This week we’re looking at the theme of slavery in Egypt.  You can read the story in Exodus 1 (the full chapter, but it’s only 22 verses long).  You can read it here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%201&version=NIV
 
A few questions to get our thinking started:
What is a slave?  It is defined as a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.  When I read this, I consider that slaves have fewer choices than those who are free.  They are at the mercy of their ‘owners’.
What is a slave master?  Defined as one who owns a slave and who controls the action of a slave owned by others.
 
According to www.antislavery.org, slavery is still going on in our world and is a multi-billion dollar industry.  40 million people are estimated to be trapped in modern slavery.  71% of slaves today are female and 1 in 4 are children.   The most common forms of slavery are:

• Human trafficking – prostitution, labour, criminality, marriage and organ removal
• Forced labour
• Debt bondage/bonded labour – borrowing money and having to work to pay it off, losing control over both their employment conditions and the debt
• Descent-based slavery – most traditional form where people’s slave status was passed down the maternal line
• Slavery of children – human trafficking, child soldiers, child marriage, domestic slavery
• Forced and early marriage – married against their will and cannot leave

 
But why does slavery still exist today?  In relation to those who are enslaved, there are people who are more vulnerable than others, usually due to poverty, discrimination, and laws that do not protect them.  For those who are slave masters, criminal gangs can be involved but also farm owners who take advantage of migrants. “I think it’s just about certain people finding that vulnerability in people to exploit them.  That’s why it’s so difficult to spot, because a lot of people in modern slavery look like they’re in normal jobs, but there is something more troubling behind the surface (www.dw.com)”
 
When’s the last time you thought about slavery – be it historical or modern?  Is there a historical story relating to slavery in your family history?  What do you think it would be like to be a slave in Egypt at the time our story in the bible was happening?  Where might we find God within slavery?
 
Here is a short video on modern slavery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7xpruxocv0
 
And a song titled, “Oh Freedom!” as performed by The Golden Gospel Singers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veiJLhXdwn8
 
A prayer for today:
Holy God and loving parent, we ask you to be with us as we think of slavery this week.  Help us to have open minds and hearts to understanding what’s going on around us even though we may not see it or believe it.  Help us not to be slaves to anything of this world, but to keep our focus on you.  May Jesus walk with us, may Spirit guide us and may you comfort us this day and all our days.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The story of Joseph can be heartbreaking, inspiring, and encouraging.  The part of his story I want us to think about today is when he used his talents for good.  For example, in Genesis 40 we read that Joseph is imprisoned and interprets dreams of those who work for Pharaoh.  Here again, Joseph is found in a place where he should not be because of things beyond his control.  But God is always with him.  Joseph chooses not to hide his talents of dream interpretation and shares information with the Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and chief baker.  He did not have to do this and after doing so, even asked the one who had a more favourable interpretation, to be kind to him and asked him to tell Pharaoh of his wrongful conviction.  The cup-bearer didn’t follow through.
 
Today I’m wondering of times we have been in situations or places we didn’t really want to be or places we were put in because of something beyond our control.  Some examples:  maybe you’re stuck in traffic, maybe not being there by choice, but directed by a detour or an errand that had to be done; in a grocery store during a busy time because your timing doesn’t work out to go at a less busy time; or in the principal’s office; or in a time-out corner.  Now, thinking about whatever situation or place you were in – keeping that a solid visual in your mind.  The second part is thinking about what talents we have been given by God.  Some of the easiest ones that come to mind are compassion, kindness, prayer, finances, music, humour, being good with children, our field of work, etc.  Has there been a time where you were in a situation or place and you were able to use your talents to do some good even when things are going bad?
 
I think of going to the grocery store and there is a huge line up.  I’m five people behind the person being served in the check-out.  The employee looks like they’re wearing a name tag with the extra “Trainee” sticker underneath.  Near the end of the transaction, the customer discovers they didn’t have enough money in their bank account to cover the cost of their purchases.  The trainee now has to help the customer take some items off their bill in hopes to get through the transaction with dignity.  The person two people behind the customer being served is huffing and puffing.  Muttering under their breath words like, “this is ridiculous” and “maybe you should get a real job” and “who trains these people”. In essence, degrading both customer and trainee. 
 
What would you do?  What could you do?  What would you hope all of us would do?  Maybe some would offer to pay for the customer’s overages but would the customer accept this kindness?  Maybe some would confront the ‘huffer and puffer’ and try to get them to settle down.  Maybe some would leave the line and take a little longer to look around the store to make sure they didn’t forget anything. Maybe some would try to keep the child behind them entertained as they become fussy.  Maybe some would crack some jokes and share some humour and try to spread a little joy and change the mood of the situation.
 
