Psalm 146
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Today’s psalm reminds me to keep my focus on what really matters in all this. And knowing what really matters has opened up possibilities for doing what really matters in ways that work today.
For instance, in some parts of the US, church leaders are resisting the tactic of suspending in-person worship. I read about some who say, “God will protect me!” and try to say that we who use hand sanitizer, who wash our hands, who are not getting together in person, that we are questioning God. Those folks have priorities that are out of whack with reality. They don’t understand that God works through intermediaries – like physicians, health care people, grocery clerks and whoever invented sanitizer. God even works through our Governors. But it’s rude of us to tell God that the only way we will accept God’s presence in our lives is if it happens in direct action. So, give thanks for all the help God is offering us, no matter how it shows up.
Well, enough of that for today, and on to more practical matters:
- Our beloved church is continuing to function, and that means the bills are still coming in. All of us who are being paid, are being paid. We’re using utilities and so on. Money is going out — but without weekly offerings, not so much is coming in. Nancy MacNeill and I ask you to mail your offerings in to the church, to help keep us going. So, mail your offerings in to the church at 5 Gibbs Avenue, Wareham. Help Nancy sleep well at night!
- Prayers: I’m going to start adding prayer requests to these daily emails. If you have a concern to raise, or someone to name in prayer, email me at pastorchild02914@gmail.com and I will add their name.
Today’s Prayer List:
- Families who are home with kids, while working remotely, that they might have patience and love and joy along with the frustrations.
- People who are working in grocery stores, trying to keep the TP stocked, and get in more yeast and beans and other good stuff – and who want to stay safe even though they are out there in public.
- All who are working so hard to get us safe, keep us safe, make our world safe again.
- Donald Hall – ill at Tobey Hospital.
Blessings and love to all of you,
Pastor Virginia
To Believe is to Care. . . To Care is to Do 