Shade Tree Wisdom 5/31/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/31/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/31/15

          Today is Trinity Sunday on which many congregations recite the Athanasian Creed during the morning liturgy. (I imagine most congregants still are relieved they did not have to memorize the creed.)

          This Creed came t0 the Church somewhere in the fifth century and tries to go more in depth to explain God as the Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It fails to do so, for who can really understand God. Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

You will find the Creed printed on pages 319.320 in LSB.

“Triune God be Thou are stay,

Cleanse us from our sins we pry,

And grant us life forever.

Keep us from the evil one;

Uphold our faith most holy.

Let us trust Thee solely

With humble hearts and lowly.

Let us put God’s armor on.

With all true Christians running

Our heavenly race and shunning

The devil’s wiles and cunning.

Amen. Amen! This be done,

So sing we “Alleluiah”. “

LSB 505,1

          There is a gift for deep meditation.

GPD 5/31/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/28/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/28/15

          Meteorologists have been keeping records for 120 of rainfall, and this is the wettest May in that length of time. Houston has received 7.54 inches in May so far and the month is not quite over.

          Meanwhile reservoirs and lakes are nearly full, and the vital  Edwards Aquifer is at the highest water mark it has been in three years.    

          The amount of water falling amounts to 35 trillion gallons, the amount the mighty Mississippi discharges over the course of three months.

          So, in this historic moment, may I offer this prayer for those who travel?

“O Christ, whose voice the waters heard,

And hushed their raging at thy word.

          Who walkest on the foaming deep

And calm among its rage didst sleep;

O hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea.”

LSB 717,2

          So drive safely in the rising waters.

5/28/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/27/15

Shade tree Wisdom 5/27/15

          The other day the Houston Chronicle saw fit to repeat the old ditty:

“Rain, rain, go away,

Come again some other day”

That children used to sing when a picnic, or some other cherished, and planned for, event, was threatened, by rain. Or a farmer who had a field of hay drying would pray for one more sunny day till he could safely  put his hay, now dried fir storage, into his barn for winter feed.

          One of the earth dams in the area was threatened, till workers dumped more rip-rap at the base of the dam and covered it so no more rain will soak into it from the sky. Engineers are keeping a 24-hour watch on it. But Rain keeps on falling, and the paper announces another  week of rain.

                                                                                                                                                          No, it will not cover the earth because God has so promised. But surely it  is needed for life. Lots of it at once, let us learn to be grateful. For like all gifts of God, it brings blessing.

GPD 5/27/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/25/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/25//15

            Yesterday,  as I noted,  was Pentecost Sunday, the day on which God sent the Holy Spirit to establish His Church.  Of this Jesus said:

“Thou art Peter, and on this

Rock (Of Peter’s  confession “that Thou art Christ”),

I will build My Church

and the gates of hell

Shall not prevail

Against it.”

Matthew  16,17.

            We hear and read so much today about how the church is losing out, in membership, in popularity , in many ways.  The local paper had a report how the Church is losing. But here is our Savio’s promise  that it will survive.

            And it is. A  close look shows the church thriving and growing in many parts of the world.

            Yes, just believe, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”        

Indeed comforting thought to Keep in mind.

GPD 5/25/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/24/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/24/15

        For the Liturgical church today is Pentecost, often called ‘the birthday of the Church’, the day the Lord sent His Spirit to His people and called them into what we know as His Church on earth.

“God came to us then  at Pentecost,

His Spirit new life revealing,

That we might no more from Him be lost,

All darkness for us dispelling.

His flame will the mark of sin efface

And bring to us all His healing.

LSB 501,1

        And so today marks this important event, a gift of God for us, His Church.

GPD 5/24/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/23/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/22/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/22/15   Memorial Day weekend)

        Memorial Day began after the Civil War designed to remember and honor those who had given their lives during that terrible conflict between brothers.

        Today we includes First Responders among them, those men and women who often give their lives for people they will never know.

Just recall all the people whose faithful fulfillment of their duties makes our lives livable, such as the patrol car on the highway, or the people stationed at a fire station to answer a call for fire, or the staff that makes ones hospital stay possible, and the list can go on.

