Creating, collecting, and sharing thoughts and ideas. And learning along the way.
Crab Rangoon: Pairs Beautifully with the Chianti 
When Friday Rises to Greet You 
Where the Lansing Lugnuts Play 
LAMENTATIONS 3:1-66 | HEBREWS 1:1-14 | PSALM 102:1-28 | PROVERBS 26:21-22
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Jeremiah’s lamentations for his people and his beloved city of Jerusalem continue. But just when it seems that he is utterly inconsolable, Jeremiah shifts gears, and we see a silver lining to the dark cloud. He says:
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope.
And with these lines, Jeremiah restores his faith in the Lord, and utters some of the most memorable lines of this book:
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
Jeremiah goes on to offer words of hope in these lines as well:
31 For no one is cast off
by the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.
We turn now to our New Testament reading, and find ourselves starting a new book titled Hebrews, the author of which is unknown, although it is commonly ascribed to Paul.
The author starts out this book, which appears to have a Jewish-Christian audience, by addressing the person of Christ as being superior to all prophets and angels.
God, in his inconceivable prescience, has so ordained it that we mere mortals are the beneficiaries of the plan of salvation through the person and the office of Christ Jesus. It is not the angels who are fortunate to be awarded this great gift—it is the fall of man that necessitated this alternate plan of salvation that hinges on pure faith and grace. We have nothing to envy the angels about.
The writer says: 14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Having so established the superiority of Christ over the prophets, likewise, the writer alludes to the superiority of the New Covenant of which Christ is the mediator between God and man, over the Old Covenant between God and the children of Israel.
Next, we turn to our reading of the Psalms, and find one in which the psalmist is most dejected and yet, in all humility, he acknowledges the omnipotence of the Almighty in these words even as he says:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
your years go on through all generations.
25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you.”
Finally, a couple of verses from the book of Proverbs, in which Solomon, wise king of Israel, speaks to the evils of a quarrelsome person and a gossip. He says:
21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
Dinner’s Served. You Comin’? 
Hello, Merlot! Can Dinner Be Far Behind? 
LAMENTATIONS 1:1-2:22 | PHILEMON 1:1-25 | PSALM 101:1-8 | PROVERBS 26:20
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We enter a new book today titled Lamentations, but it is authored by none other than Jeremiah, the weeping prophet.
Having delivered and witnessed a series of prophecies against Jerusalem as well as many of her neighbors, Jeremiah is said to have retired to the edge of the city after the destruction of the Temple in 586 BC, and there he composed these writings of lament.
Jeremiah’s capacity for sorrow knows no bounds, and these writings bear witness to this fact.
Serving as a mouthpiece to his beloved Jerusalem, he says:
14 “My sins have been bound into a yoke;
by his hands they were woven together.
They have been hung on my neck,
and the Lord has sapped my strength.
He has given me into the hands
of those I cannot withstand.
And if you’re wondering about the cause for Jerusalem’s grief, it is noted here. After the decimation of the city, the destruction of the Temple, and the forceful taking away of the people into captivity, this is the reason for the lament of Jerusalem. Jeremiah says:
16 “This is why I weep
and my eyes overflow with tears.
No one is near to comfort me,
no one to restore my spirit.
My children are destitute
because the enemy has prevailed.”
Jeremiah adopts a most contrite tone in beseeching the Almighty in these verses:
20 “See, LORD, how distressed I am!
I am in torment within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,
for I have been most rebellious.
Outside, the sword bereaves;
inside, there is only death.
It is indeed a mirthless recognition of the woe that has befallen the children of Israel, and Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah, stands as the symbol of her people’s miseries. Jeremiah continues his lament:
17 The LORD has done what he planned;
he has fulfilled his word,
which he decreed long ago.
He has overthrown you without pity,
he has let the enemy gloat over you,
he has exalted the horn of your foes.
We turn now to our New Testament reading, and find a brand new book here as well. This is yet another one of Paul’s letters from prison in Rome, titled The Epistle of Paul to Philemon, or simply Philemon.
Paul is writing to a friend by the name of Philemon, who must have evidently become a believer in Christ recently, and was most likely attending one of the newly planted churches in Colosse.
The purpose of the letter is to persuade Philemon to take back his former slave, Onesimus, who had apparently run away from Philemon, his master, and most likely had stolen from him at the time. Onesiums, however, finds his way to Rome, comes into contact with Paul (who is actually under house-arrest—a form of imprisonment), becomes a changed person, ministers to Paul possibly by way of running errands for him and such, and above all, becomes a follower of Christ.
In time, Paul most likely comes to view Onesimus as a son, and it would have served his purposes well to have retained Onesimus with him, but Paul wishes to do the right thing.
By sending Onesimus back to his master, Philemon, Paul is sending a clear message to both parties: to Philemon the message is that Paul does not covet what is not his, but more importantly, there is now no difference between bond and free in the love of Christ, and he therefore exhorts Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother. To Onesimus, the message is to make amends with his master by way of returning to him, apologizing to him, and returning to him anything that was illicitly taken from him.
Paul says to Philemon:
12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
Paul appeals to Philemon’s sense of Christian brotherliness to take back Onesimus, and offers to pay Onesimus’ debt to Philemon himself.
He says: 17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.
Could there be a greater example of caring for another?
To accept one who has done wrong, to rehabilitate their way of thinking, to have them go back and make amends, and to offer to personally bear the burden of all the expenses incurred in the process—this is the face of true love, and Paul is demonstrating this by way of his letter concerning this matter.
In a day and age where Roman law permitted harsh treatment of runaway slaves, it was a radical thing to suggest that Philemon accept his slave back as a “dear brother,” but that is exactly what Paul is doing.
In Christ’s love, we are commanded to forgive one another, so as to be forgiven ourselves. If that is too radical a concept to fathom, I trust this little letter of Paul’s will give us pause for thought, and allow us to consider the importance of putting into practice what we are sometimes quick to preach but slow to follow.
We turn now to our reading of the Psalms, and find David making an affirmation, and asking a question of the Lord that we also might wish to emulate. David says:
1 I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, LORD, I will sing praise.
2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
when will you come to me?
Finally, a verse from the book of Proverbs, in which Solomon, wise king of Israel, discourages the act of gossip-mongering. He says:
20 Without wood a fire goes out;
without a gossip a quarrel dies down.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
Khichri and Turkey Patties on a Bed of Veggies: Is it Wednesday Already? 
