You've come to the right place.....

..... to read about our journey to Bethlehem, Israel and more! We are currently on our journey to visit friends and partners at our sister church (pictured, left), Christmas Lutheran Church

We will be grateful for your prayers and thoughts along the way. Perhaps praying from Psalm 121 might guide you and help you think of us. Just as this Psalm was written for the journey so many years before, we are on our journey too. Our group includes the following fellow travelers: Susan Colten, Brian Cox, Jeanne Easlie, Peg and Jim Forbes, Linda Kateeb, Dave Urban, Don Wagner and Caryl Weinberg. Thank you for going with us in spirit and prayer! Perhaps you'll be part of the journey in person, next time.

May the Lord watch over all of our comings and goings both now and always,
Your friends of Dar al Kalima

Psalm 130

We do not wake each morning with the intention of doing harm to our family, friends, acquaintances or God, but we sometimes make hurtful comments or unintentionally do things that make others feel badly. We keep trying to do better the next day, but then we repeat our same mistakes. Psalm 130 reminds us that God is a forgiving God and that no matter how many times we fall short of his expectations (or our own expectations of our selves), he is always there to pick us up, brush us off and help us try again “… for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” (V. 7) This promise does not exempt us from continually working to improve ourselves; however, it reminds us that even with our best efforts, we will fall short but we can count on God’s love and forgiveness. Very reassuring!!!

Prayer: Dear Lord, Give us strength to live according to your will and the reassurance of your love and forgiveness when we fall short. Amen

--Jan Sullivan

Reflection on Psalm 130

A former FPCE pastor Paul Suzuki often likened waiting for the Lord with handing our winter wraps over to the coat check room when we go to dinner or a show. Often the way we wait on God resembles getting up every 5-10 minutes to confirm they still have our coat and it is safe. We miss the delightful meal, heartwarming conversation, or enjoyable show because of our fretting and inattention. I think Rev Suzuki would say that it reveals our lack of trust. I wonder if some of us fear we might forget the coat if we set it aside. Well, remember we have that coat for a reason and it has a place in our life. We need the coat; the coat has a function in our life—especially if we are going to go back out in the weather.

It is the same with our worries, concerns and cares—they too have a place in with us. Our deepest cries matter and they are a partner in our lives. They remind us of our humanity, our connectedness to others, our incompleteness, and our needs. As with the coat, it is important that we treat these concerns with dignity and grace. They don’t disappear when we wait for God.

But God is no ordinary coat check clerk. God is the fullness of forgiveness, hope and restoration. How wonderful if each time we got back our coat it was a little cleaner, a little better fitting, yet still recognizable as our coat? What a delight it would be to anticipate the transformation! And yet in partnering with God, crying out and then waiting, our cares are transformed. They have the opportunity of taking on a little more forgiveness, a little more hope, a little more movement toward restoration. They may look a lot like they used to, but don’t underestimate the power of subtle changes. I can tell you they make a big difference. It is ok to wait; it is a faithful process in which to put your trust.

And, if you do happen to forget to go back for your coat, well, maybe you didn’t really need it, or perhaps, it really wasn’t yours to begin with. God will find a way to return it to the rightful owner. It will not be lost.

Constantly forgiven and restored,

Yours in Christ,
Susan Colten

Psalm 130 - “My soul waits for the Lord; more than watchmen wait for the morning; more than watchmen wait for the morning.”

During my years in Africa, I came to know many watchmen. In each home I lived, there was always a watchmen standing guard during the night. Yacob, Mosie, Inussa, and Pierre were those I knew best. Often I would step out of my home at night and go talk to them. Night watchmen have their own special kind of wisdom. They have lots of time to reflect, lots of time to wonder. Some watchmen were not very helpful. These men would sleep easily and soundly, not even hearing someone knocking at the gate. One used come running to me in fear, as if I were actually his watchman. Yet others were quite skilled at their job, even enjoyed their work. Those watchmen had eyes for the darkness. They saw every little thing that happened, every bird or animal that moved, let alone every person that should or shouldn’t have been there. They also knew the night skies, every star in its place, where the moon would rise or set, and when. Their ears could discern between what they knew, and what was new. They recognized creatures by their voices. They had a keen sense of what was right in the darkness. And out of this sense, out of their alertness, they waited for the morning. Not in fear of what might happen, but rather in a calm expectancy.

One of the lessons I am learning, is that it is a good thing to be keenly aware of God – through His Word, through others, through creation, through experience, through music and art, the written word and so much more. God comes to us through all of our senses, if we’re looking for Him. I have learned to look for Him in my everyday happenings, whether routine or unexpected. And the closer I look, the more I see Him, the more I hear and feel Him, the more I recognize His hand at work. I also have come to look for Him in the “depth” Because just as the watchman develops the skill of knowing what is right in the darkness, I too am learning to see what is “right” in my dark times, when I am in “the depth”. Not because things are going well. Rather because God is always present, even in “the depth”; even in the darkness.

May He reveal Himself to each of us through new and unexpected ways, bringing to us that calm expectancy – even in the darkness - that comes from our Hope, that is Jesus Christ.

Caryl Weinberg

Mission Council

Lessons Learned

Psalm 130 is comforting, consoling and didactic. It lets me know that God holds me while I sin and break His rules, asks me to be patient while He showers me with mercy, redemption grace, and love while I am working through forgiveness. I rejoice that there is nothing incomplete about God. His love is unfailing and His salvation is all inclusive, covering my past, present and future. What an amazing God! He is all I need! The songs that come to mind for me as I learn this lesson are "Amazing Grace" and "Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord".