The one thing we all can do while we are out in the world, whether we are in a situation beyond our control or not, is to pray.  There are so many around us who have things going on in their lives that we may learn about.  What if the world walked around in prayer instead of reacting to situations in our human ways?  Blessing and praying for each person we pass, each person we interact with, each car that honks, or more.  I think then that our souls would share positive energy that could counteract the negativity that seems to be building.
 
So think about the God-given talent(s) you have and how you can use it/them in different ways and in different scenarios.
 
Here’s a video for us today: Ed Sheeran’s “What Do I Know”.  It has a good little message
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l11mUSu7aeA
 
A prayer for us today:
Loving God, thank you for knowing what the world needs and for seeing who we are in this time and place.  Help us to continue to find and to use our talents as you call us to.  Help us to look for moments to change a negative into a positive and how we could do something within it.  Be in our hearts and our minds in each moment of our day.  Thank you for this day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

This week we are looking at the story of Joseph.  We might remember the fancy coat his father gave him and then remember more of the story - his betrayal by his brothers, his enslavement, his dreams, and the reunion with his family.

You can read up on Joseph in Genesis 37-50 (yes, 13 chapters!).

And if you'd like to see a 2020 actor's version of the movie, you can watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJfJSdKkHSY

A prayer for us today:
Help us, O God, to find you and see you using our trials in good ways.  Help us to move beyond the trials so we can live the best lives we can possibly live for you.  Bless us this day and all our days. Amen.

This week we’re looking at the story of Sarah and Abraham.  Read the full story here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+12%3B+15%3A1-6%3B+Genesis+21&version=GNT
 
There are many parts of this story we could focus on, but today I want to think about the part where they went to cross the border to Egypt and Abraham told Sarah to not tell folks that she was his wife. Sarah was to tell them that them that she was his sister so that they both may live.
 
It’s quite possible that this was a reality.  That if their relationship was revealed, Abraham may have been killed and Sarah may have lived.  Here are the things I wonder about:

• I wonder if this deception was directed by God.  The story does not say anything about it.  And off the top of my head, I’m not remembering any story where God tells someone to deceive another. 
• I wonder what would have happened if they were truthful.  Would the possible outcome have happened or would God have stepped in?
• I wonder what the relationship between the king and Abraham might have been if he was truthful. Would it have lasted longer instead of being forced out of the country?

 
But then in Chapter 15, we read of the covenant God made with Abraham – God would shield him from danger and give a great reward.
 
How much trust do you put in God in your daily activities?  I know that for some, it is easier to tell a small lie to someone instead of telling them the truth for various reasons… but what if we trusted that God would shield us, too, from danger… what if we trusted that God would also shield the other from danger.  What if we trusted ourselves and each other enough to tell each other (and ourselves) some hard truths?  An example: what if someone asked us how we were and instead of saying ‘fine’ we answered truthfully.  What if we truly told them what was going on in our lives?  And if it’s someone you wouldn’t open up to like that, why?  What is it about them that has you holding back?  What is it about what’s going on in your life that’s holding you back from sharing?  Trust is a very big thing and it’s a real thing to recognize.  For humans, we understand that trust is earned.  Maybe since our early years we have been groomed to be careful of who we trust, and for good reason.  But what if we could trust everyone from the time we met them?  Would it impact how we are in the world?
 
I found a video that was done by the Mississippi Mass Choir called “Trust in the Lord”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nJQD4L3aLA
In summary the lyrics are:
If you trust in the Lord, He’ll make a way
If you kneel down and pray, He’ll make a way
If you call on Jesus, He’ll make a way
If you look to the hills, He’ll make a way
He’ll make a way for you
 
A prayer for us today:
Loving God, help us to trust.  Help us to trust You, ourselves and each other.  This is a very hard thing to do because we have been disappointed by people and their actions and maybe even ourselves.  Where we have put up walls, help to break them down and make a way for us. Guide us. Direct us. Hold us. Love us.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Reflection for February 8, 2021
 
This week we’re looking at the story of Sarah and Abraham.  Read the full story here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+12%3B+15%3A1-6%3B+Genesis+21&version=GNT
 
I enjoy the story of Sarah and Abraham because of the blessing God bestowed upon them.  No matter what, God had their back.  God also made them three promises:  to have land of their own, to have as many people in their family as stars in the sky and sand on the ground, and that they would be a blessing to others by living in God’s way.
 
Today I wonder about promises.  A promise is an expectation that will be lived out.  I wonder what promises God made for us upon our birth or baptism.  I wonder what promises you have made to God.  I wonder if you ever made a promise to yourself.
 
Today, think about a promise you could make to yourself.  Today, I promise to... care for someone else, to care for myself, to talk to God continually…
 
The words to the song “God’s Promise” or “God Hath Not Promised” really hit home, especially in our world today.  Here’s a link Calvary Mennonite choir singing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzBqexX1GLE
 
God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
 
      But God hath promised strength for the day,
      Rest for the labor, light for the way,
      Grace for the trials, help from above,
      Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
 
God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
Many a burden, many a care.
 
