Psalm 30.3-12, Exodus 19.1-25, Hebrews 13.1-21 - Lectionary for 4/30/11

Today's readings are Psalm 30.3-12, Exodus 19.1-25, and Hebrews 13.1-21.

Our mourning is turned to joy. In today's readings we see the dreadful fear associated with approaching the living God. The people of Israel are not to attempt to approach God on the mountain. His glory would consume them and destroy them immediately. We ourselves cannot make adequate sacrifices to stand before God without being consumed. Yet in Hebrews we read that Jesus himself has suffered for our sin to present us to God, giving us free and safe access to God the Father. We therefore have joy. Our mourning has been turned into joy through Jesus' provision on our behalf.

Delayed Posting

I've tried setting my lectionary posts for the next two days to post automatically since I'm not sure what my Internet access will look like until Monday. I hope it works!

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

Psalm 145.1-9, Exodus 18.5-27, Hebrews 12.1-24 - Lectionary for 4/29/11

Today's readings are Psalm 145.1-9, Exodus 18.5-27, and Hebrews 12.1-24.

Sometimes life seems really difficult. We realize we have too much to do, we have committed ourselves to too many tasks, or maybe to too many bills. We are over our heads and we know it. We look for rescue and comfort. Moses saw how impossible it was to govern Israel. There were simply too many people with too many demands. At the counsel of his father-in-law, he wisely selected additional leaders to bear some of the load. In our reading from Hebrews today we see that when we are overwhelmed in this life we can turn for help to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has borne our burdens and has faced all the terrors that we too may face. He will strengthen us for every task he has given us. One of the ways he strengthens us is by not leaving us alone. We find ourselves surrounded with friends and co-workers who can help us carry the load, at least some of the time. And of course we confess that our Lord himself is able to preserve us through every trial we face. Let us work, then, joyfully and together, looking to our Lord who is able to accomplish all things according to his mighty power.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

Psalm 114, Exodus 17.1-16, Hebrews 11.1-29 - Lectionary for 4/28/11

Today's readings are Psalm 114, Exodus 17.1-16, and Hebrews 11.1-29.

Our God is the God of miracles. He is shown as the one who provides his people with water when they have none. He himself wins the victory in battle as he works through the hands of Moses raised before him in praise. In Hebrews we see our Lord as the one in whom we place our faith, which is the most real and concrete thing there is. What challenges do we face today? Are there any that our Lord, Jesus, the author and finisher of salvation, cannot overcome? May we walk by faith in his promises, which are absolutely real.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

Captain's Log - Captain's Lag?

There are some times in this life when you wonder if you're keeping a log book or simply lagging behind. That's the way I've felt through much of this year. It's been eventful, to say the least. Since September I've been the long-term substitute pastor for two neat congregations in Kentucky. They are quite different from each other, which gives me an idea of how challenging being a dual-parish pastor can be. I've tried to be faithful and sensitive to the needs of each congregation, working with them together and separately as needed.

Since I'm still working full-time as a teacher at The Potter's School it's been a challenge. During Advent and Lent I probably spent around 20 hours a week including the drive time, since the congregations are pretty far from my home and we had extra services. Add to that the courses I'm taking through the American Lutheran Theological Seminary, which are really fairly challenging, even for someone who already has done Master's level work, and you have someone with a very full schedule. Yet by God's grace we've made it into the Easter season when extra services tend to end and the liturgy doesn't change quite as much from week to week.

On Sunday I had the privilege of receiving two new members into one of the congregations in Kentucky and also baptizing a young man in the other congregation. We are very glad that we can serve all three of these people. We pray God's best on them. May he continue to nurture them in their faith through the context of a local church.

In the last few weeks I've found myself talking with the search committee from a congregation in a small town in the Midwest. I feel free to say that since I'm not in a permanent call now so it shouldn't come as a big surprise that I could end up leaving. The congregations I've been serving are working on their search and I'm feeling more free to accept a call from elsewhere if it should come. This weekend I get to go fill in for that Midwestern congregation. It should be a good opportunity for the congregation and its leaders to have a good look at me. Hopefully I can have a good look at them as well. We want to do what would be of the greatest benefit to Christ's kingdom, which may involve my going there and may involve my not going there. I look forward to the opportunity to spend some time with the people and let them spend some time with me to seek wisdom and discernment.

So as we spent this week recovering from van lag (kind of like jet lag but it goes more slowly) we're moving into the last five weeks of school at TPS and preparing for another road trip. That reminds me of the bad joke of the day. Did you know Willie Nelson got hit by a car? He was playing on the road again.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

Psalm 134, Exodus 16.13-35, Hebrews 10.19-39 - Lectionary for 4/27/11

Today's readings are Psalm 134, Exodus 16.13-35, and Hebrews 10.19-39.

Today's readings are all about God's provision for us, his people. He provides food for his people in the wilderness - good and delightful food, as much as they need, every day. He gives them a day of rest, when the food they gathered the prior day will last. In Christ he provides forgiveness of sins which will last forever, an everlasting day of rest from the struggle against sin. Notice the baptismal language in Hebrews with a sprinkling and a cleansing which remind us of the Old Testament people being sprinkled with the blood of a sacrifice, proclaiming them clean. We too are proclaimed clean by Christ's mercy, washed both inside and out.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com

Psalm 81.1-7, Exodus 15.19-16.12, Hebrews 10.1-18 - Lectionary for 4/26/11

Today's readings are Psalm 81.1-7, Exodus 15.19-16.12, and Hebrews 10.1-18.

The people of Israel walked through the desert, facing challenge after challenge. Were they delivered from their captivity and bondage in Egypt? Yes, they were. But they still had the fruit of sin to deal with. They still had a life in a sin-cursed world. They were still looking for their deliverance to be complete. Even the offerings they made were insufficient. They could deal with sin through the sacrificial system, but the forgiveness was not permanent. It was substitutionary in nature, but though the sacrificial animals were unblemished, they were not of the same type as the humans who sinned.

Only in the work of Jesus do we find a sacrifice sufficient for the weight of our sin. It is only in Jesus, making his single offering, that we can be perfected permanently. Therefore we look to Jesus as we walk through the sufferings of this world. Our deliverance is complete, but we have not received it in full, as we have not been through the resurrection yet ourselves. This is the living hope we have. Jesus is risen from the dead. We also shall rise.

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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com