Word for Today

From John 12,

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  

From Hebrews 5

having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Dear friends, welcome to Monday. I'm glad you made it! I'm glad the seed of Sunday has born the fruit of Monday.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus likens himself to a grain of wheat which falls to the ground and "dies." This is the classic Lenten theme, culminating at Good Friday. What is beautiful about this image is that life brings forth life.

Do you see the shape of the cross in the picture below? This is actually a pavilion that was designed for the 2010 Expo in Shanghai China. Designed by a British architect. It is a massive configuration of rods that hold seeds of 6,000 varieties.

Even as the rods are pointed outward in all directions, I feel drawn to the center of it.

So it is with Christ Jesus. The fruit that is born in faith sends us out, and in.

God bless you as you watch for the fruit of faith today. May the Spirit of Christ help you notice!

Read about the "Seed Cathedral" here.

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

word for today

HUGGING YOUR MONSTERS

From Numbers 21,

And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live."

From Psalm 107,

Then in their trouble they cried ^| to the LORD

and you delivered them from ^| their distress.

From John 3,

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  ¹⁵that w

hoever believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

The setting is the wilderness. The people are the Israelites. The problem is, the people had grown weary of their long journey and tired of their one-item menu. Manna had been provided to them by God and although they were surviving, they were not thriving. What does any group of people do when things are uncomfortable (or too comfortable)? They grumble. They complain. They test God's patience.

The Lord had enough. Poisonous serpents appeared before the people. (Now THAT would add a little excitement to the day) The serpents bit many people, and the people were dying. Through the efforts of Moses on behalf of the people, God provided a solution to the poisonous problem.

A question: why was it an image of a serpent? Couldn't the image have been anything else (I mean anything else). What is the thinking behind making an image of the very creature that threatens you life?

God is letting the people know what it's like to hug their monsters. Rather than fleeing away from the scourge, the people are to run toward it (at least toward an image of it). The last thing a bitten person would want to look at is another snake! Yet this was the means of healing. This was the path toward wholeness. This was the way to pull the poison out of the people, and place it on something else. They were commanded to hug their monster and thereby be made new in the realization that God was hung up on a desire to heal and restore.

That desire becomes even more real and uncontainable when Christ Jesus, a human, is lifted up onto a pole. We are our own poison, and the crucified one takes the poison out of us. FOR. GOD. SO. LOVED. THE. WORLD. Look to Jesus. Now your Lord has become not a monster, but a Messiah.

Journaling prompt: write about your monsters and how God is leading you not around, above or below them, but through them.

Who around you needs your encouragement to "hug" their monster? You're part of their life.. might as well see that as an opportunity!

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

Word for Today

From Exodus 20,

 ²I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;  ³you shall have no other gods before me.

From Psalm 19,

¹The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky proclaims its maker's handiwork.

²One day tells its tale to another,

and one night imparts knowledge to another.

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

 be acceptable in your sight,

O LORD, my rock (or strength) and my redeemer.   

From First Corinthians 1,

we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block

From John 2

"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up"...     ...he was speaking of the temple of his body

I don't know much about laying floor tile. I do know that it makes a big difference whether or not you start well! If you have a swell in your subfloor you're going to have problems. If the corners of your room are not 90 degrees you're going to have a problem. If your first tile is crooked, well you know.

According to the Do It Yourself network, here are the steps: 1) Prepare the Substrate, 2) Lay Out the Pattern, 3) Make the Cuts, 4) Apply the Mastic, 5) Lay the Tiles, 6) Grout the Joints.

These "steps" are not so far from the spiritual life. There is a natural flow, or progression, that gives language to our life in Christ. So without further ado, let me try a prayer based (perhaps loosely) on these six steps:

1)Lord God, creator of heaven and earth, you have prepared me and my nights and days. 2)You have given me in succession life, mercy, pardon, promise and purpose. 3)I repent of my failings, of attempting to be You, of dismissing the value of the lives with which you surround me. 4)Let me more clearly, nearly and dearly be as you would have me. Through Christ adhere myself to you so that 5)I may be part 6)of the whole.

You try it! Then email me back! Your prayer will enlighten me!