing a fundraising event for veterans and introducing Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Leroy Petry and Col. Jim Ficke, who served as a combat doctor in the Afghanistan.
The Bible says, "Give honor to those whom honor is due," and certainly Sgt. Petry is a person of great honor. He was awarded the Medal for his act of heroism under fire in Afghanistan. After having already been wounded in his legs, Petry reached to throw back a grenade which had been tossed by enemy combatants. The grenade went off just as Petry was throwing it back. The act saved his and his comrades lives, but cost him his hand. Petry then put a tourniquet on his own arm and refused to be medevaced until the enemy was defeated. Dr. Ficke was the Army field doctor who operated on Sgt. Petry later that day.
Upon meeting Dr. Ficke prior to the program last night, I reached out and grabbed both his hands and said, "God has blessed your hands, doctor." He then reached into the breast pocket of his coat and pulled out a small card which had written on it ten principles he said he lives by. Number 9 on the list said this: "God's gift to you are your hands; your gift to Him is what you do with them."
That's what you call a God thing.
I shared that story with those at the event. I then looked over at Sgt. Petry's prosthetic right hand. "Sgt. Petry," I said, "God's gift to were your hands; your gift to Him is what you have done and what you continue to do with them."
The Psalm has come true. The warrior's right hand has indeed taught us awesome deeds -- deeds of service and sacrifice and honor.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
in your splendor and majesty!
4 In your majesty ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
Last night I had the honor of emceeing a fundraising event for veterans and introducing Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Leroy Petry and Col. Jim Ficke, who served as a combat doctor in the Afghanistan.
The Bible says, "Give honor to those whom honor is due," and certainly Sgt. Petry is a person of great honor. He was awarded the Medal for his act of heroism under fire in Afghanistan. After having already been wounded in his legs, Petry reached to throw back a grenade which had been tossed by enemy combatants. The grenade went off just as Petry was throwing it back. The act saved his and his comrades lives, but cost him his hand. Petry then put a tourniquet on his own arm and refused to be medevaced until the enemy was defeated. Dr. Ficke was the Army field doctor who operated on Sgt. Petry later that day.
Upon meeting Dr. Ficke prior to the program last night, I reached out and grabbed both his hands and said, "God has blessed your hands, doctor." He then reached into the breast pocket of his coat and pulled out a small card which had written on it ten principles he said he lives by. Number 9 on the list said this: "God's gift to you are your hands; your gift to Him is what you do with them."
That's what you call a God thing.
I shared that story with those at the event. I then looked over at Sgt. Petry's prosthetic right hand. "Sgt. Petry," I said, "God's gift to were your hands; your gift to Him is what you have done and what you continue to do with them."
The Psalm has come true. The warrior's right hand has indeed taught us awesome deeds -- deeds of service and sacrifice and honor.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 26, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 12 verses 43 through 45:
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
I read those words from Jesus and I immediately think, ISIS in Iraq.
I also think of some friends who have gone into recovery and then come out only to go right back to their addiction -- at seven times the pace.
Plus I think of some of the church and non-profit boards I've seen which are a mess organizationally. Someone comes along with the mind and means to set things right, but six months after their departure things start to fall apart again.
There's a short-term plan to get things cleaned up, but no long-term will to sustain it. And in the end, things only get worse and not better.
Sweeping house and tidying up is one thing. But an empty house on the block -- no matter how nice it or the neighborhood is -- will always attract vandals. The house cannot just be swept clean and straightened up; it also has to be occupied and/or guarded and maintained.
When it comes to unclean spirits there are no quick fixes. They must be vigilantly dealt with every day, for the rest of our lives.
If that sounds exhausting -- and it does to me -- we can thank God those days come only one at a time.
That's how to keep the house in order -- one day and demon at a time.
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
I read those words from Jesus and I immediately think, ISIS in Iraq.
I also think of some friends who have gone into recovery and then come out only to go right back to their addiction -- at seven times the pace.
Plus I think of some of the church and non-profit boards I've seen which are a mess organizationally. Someone comes along with the mind and means to set things right, but six months after their departure things start to fall apart again.
There's a short-term plan to get things cleaned up, but no long-term will to sustain it. And in the end, things only get worse and not better.
Sweeping house and tidying up is one thing. But an empty house on the block -- no matter how nice it or the neighborhood is -- will always attract vandals. The house cannot just be swept clean and straightened up; it also has to be occupied and/or guarded and maintained.
When it comes to unclean spirits there are no quick fixes. They must be vigilantly dealt with every day, for the rest of our lives.
If that sounds exhausting -- and it does to me -- we can thank God those days come only one at a time.
That's how to keep the house in order -- one day and demon at a time.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 23, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Ezra chapter 3 verses 10 through 13:
10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.
When after 70 years of exile, the Israelites returned to their homeland and began to rebuild the Temple. As they laid the foundation, shouts of joy and weeping could be heard.
For the aged, who had endured the dark midnight of exile and could remember all that was lost, I am sure the moment was bittersweet. There was the sadness of all that had been lost and the gladness of what was to be regained. The past was past now; they well knew. If Israel had any plans for hope or a future it had to be built on the new foundation.
Earlier this summer I visited Coventry Cathedral, an Anglican Church destroyed by Nazi aerial bombing during the Blitz in November 1941 and rebuilt over the course of the next two decades. As a memorial to the tragedy of war and the loss of civilian lives, large portions of the ruined medieval cathedral walls were left standing. At some point following the bombing, a sign was hung on one of the ruined walls which bespoke of the day of rebuilding:
"THE LATTER GLORY OF THIS HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FORMER SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS AND IN THE PLACE WILL I GIVE PEACE."