        Where would your education be if you did not have informed, patient and kind teachers during your school years? Men and  women with the patience to endure your often  petty and selfish behavior?

        So high on any list I believe belongs sacrifice.

For that is very much involved in getting you ready for life. And here I think of  phrase from a familiar hymn:

“. . .each age its solemn task

May claim but once;

Make each one nobler. Stronger than the last.”

LSB 682,1b

        So, may his Memorial Day weekend find you much blessed of a caring God, in Jesus Holy Name.

GPD 5/23/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/16/15

Shade Tree  Wisdom 5/16/15-If I am correct, today is Armed Forces  Day, stopping for a moment to remember all that the  Armed Forces  have done and are doing to keep our land safe from harm.. And it is massive, the effort involved, the planning, the sending troops all over the world to help “keep the peace”

                    My thoughts went to ancient Caesarea, where a centurion in the Roman army was stationed, and He was a Christian with a troublesome question. “Can I be saved?”A Centurion was captain of a hundred soldiers, so the  question troubled him. One of the ten commandments said, “Thou shalt not kill”, and killing was part of the business he was in.

                   The Lord him  told in a vision to send for Peter who was in Joppa and listen to his message. So Peter came to this Gentile’s home and preached the Good news of salvation by believing in Jesus Christ as their Savior from sins  because God sent Jesus to die to pay for our sins, and “He that believeth hall be saved”

                    That was good news of salvation that  Peter preached to the Centurion and his household, and is the same good news Christians hear us say for their own salvation.

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/15/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/15/15

        An often quoted verse from the prophet  Jeremiah says:

“For I know the plans I have

For you, plans or your good, and

Not for evil, to give

You a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon Me,

And pray to Me, and I

Will hear you.”

Jeremiah 29, 11.12

        That is quite encouraging, for it tells us that we are not alone,

We are never, alone.

        The Psalm 50,15) assures us, “Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

        And our Lord Jesus tells us :”Ask, and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asks, receives, he that seeks, finds, and to him that knocks, it shall be opened.” Matthew 7,7.8.

        Let’s just remember this truth. “You are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.  Galatians  3,26.

And do remember this truth. “My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” 2 Corinthians 12,9.

        Remember His rich promises and ay your worries, cares, and burdens on Him “who cares for you”.

GPD 5/5/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/12/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/12/15

        The company in Neustadt, Germany is called Birkenstock GambH. It’s 240 years old and is the maker if the Birkenstock sandal, which suddenly has become fashionable.

        Mr. Oliver Reichert,is the chief executive officer who, together with the company co CEO, are heirs of founder Johann Adam Birkenstock, an 18th century boot maker who founded the company.

        Mr. Reichert says their budget for advertising is nearly non-existent. Sales grew 40 % in most areas, ad more than doubled in the united States. Their goal for 2020 is to sell 20milliom pairs annually.

        I had a cousin who had foot trouble, yet her work kept her on her feet nearly all day. One day she ran across some  Birkenstoks and never wore anything else. Her foot problems went away.

        I’m just reporting what the WSJ reported and some of my personal observations. I thought it was interesting enough to pass along.

GPD 5/12/15

SHADE Tree wisdom 5/10/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/10/15  Mothers Day

          Today, in this land, mothers special attention, smothered with roses, busy receiving phone calls from sons and daughters who are away.

          In many worship services one of the readings is Proverbs 3l,7-31.

Words of praise like this, “Her husband treats her without reserve and never has reason to regret it.”. Or this “She’s quick to help anyone in  need, and  reaches out to help the poor.”

          “When she speaks she has something to say”, and ”she speaks with wisdom”.

          So the reading ends thus:

          “Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.”

          In keeping with that, it is my prayer and fervent wish that sons and daughters each day treat their mothers as they do on mother’s day, with honor, love, ad respect.

          And be sure our gracious God  will bless that relationship.

