January 21, 2007

I. Readings
Psalms 46, 67, 93
Isaiah 47:1-15
Hebrews 10:19-31
John 5:2-18

II. Selections
Psalm 67:2
...that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.

Isaiah 47:14
See, [ those who study the heavens] are like stubble,
the fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
no fire to sit before!

Hebrews 10:24
And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds ...

John 5:6
When Jesus saw [ the man who had been ill for 38 years] lying [ by the pool called Bethzatha] and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"

III. Meditation: Where shall we find the way?

We seek to be delivered, but where shall we find the way?
Too often the ones to whom we turn are like stubble;
the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame-a poor place to get warm!

Perhaps our motivation will be from other believers
who will provoke us to love and good deeds.
Or first must we answer your question at Bethzatha-
after such a long infirmity, do we want to be made well?

Make your way known upon the earth,
your saving power among all nations.