Welcome to the 10th day of our reading and Sunday on the blog. If you don’t already have a place you regularly worship, I pray you will find one.

Deuteronomy 26:5–10 (NRSV)

“A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God.

Reflection

These verses are the sparknotes version of the Israelites from Jacob (ie. Israel) to Joshua. Part of corporate worship each Sunday is to remember from where we have come and where we are going. It is easy to get caught up in our present day story as the only story and neglect that we stand in a long line of people whose story is very much integral to our own. The seeds of faith planted long ago may very well be the seeds that produced today’s harvest. In turn, the seeds we plant today may not yield harvest for generations to come. Two quick thoughts: 1) Will we remain faithful without a harvest today? What if we never see the results of faithful planting in our lifetime? 2) Will we be grateful and acknowledge the work of those who have come before and made the way for today?

Prayer

The One who was, and is, and is to come, thank you for your story revealed in scripture. May I learn it and allow it to plant your seeds of faith deep within my heart. Thank you for all the faithful saints who paved the way for me.