May God Bless,

GPD 5/10/15

Shade Tree Wisdom A EVENING PRAYER 5/8/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/8/15

Day is done,
Gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

                                                                So I wish  you

                                                                  A  safe lodging

                                                                   A quiet rest,

                                                                    And peace  at the last.

                                                                     In Jesus holy name, amen.

GPD 5/8/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/8/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/8/15

        Hymn 579 (LSB) reminds us:

“The law of God is good and wise,

And sets His will before our eyes.

Shows us the way of righteousness,

And dooms to death when we transgress.”

        We humans have an enormous capacity for evasion and self-deceit. We’re good at saying, “It wasn’t my fault”, are we not?

        That’s why the Bible offers us the prophets, major and minor, who have a way setting us straight. The culture we live in , its assumptions, its values, its methods of going about its work, are never on the side of God. And the prophets help us see this.

        For somewhere along the line we developed the habit of separating our spiritual life from our real life. And the prophets will have none this, for they point out that God is in all of our life, at work, at play as well as when we go to church.

        Prophets were not popular figures, for they pointed out truths and failings that people wanted to hide, or had gotten so used to they never noticed their sin any longer.. One prophet said “Neither could they blush”. It was that bad.

        And our day shows little or no improvement. Read the prophets, and heed their God-inspired Word for benefit and blessing.

May God bless the reading, and the meditation. Remember too,

“To Jesus we for refuge flee,

Who from the curse as set us free.

And humbly worship at His throne,

Saved by His grace through faith alone.”

(LSB 579,6)

GPD 5/8/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/6/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/6/15

        Jesus said,:

You shall love the Lord your God

With all your  heart, and

With all your soul, and with all

Your mind, and with all your strength.

The second Is this,  you shall

Love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment

Greater than these.”
Mark 12,3031.

        It’s that simple, and that complex, for it for each of us a real problem, hard to do, simply because we are born sinners.

        So living the kind of life Jesus describes here comes with baggage, the baggage  of hurt feeling and of ‘stepped-on’ toes, and from dealing with unfair people. and many other things get in the way of ‘loving our neighbor as ourselves’.

        We need help.

        And the Lord sends help. He gives us the Holy Spirit to shape us into His people, a people able to do his will. Thank  the Lord for His grace and mercy.

May we so live as unto Him daily.

GPD 5/6/15

ShadeTree Wisdom 5/4/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/4/15

        Right now, it is sunny and warming up nicely, no rain in the offing till tomorrow, so we are reveling in this glorious spring day. Wonderful gift.

                It reminded me when my wife and were volunteering at the  good shepherd shop in Tomball we used to marvel at the row of old magnolia trees, that at this time of year were covered with blooms, a wonderful sight.

        And that brought this thought to mind. There is so much beauty in this world that we simply take for granted, the spring fields of blooming plants. We just grumble if they are not as bright or full because they did not get enough rain.

“So life is worth the living

Just because He lives.”

GPD 5/4/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/3/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/3/15

        A hymnodic  prayer-

“My name is graven on his hands,

My name is written on His heart.

I know that while in heaven He stands,

No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look and see Him there,

Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,

My sinful soul is counted free.

For God, the Just, is satisfied,

To look on Him, and pardon me.”

LSB 574,2.3.4.

        This is the precious gift our Savior gives us. He offers us hope and  peace for which we offer our praise and give Him thanks.

GPD 5/3/15

        

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/1/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 5/1/15

“Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!

That calls me from a world of care,

And bids me at my Father’s throne,

Make all my wants and wishes known”. . .

        What better time than this day to “make all my cares and wishes known”?

And the world seems full of cares. An earthquake in Nepal that takes over 5000 lives. But there is a heartening report of finding another live body in a shattered hotel.

The Colbuca volcano in Southern Chile erupts for the third time in 8 days spewing forth ashes and fire, and causing massive evacuations.

        Meanwhile. The country sets a national day of prayer on May 7^th this year, with many churches doing just that, holding prayers for the nation.

And so,

“And since He bids me seek His face,

Believe His word and trust His grace,

I‘ll cast on Him my every care,

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer.”

GPD 5/1/15