Safely Through the Storm

I loved the sounds of rain

Small drops sliding down the glass

With the branches flying wild

And the splash as people passed

Dreary days meant mugs of soup

And my mother’s sheltering arms

Tiny glimpses from my childhood

At a table safe and warm

Now the memory reminds me

Of another suppertime

When our Master gave the bread

And blessed a cup filled with new wine

How they sang a song together

About God’s mercy flowing free

Then He safely brought us home

Through the storms of Calvary

God Loves Mundane Details

They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?”  He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters.   Luke 22:9-10 ESV

In our extended family which includes two grown sons, two daughters in law and seven grandchildren, the location of our family Thanksgiving dinner is a subject of delicate negotiation. In a way the Passover meal was the Jewish Thanksgiving of the first century. Lots of preparation went into planning where to hold it, who to invite and even how the table was to be set up. I confess that instead of enjoying

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a season of thankfulness sometimes I have to work overtime just get along with people. Many of my frustrations come from trying to figure out mundane details which I feel God could not possibly care about.

But after three and a half years of seeing bread multiplied, water changed to wine and storms calmed by a word the disciples decided to just ask Jesus about the details of the feast. No matter what you and I face today, we should take a tip from them and ask Jesus to become our event planner. The same God who formed the universe also counts every hair on our heads. It is not a problem to ask Him to take control of even the mundane details we struggle with. When we do we might be amazed at how delighted He will be to show us exactly what He has in store!

Hope at the Table

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Luke 22:19

This week millions of us will be remembering the Last Supper as one part of Holy Week. As Christians, some of us share communion once a month, some every week and others each time we meet. But whenever it is that we share in the bread and the cup, we are remembering again the hour on the cross when Jesus freely gave His life to pay for our sins.  Often I reflect on my own sins and ask Him to forgive me before I receive. When it is my privilege to serve communion, I sometimes look at each person as they come and think of how in a deep and holy way we are also remembering how we all belong to Christ. Nothing has been preserved of the songs the first believers sang. We have no pictures of what they looked like. There isn’t even a single plate from which they ate. But the common thread that our Lord Jesus has kept alive throughout more than 20 centuries is the Hope we have every time we come to His table.

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We have hope that our sins are forgiven. We have hope that we can learn to love one another. We are given a living demonstration of His love as the bread is broken and the cup is shared. We have new hope at the table that one day He will return for you and for me!