Jeremiah 23:2-3
Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 
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The history of the people of God is one of scattering and gathering.  The spirit of God gathers.  I am reminded of this especially as I commune the people of the congregation.  I know just enough about them to know that they are so different in their opinions that they would not by their own strength or will choose to be a church family.  They would more likely scatter.  The spirit of God, however, gathers us together and amazing things happen when we are together.  Strangers are fed and clothed.  Children are loved and protected.  The sick are offered prayer and support.  Those doing God's work with their hands near and far know the power of our gathered resources.  Loneliness loses its power to drag us into the abyss of hopelessness.  Those who intentionally remove themselves or drive others away hear a tough word from God.  We are meant to be together.  We are wired to the level of our DNA to need one another.  God will safeguard the beauty and the uniqueness of each individual. We don't have to.  Our energy is best spent at what it means to be together. 
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We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing. Amen.
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Author's Note: ELOGOS will be taking a break until after Thanksgiving. Please know that I am thankful for your partnership in the Gospel.  Have a Blessed Thanksgiving! - Deb

Psalm 46:
“Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”
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As a part of a college course, I lived as a pilgrim at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts for a few days.  I ate, worked, and slept in the restoration of the  original settlement.  It was a cold November. I missed being able to wear my eyeglasses since the original pilgrims had poor quality spectacles if at all. Most all of us worked at food preparation from sunrise to sunset, from harvesting to cooking.  When the sun went down, we slept fast even on uncomfortable bedding. There were three calls to prayer - morning, midday and dusk - when we walked together to the meeting house singing psalms. Three moments a day that helped me walk in the ancient memories of those who stepped out boldly into a frightening new land.  In their pockets, they clung to a faith as solid as the rocky coast of their new home. They sang songs of love and praise to God not because they had to but because they wanted to. 
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We praise you, O God, our Redeemer Creator. Amen.

Colossians 1:19-20
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
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I weary of people who are full of themselves to the extent that there is not one cubic inch of space for anyone or anything else.  I grieve from my skin to my bone marrow when I catch myself overflowing with me.  And then there is Jesus.  Full of God and willing to empty himself to make room for the likes of you and me.  Never ceases to take my breath away.  I overthink the cross too much sometimes.  We who get too full of ourselves might be wise to stretch out our arms like Jesus and make room for love. 
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At your service, Lord.  Amen.

Luke 23:23-24
But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. 
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In leadership, it is important to listen to the people.  It is also important for cooler minds, wiser hearts to prevail when at times the mob is swayed. Pilate wanted to keep the peace at all costs. Leaders who seek only to watch the polls and give people what they want will toss and turn in the night with a self-identity of a doormat or silly putty.  When we get what we want and realize it isn't what we needed, we can point to the failure of leadership.  When Christ was sent to the cross to die, Pilate was to blame. Herod was to blame.  The Roman Government was to blame. The Jewish rulers were to blame. The mob was to blame.  The disciples were to blame.  The blessings and the benefits of the Cross of Christ Crucified is utterly lost on the blameless.  Those who wrestle with their own souls in the middle of the night are closer to the Kingdom of God than those who push back on their own accountability. 
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Holy God, forgive me.  Amen.

John 1: 38
When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" 
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"What are you looking for?" We take no journey unless we know why we are going. When we look 
to Jesus and consider following, it is in response to a deep need in our lives that we may not 
have even dared to articulate. We may not yet know what we need or want. An Danish poet 
named Piet Hein once wrote that if you are having trouble making a decision between some 
options - toss a coin - not that the decision will be made on a coin flip but if left to chance, 
at the moment the coin is in the air you would know what you are hoping. It is that hope that 
might inform our decisions. Our relationship with Jesus is sown in the soil of our hope for relief 
from the brokenness of our own making and for wholeness beyond our ability to create. We 
hope in Christ and look to him.
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Holy God, Be patient with us as we sort through the confusion and begin to see more clearly. Amen 

Malachi 4:6
He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.
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You don't even have to be a parent to know how crucial and influential the role of a parent is in a child's life.  If that child grows into a parent then the cycle of influence continues.  Our parents imprint us with values and ways of looking at ourselves and the world that we either embrace or choose to reject.  We have a push-pull journey on the most part with our parents that affects us both.  When God speaks through prophets to describe the restoration of a nation, of a whole people,  God often speaks of this most fundamental relationship as the seed-corn of a new age.  Our most fundamental understanding of love begins inside a parent and child. Love isn't the kind of thing we would want our children to have to pick up on the streets because they didn't learn it at home. Great nations arise from educated hearts. 
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Holy God, teach our hearts to turn to you. Amen.

Psalm 98:4-5
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
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I was asked in an interview once, "On a scale of one to ten, how good is your singing voice."  My preferred answer would have been, "I guess it depends on who you ask."  My safe answer was "A Five."  To someone with a trained voice or experience around good music, the expectations are higher.  To someone who just loves to bellow a song with joy and gusto, my voice is just terrific. I recall days in my high school and church choirs in which I was given solos.   I have also received anonymous notes telling me to keep my mouth shut when the singing starts.  It really does depend on who is listening and the standard that they have and expect.  There are people who say to me, "Oh, pastor, you wouldn't want to hear me sing."  Maybe, not.  Maybe I too would rate them on my scale of good to bad.  But given that God is listening to us all, perhaps, any sound at all is music to his ears. 
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Holy God, receive our songs.  Amen.

2 Thessalonians 3:11-12
For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such
 persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
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"Idle hands are the devil's workshop"  It is a fearful phrase.  Though many bemoan the fact 
that their lives are too busy, many freely admit that they want their children busy in school, 
sports, clubs, bands because "it keeps them out of trouble."  Though not a foolproof method
of keeping trouble at bay, it still is effective at least until the young people are old enough to
have the freedom to choose their own activities - for good or for ill.  Having too much time on
one's hands is a luxury others would envy. We are admonished to be good stewards of our
time, to use it for all good things.  
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Keep us from thoughts and deeds that don't amount to anything good, Lord.  Amen. 

Luke 21:5-6
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”
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In the history of the people of Israel, their temple was a target for enemies.  Anyone destroying the iconic buildings of an enemy's land, breaks their spirit, their will to keep fighting. Resistance is futile.  So they say.  On 9/11, terrorists went after the buildings they thought represented America and its greed and arrogance.  They succeed in breaking the hearts of families of loved ones.  They also awoke a sleepy giant of patriotism.  The struggle for life brings out the best and worst in us.  Our energies are called upon to show ourselves as God's people.  The test of this generation will be how well we revealed God in the only sanctuary that matters - the depths of the human soul. 
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Holy God, let us fight the good fight. Amen.

Isaiah 40:10-11
See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his 
recompense before him. He will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.
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While hiking in New Zealand, I bunked with a couple of women from Australia - a mother and daughter. 
The daughter was a mother herself and described to me a life of painful relationships and financial uncertainty. 
Though not a person of any particular faith, she freely confessed that she survived all the difficult times 
because she said, "I have me mum." Her "mum" is a woman of enormous vitality and passion. There were times, she admitted, 
that even the greatest of comforters need comforting. God quickly offers comforting to comforters.  
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Come, Lord Jesus, with your comforting arms, your compassionate heart and your mission to save. Amen