My lesson learned is that I because of God's fullness I cannot serve Him half way or use just part of Him. I need all of Him all of the time and He wants me all of the time. So I ask Him to make and mold me. Turn me inside out so that I develop my mind, soul, heart and spirit to be more like His. Let me be one whose hope in You and gratitude for Your mercy inspire me to fervent praise and unremitting obedience.

by Nelda Hobbs

Psalm 130 -- “O Lord, hear my voice . . . in his word I put my hope.”

A few weekends ago, our grandson, Jackson and I, headed down to the Museum of Science and Industry and its Omnimax Theater to see the Hubble Space Telescope movie. Film from the telescope showed a vastness to the heavens, a depth to an ever-growing universe, so beautiful, yet distant beyond imagination. And I thought to myself, the more we know about our expanding universe, the smaller we humans become. These verses reveal something even more extraordinary. Our Lord, the Creator of the magnificent universe, has his ear attuned to the desperate cries of his people, who are as minute as the dust. Yet he knows us and hears us and counts us significant enough in his great cosmic order to be intimately concerned with our troubles. Even more, despite our repeated failings, our faltering steps, our pathetic sins he extends his forgiveness and bathes us in lavish love. It is beyond our comprehension, understood only by the organ of faith. Yet it is our hope, constantly affirmed in the scriptures, repeatedly affirmed in our lives, and ultimately confirmed on the Cross, that he redeems us. Praise be to our Lord!

Terry Halliday

Out of the Deep….

In the second movement of his Requiem, John Rutter captures Psalm 130 perfectly (in my opinion). In the beginning, you can feel the despair in the cello and the voices. The low pitches, the dissonant chords, the conflicting harmonies all bring together the desperation of being so far from God. Yet, as the Psalm recognizes that God is forgiving and the psalmist places his hope in God, the spirit of the music lightens, the notes are more pleasantly harmonious and pace quickens. Rutter brings us back to reality, though, and ends the piece back in the depths asking God to hear us.

Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord:

Lord, hear my voice.

O let thine ears consider well the voice of my complaint.

If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss O Lord, who may abide it?

For there is mercy with thee therefore shalt thou be feared.

I look for the Lord; my soul doth wait for him in his word is my trust.

My soil fleeth unto the Lord before the morning watch,

I say, before the morning watch.

O Israel, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy

and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel from all his sins.

by Matt McLeod

Psalm 130 - “A Testimony of Trust In The Lord”

This psalm starts with a sad expression of despair. According to my NIV Bible, “depths” means as if caught up in rising flood waters. In verse 2, “Let your ears be attentive”, certainly implies a degree of urgency.

The 3^rd and 4^th verses are encouraging for me. It reinforces that we are not alone and that we all sin. As humans we are flawed at birth and our weaknesses cause us to sin. It reminds us that none of us could stand from the weight of our sins but not for GOD’s forgiveness. We therefore can trust in GOD’s forgiveness.

Verses 5 and 6 state trust and patience. The night watchman reference is great. Night limits your vision. The watchman is alone and can’t see the evil that he knows is around him. He waits for the light of dawn, when evil shrinks back into the night, when he can see, not be alone, and out of danger. The night represents our sin and the light of the morning, the coming of forgiveness. I think this foretells the coming of the light, the Christ. Christ’s sacrifice and GOD’s ultimate act of forgiveness.

Verses 7 and 8 reminds us that GOD has his own timetable but not to worry because GOD’s forgiveness is never in doubt. His love is, “unfailing”. It finishes by prophesizing that GOD will redeem Israel from their sins. A prophesy that will be fulfilled through Christ.

This psalm sure started on a low note but just kept building to a strong positive ending. A verse in one of the hymns, sung in Church on Sunday, was, “we gain strength while we wait upon the Lord”. While singing it I thought of this psalm.

PRAISE THE LORD!

by Peter Steffen

Psalm 130 - Waiting and Hoping

Like the writer of this psalm, I begin many of my prayers with cries for the Lord to hear me---cries for mercy--- then move on to the realization that I am unworthy to be heard by God Almighty (“If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?”). It’s a bleak picture: the psalmist’s situation is bleak (“out of the depths I cry to you”), and his knowledge of the Lord’s holiness causes him to realize that there is no reason why the Lord of the universe should listen to his cries.

And then comes the “but.” “But with you there is forgiveness.” The psalm turns on this verse and you can almost see hope and relief wash over the writer. He shifts from praying to the Lord to speaking to a third party---or perhaps himself---and then to Israel, encouraging patience and hope.

In verse 6 the psalmist uses an interesting analogy to describe his waiting: “more than watchmen wait for the morning.” So I ask myself, “How do watchmen wait for the morning?” Never having been a watchman, it’s hard to say for sure, but I have spent sleepless nights worrying about the welfare of my children or my aging parents, or trying to sort out an intractable problem. One thing I know is that watchmen wait eagerly---they can hardly wait for the long night-shift to be finished. It’s sometimes hard to be patient while waiting. The second thing is that watchmen wait with certainty. They don’t stand around saying “I wonder if we’ll have to wait forever.” Of course not! There is no question in their minds that the sun will come up and their waiting will be finished.

And that’s the hope the psalmist gives Israel, and us---the certainty that the Lord loves us and that however bleak our circumstance, we will not wait forever for redemption. Hallelujah!

by Sally Ivaska