God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain, rocky and steep,
Never a river, turbid and deep.
 
A prayer for us today:
God, we come to you on this Monday, with hope in our hearts and an eagerness to return to life as we used to know it.  Thank you for keeping your promise to those before us and to those of us who live this day.  Keep our family, friends and neighbours safe.  Help us to make and keep promises in our lives as you do each day.  Surround us with your love and grace, your strength and encouragement, and for those of us experiencing chilly weather, keep us warm.  Be with us this day and all our days.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

This week we’re looking at the story of Noah’s Ark.  To read the story in its’ entirety, you can visit: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%206-9&version=MSG
 
I love the end of the story, really.  It’s about God making a promise to all of humanity.  No matter how evil we could possibly get, there will be no more mass destruction of humans at God’s hands.  And yet, people have done just that “in God’s name.”  It disheartens me to think that the God that loves me so much, that offers me grace and redemption for all my failings and faults, has followers who continue to act in “an Old Testament kind of way.”  Oh how I wish we could have had our forefathers follow the lines of the end of the story… ““I’ll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I’ll never again kill off everything living as I’ve just done.”  I wonder how many things around the world would have been done differently?  I know that context – time and place and situations of things – is key in our history, but what if we didn’t focus on war and world domination and instead focused on living together as we are, sharing ourselves as who we are, and sharing power in the world.  Oh, I know I am a dreamer, but I do wonder what the world would be like without war and weapons, without corrupt power (though as we learned in this story, evil is always hiding within us), and with a sense that we are all loved and cared for.
 
Is there anything in your life you would do or would have done differently if you approached it not from a place of fear or from a place of thinking that you’d do/know how to do better?  Hmmmm
 
Here’s a song we love to do in church from time to time.  “A place in the choir”
Enjoy!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMulhmW4Y7Q
 
A prayer for us today:
Creating God, thank you for all that we have in the world.  Thank you for the challenge of living with people who are different from us, and continue to help us understand and respect each other.  Be in our hearts and minds in whatever we do and in wherever we go.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

This week we’re looking at the story of Noah’s Ark.  To read the story in its’ entirety, you can visit: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%206-9&version=MSG
 
You could summarize the story in this way:
God created the world and everything in it and said it was good.
But then God saw that humans were turning to evil ways and it was no longer good.
So God found a good and righteous man and said, “build a boat” and the man did.
God then ensured that all animal life would survive by having Noah gather them onto the boat.
God ensured humans would survive by having Noah and all his family join him on the boat.
 
And then it rained and rained and rained and rained and rained and rained.
 
Once the rain stopped, Noah sent a raven out as a way of discovering if the flood was over. And in due time, the raven did not return which meant it was safe.
 
Today, let’s think about creation.  God created the world in 6 days, resting on the seventh, and said that it was good.  But then it wasn’t good.  And, if we look at the story in a literal way, God wants to wipe the slate clean by removing all the not-so-good that now thrived in the world, in hopes of starting fresh with only the good.
 
But if you read on, Genesis 8:20-21 where Noah builds an altar to God and God says, “I’ll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I’ll never again kill of everything living as I’ve just done.”
 
I’m wondering what your thoughts are on this. 
 
In some ways, I’m reminded that we are created in God’s image, and here we have God realizing that what was done maybe wasn’t the best plan at all.  That, regardless of wiping the slate clean, there is still the evil that lurks inside that can’t be erased.  And God thinks on it, recognizes the significance and makes a promise to turn from that drastic reaction again.
 
There is a lesson of grace and forgiveness in this in a way.  If God can do something, reflect on the impact, realize that people have this thing inside of them, and then make a promise moving forward… then maybe we can too.
 
There may be things or people in our lives where we have burned bridges, destroying the chance to rekindle a relationship/friendship or even something else.  Have you ever taken the time to sit back and think on it deeply?  Have you looked at the parameters and recognized what can or cannot change within all parties/things involved?  Have you thought about making a promise to yourself or to others about how to move forward?
 
These questions may be hard to think about in this very moment, and if that’s the case, keep them in the back of your mind and see if anything arises for you. 
 
What I love most from this story is that God truly understand us – that we will be good and we may be bad – but God will never turn away from humanity again.  That God will do all he can to bring us back into the fold.
 
Here’s a song called “Forgiven” by one of  my favourite Christian groups, Crowder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_ZWEO36jok&feature=emb_logo
 
A prayer for us today:
God, we give you thanks for forgiving our transgressions, our faults, our flaws, and all the things we find wrong with ourselves.  Thank you for accepting them as part of us and for never giving up on us.  Help us to continue to be open in growing as humans, as people of this world, and as one of your beloved children.  For those things that we hold onto that weigh us down, help us to forgive ourselves so that we can put that heavy weight down and move forward with you in making this world a better place.  Thank you for your grace and your love.  Keep us safe today O God. Amen.