Focus

Slow your breathing and become aware of the taking in and letting out of your breath. Focus on putting things aside so you will be open to what God is saying to you today.

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Read

Psalm 106:1-6, 13-23, 47-48 (NRSV)

Praise the LORD!
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD,
or declare all his praise?
Happy are those who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times.

Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people;
help me when you deliver them;
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory in your heritage.

Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.
…
But they soon forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.
But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
and put God to the test in the desert;
he gave them what they asked,
but sent a wasting disease among them.

They were jealous of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the faction of Abiram.
Fire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.

They made a calf at Horeb
and worshiped a cast image.
They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
They forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
Therefore he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
…
Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen.”
Praise the LORD!

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Reflect

When you were a kid did anyone ever try to trade a worthless item for one of your prized possessions? For those us of us who fell victim to such schemes, discovery that we had given up something of great value for something of no value was frustrating indeed.

Part of our reading today is a listing of the historical sins of the Israelite people. Included in this is the well-known account of the golden calf and the startling claim of the story’s implication: “They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.” Wow! How could the Israelites have made such a bad trade!

Perhaps we should not judge so harshly. While we are not tempted in our cultural context to exchange God’s glory for the image of an ox that eats grass, we are sometimes willing to exchange God’s glory as revealed in scripture and affirmed by our Confession of Faith for other representations of God that are just as inadequate and misleading. We are sometimes tempted to create a god who is more convenient for us, rather than seek and worship who God is. However, let us remember that when we do this, we come out the losers on the trade.

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Pray

Glorious God, we are humbled when we are reminded of your awesomeness. We pray that you would convict us to repentance if we have sought to cheapen who you are for our own convenience. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen

Go with God.