The latter glory of that place -- with its modern architecture and brilliant use of light -- is indeed greater than the former. Yet, I am sure that for those who endured the blitz and remembered the cathedral as it was and the people as they were, there must have been something of a lament for the former glory even as the latter was coming into being.
And this is life, whether at the dedication of a new church, or a move to a new house, or the birth of a new child: there is joy and hope at all that there is to now be; and there is also sadness and grief at the loss of all that was. To deny the pain of the loss of the former glory is to undermine then sacred potential of the latter.
"There is a time for everything," Ecclesiastes says, "a time to be born and a time to die . . . A time to mourn and a time to dance."
And then there is the time for both.
10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.
When after 70 years of exile, the Israelites returned to their homeland and began to rebuild the Temple. As they laid the foundation, shouts of joy and weeping could be heard.
For the aged, who had endured the dark midnight of exile and could remember all that was lost, I am sure the moment was bittersweet. There was the sadness of all that had been lost and the gladness of what was to be regained. The past was past now; they well knew. If Israel had any plans for hope or a future it had to be built on the new foundation.
Earlier this summer I visited Coventry Cathedral, an Anglican Church destroyed by Nazi aerial bombing during the Blitz in November 1941 and rebuilt over the course of the next two decades. As a memorial to the tragedy of war and the loss of civilian lives, large portions of the ruined medieval cathedral walls were left standing. At some point following the bombing, a sign was hung on one of the ruined walls which bespoke of the day of rebuilding:
"THE LATTER GLORY OF THIS HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FORMER SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS AND IN THE PLACE WILL I GIVE PEACE."
The latter glory of that place -- with its modern architecture and brilliant use of light -- is indeed greater than the former. Yet, I am sure that for those who endured the blitz and remembered the cathedral as it was and the people as they were, there must have been something of a lament for the former glory even as the latter was coming into being.
And this is life, whether at the dedication of a new church, or a move to a new house, or the birth of a new child: there is joy and hope at all that there is to now be; and there is also sadness and grief at the loss of all that was. To deny the pain of the loss of the former glory is to undermine then sacred potential of the latter.
"There is a time for everything," Ecclesiastes says, "a time to be born and a time to die . . . A time to mourn and a time to dance."
And then there is the time for both.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Daily Lesson for October 22, 2015
Today's Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 37:
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
There is an old saying around West Texas that the meek shall inherit the earth, but somebody else always gets the mineral rights.
There is much wrong with the world -- things which make no sense and things which are absolutely unjust. Those who have much (individuals or groups or government) are given more, while those who have little (individuals or groups or government), even what they have is taken away. Is it any wonder that so many people are so angry?
Yet, we are told in Scripture to refrain from evil and turn from wrath. Jesus was hunted like a lion, yet he was said to have neither broken a bruised reed nor quenched a dying wick. He continued to walk gently on the earth. He may have been angry -- how could he not be? -- but he did not sin in his anger.
In her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou wrote about her grandmother whom she called Momma and the little store she ran in Stamps, Arkansas in the 1930s. One day some cruel girls from town came and ridiculed Momma with some of the grossest indignities in her own store, knowing they could get away with it because they were white and Momma was black. Maya wrote that when the girls left her Momma saw that she was seething with anger and hurt and even hatred.
"She looked at me until I looked up," Maya wrote. "Her face was a brown moon that shone on me. She was beautiful. Then she bent down and touched me as mothers of the church 'lay hands on the sick and afflicted' and I quieted.
"'Go wash your face, Sister.' And she went behind the counter and hummed, 'Glory, glory, hallelujah, when I lay my burden down.'"
To learn to sing as the caged bird sings is to discover a peace which surpasses all understanding, and is to proclaim a hallelujah even when everything seems to be going to hell.
Surely such meekness shall inherit the earth -- and Heaven along the way.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
There is an old saying around West Texas that the meek shall inherit the earth, but somebody else always gets the mineral rights.
There is much wrong with the world -- things which make no sense and things which are absolutely unjust. Those who have much (individuals or groups or government) are given more, while those who have little (individuals or groups or government), even what they have is taken away. Is it any wonder that so many people are so angry?
Yet, we are told in Scripture to refrain from evil and turn from wrath. Jesus was hunted like a lion, yet he was said to have neither broken a bruised reed nor quenched a dying wick. He continued to walk gently on the earth. He may have been angry -- how could he not be? -- but he did not sin in his anger.
In her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou wrote about her grandmother whom she called Momma and the little store she ran in Stamps, Arkansas in the 1930s. One day some cruel girls from town came and ridiculed Momma with some of the grossest indignities in her own store, knowing they could get away with it because they were white and Momma was black. Maya wrote that when the girls left her Momma saw that she was seething with anger and hurt and even hatred.
"She looked at me until I looked up," Maya wrote. "Her face was a brown moon that shone on me. She was beautiful. Then she bent down and touched me as mothers of the church 'lay hands on the sick and afflicted' and I quieted.
"'Go wash your face, Sister.' And she went behind the counter and hummed, 'Glory, glory, hallelujah, when I lay my burden down.'"
To learn to sing as the caged bird sings is to discover a peace which surpasses all understanding, and is to proclaim a hallelujah even when everything seems to be going to hell.
Surely such meekness shall inherit the earth -- and Heaven along the way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)