Tag Archives: safety

Two Translations of Psalm 4

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Psalm 4 in Hebrew

Psalm 4 in Hebrew

Psalm 4, reimagined by Steve Garnaas Holmes
O Love, when I cry out in silence,
you are the One Who Hears.
Between the rock and the hard place,
you give me room.

I have carried the stone of shame too far,
as if opinions could give me life,
as if human judgment is not a lie.
But you, Beloved, hold me close,
and know who I truly am.
When I am disturbed I am still yours.
I soak in this grace, silent,
letting it seep into me.

I surrender everything to your love.
Help me to trust this with my life.
I ignore the cynics who don’t see
your blessing in everything,
your face beaming at me.
You are a gushing spring of joy in me,
my jackpot, my victory dance.

In your peace I can stop. I let go.
I lie down.
In your peace I can sleep.
I am safe. I am yours.

Psalm 4, translated by Nan C Merrill in Psalms for Praying
Answer me when I call, O Beloved of my heart!
You enveloped me in Love when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me now; hear my prayer.

O friends, how long will my reputation suffer shame?
How long will you listen to false words
and seek what is less than good?

You know that the Beloved dwells with those
who are filled with love;
and hears when our hearts cry out.
Though you may feel angry,
do not give in to fear;
Commune with the Heart of your heart
as you rest,
and be in silence.
Make peace with your fears,
and trust in Love.

There are many who say,
“Grant us special favors, O Mighty One!
Bestow upon us your grace that we may prosper!”
Love has brought more joy to my heart
than they have when their banks are filled.
In peace will I spend my days and sleep at night
For You alone, my Beloved, take away my fears.

Prayer Poem: God Who Brings the Cleansing Rain (Matthew 2:19-23)

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walking home road2014 Bible Reading Plan for Christmas
Day 31 Reading: Matthew 2:19-23
Returning From Egypt

He made his home in a town called Nazareth
– Matthew 2:23

Prayer Poem: God Who Brings the Cleansing Rain
God who brings the cleansing rain
saturate our thirsty bones
with the milk of mercy sweet
with the blood that brings us home

God who rules the fiery sun
kindle now our brittle hearts
set ablaze our tender lives
forge our ways till sin departs

God who rides the winds of change
anchor us against its wrath
set our face toward holy ends
fix our walk upon your path

God who sends the silent snows
quiet us against your breast
cover us with hope-filled wings
whisper soft your word of rest

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This post is part of the 2014 Bible Reading Plan for Christmas. Click here for more information, including a list of all the readings.

Prayer Poem: God Who Brings the Cleansing Rain © 2010 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution.
Please contact Lisa for information and permission to publish this work in any form.

For more information on the art and the use of this post in other settings,
please refer to the copyright information page.

I Will Never Leave You

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I Will Never Leave You by Greg Hart

Hebrews 13:5b NRSV
… for Jesus has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

I felt overwhelmed by Love, surrounded and enveloped. I didn’t have any desire to pray for anything. I didn’t want anything. I didn’t need anything. I felt sufficient and whole, mended and healed, caught. I just wanted to rest there, in that Presence for a while longer. A line of Scripture that I’d been memorizing rose up in my heart: He will quiet you with His love. And it made sense to me. I felt…quieted. I felt that love, that peace and suddenly everything else seemed to fade in importance. It seemed funny to me that everything seemed quieter – my failures, my fears, my still-angry questions, my worries, even my victories, all quiet now. There was just Love there. I felt like a child in that space between awake-and-asleep, wrapped in the arms of their mother.
– Sarah Bessey, In defense of the cafeteria

Romans 8:38-39 NRSV
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Whenever we find ourselves experiencing difficulties, we need to hold on to one bit of good news. Put very simply, it is this: God is deeply present in all the facets of our lives, even when they are painful. The Bible teaches that there is “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph.4:6). There is no fear, no loss, no grief, no loneliness, no despair, no addiction, no desolation, no suffering that God does not share in. God is continually present and reaching out to us in whatever we may be going through at this moment. When we know that God is with us, even when our world is falling apart, we are more able to face the pain of situations with hope and courage.
– Trevor Hudson, The Serenity Prayer

Matthew 28:20 NRSV
Jesus said, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Extended quote by Thomas Merton from The Sign of Jonas
Sooner or later the world must burn, and all things in it – all the books, the cloister together with the brothel, Fra Angelico together with the Lucky Strike ads which I haven’t seen for seven years because I don’t remember seeing one in Louisville. Sooner or later it will all be consumed by fire and nobody will be left – for by that time the last man in the universe will have discovered the bomb capable of destroying the universe and will have been unable to resist the temptation to throw the thing and get it over with.

And here I sit writing a diary.

But love laughs at the end of the world because love is the door to eternity and he who loves God is playing on the doorstep of eternity, and before anything can happen love will have drawn him over the sill and closed the door and he won’t bother about the world burning because he will know nothing but love.

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Click here for more tremendous work by today’s featured artist, Greg Hart

For more information on the scripture translation, art and the use of this devotional in other settings, please refer to the copyright information page.

Reader's Theater: Psalm 37

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Lighthouse photograph by Jean Guichard

Reader’s Theater Script for Psalm 37:1-16 (NLT)
With verse 39 as a congregational response
For three voices and congregation

VOICE ONE:
Don’t worry about the wicked. Don’t envy those who do wrong.
For like grass, they soon fade away. Like springtime flowers, they soon wither.

VOICE TWO:
Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart’s desires.

VOICE THREE:
Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust Him, and He will help you.
He will make your innocence as clear as the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

ALL:
The LORD saves the godly; He is their fortress in times of trouble.

VOICE ONE:
Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for Him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

VOICE TWO:
Stop your anger! Turn from your rage! Do not envy others — it only leads to harm.
For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land.

VOICE THREE:
In a little while, the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone.
Those who are gentle and lowly will possess the land;
They will live in prosperous security.

ALL:
The LORD saves the godly; He is their fortress in times of trouble.

VOICE ONE:
The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance.
But the Lord just laughs, for He sees their day of judgment coming.

VOICE TWO:
The wicked draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right.
But they will be stabbed through the heart with their own swords,
and their bows will be broken.

VOICE THREE:
It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and possess much.
For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the LORD takes care of the godly.

ALL:
The LORD saves the godly; He is their fortress in times of trouble.

Consider following this reading with one or more verses of A Mighty Fortress is Our God, United Methodist Hymnal # 110.

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For a devotion and original prayer based on Psalm 37, click here

Psalm 37 (NLT) from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

arrangement © 2012 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use this work in a worship setting with proper attribution. Contact Lisa for posting and publication considerations.

For more information on the use of the scripture translation, art and this resource in other settings, please refer to the copyright information page.

Welcoming Branches

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Wing Song, a fabric by Michael Miller

Mark 4:30-34 (NRSV)
Jesus also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Ezekiel 17:22-24 (NRSV)
Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind. All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken; I will accomplish it.

In Ezekiel 17:22-24, God plants a tiny cedar twig on a high mountain of Israel and that twig becomes a large and fruitful tree under whose branches every kind of bird will find shelter. The birds there symbolize the nations that flock to Israel’s God on the glorious day of the Lord. This word-picture in both Ezekiel and Mark envisions the day when God’s sovereign and life-giving power will embrace the whole world—good news indeed! – Commentary on Gospel by Sharon H. Ringe

The kingdom of God is described not in grandiose terms but in terms of ordinary, quiet beauty- as an inviting place to call home. – Commentary on Gospel by Meda Stamper

Sowing the seed, my hand is one with the earth.
Wanting the seed to grow, my mind is one with the light.
Hoeing the crop, my hands are one with the rain.
Having cared for the plants, my mind is one with the air.
Hungry and trusting, my mind is one with the earth.
Eating the fruit, my body is one with the earth.
-Wendell Berry

Prayer to the Welcoming One
by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Welcoming One,
Your mercy knows no limit
Your grace knows no margin

You reach out

Like a tree full of branches
Satisfied with the song of unnumbered birds

Like a hen collecting her newborns
Sheltering them beneath healing wings

Like a surprised fisherman
Taking up a bursting, exotic catch

Like a good shepherd
Extending the flock in every direction

Open us, as you continue to open yourself
So all may come within the reach
Of your saving embrace

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Prayer to the Welcoming One © 2012 by Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
You are welcome to use these works in a worship setting with proper attribution. Please contact Lisa for information and permission to publish these works in any form.

For more information on use of the scripture, art and this post in other settings, please refer to the copyright information page.