Top 40 Reflections Weeks 1 - 10

Top 40 - Reflections on the texts

• Weeks 1-10, Creation to Crossing the Red Sea
• Weeks 11-20, Living in the Wilderness to the Prophets
• Weeks 21-30, The Prophets to the Raising of Lazarus
• Weeks 31-40, Jesus heals in Mark's Gospel to the book of Revelation

Weeks 1 - 10

Week 1 - Creation: Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 Read Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 Reflection by Ben Orton

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”. That must be the scripture verse I’ve read more than any other. The verse I’m guaranteed to see each time I endeavor and fail to read the whole bible. What a fitting verse to read often, though, because it serves as the foundation for our world view. The beginning of the answers to the most important questions we ask in our life like Who am I? Why am I here? The answers to which dictate what we will strive for in this life. It’s no wonder that this verse essentially leads the Creed we recite each Sunday.

The first chapter of Genesis reminds us that we are each a unique creation of the almighty God. God, who exists outside of space and time, who’s all powerful and irresistible who brought the universe into existence from nothing by mandate. A God who artfully and deliberately crafted a perfect system of diverse yet interconnected elements, each star, each species of animal and plant with a special design and purpose to the interconnected whole. That same God, artfully and deliberately crafted us, unique beings, in His image. Immortal spirits, relational beings, with the ability to reason, choose, and create. He commands us to put this creative capacity to work as joint administrators in his kingdom and then blesses us and equips us to do so. So each day we can look to creation and keep life in its proper eternal perspective with God, not us, at the center of the universe.

Give him thanks and praise for this good and perfect creation. Have confidence in God’s strength and in our value as individuals but remember that our purpose is to labor for the good of the interconnected whole, for His glory. Remember the importance of community and the fact that every other person is made in the image of God, deserving of dignity, and with a unique set of gifts they too are to use to help build the kingdom. We can ask ourselves how our own creative expression is helping build a better culture that honors God. We do it in many ways. We build and support families, businesses, better government, churches, charities, schools, the arts, for example. We do it in big tasks like leading projects, and we do it in small ones like planting gardens or washing dishes, but we should do it all for God’s glory as the best expression of the person God made us that we can. So let’s go forth confidently with God’s blessing. “Be fruitful, and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Amen.

Week 2 - The second creation account: Genesis 2:4-25 Read Genesis 2:4-25 Reflection by Cari Larsen

My Lutheran Study Bible titles this section “Another Account of the Creation”. The two creation stories in Genesis differ and those differences serve as a reminder to me that I need to enter into reading the Bible with an open mind and heart. While I often wonder about the differences between accounts of events in the Bible, I am led to seek an answer to these questions: What is God teaching me with the essence of this story? How does it impact my daily life? The essence of this story to me is the care and purpose God had in creating humankind and all of the inhabitants of the Earth.

God breathed life into us and created us to be in relationship with God and with one another. God gave us the responsibility to care for all of creation. God gave us a rule from the point of our creation. God invited us to eat from every tree of the garden except one. This rule God provided at the time of creation is a reminder of the need to have rules and laws as part of our communities and families and in our relationship with God. Rules are necessary for our well-being and to make us accountable to one another in our relationships. It isn’t difficult in Minnesota to be in awe of God’s creation. Our lakes and rivers, hills and valleys, plants and wildlife surround us every day. This story reminds us that the responsibility we were given at the time of creation was to work together to take care of the Earth. We should be thoughtful in the use of God’s resources and strive to understand how our use of God’s resources impacts our environment and our neighbors. I love the reminder that “the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being” and that God created us to be in relationship and partnership with one another. We have an opportunity to thank God with and for each breath that we take. We also have the privilege and responsibility to nurture our relationships with God and one another.

Week 3 - The fall into sin: Genesis 3:1-21 Read Genesis 3:1-21 Reflection by Tony Szczepaniak

In this passage, God has completed His creation, including the introduction of man and woman to the Garden of Eden. Through this reading, we learn that he has created man in his likeness. The likeness is not necessarily of physical, rather spiritual. We have within us the power to be like him as a creator, but not in what we can see and touch, rather in what we feel and sense. He has given us the ability to be creators of love, in His likeness. Deep within each of us he has planted a divine seed of His love. As a show of his deep love for us; however, he has also given us the freedom to choose. We can ignore that seed and worship other things, like Pastor Paul talked about in the tent meeting, or we can nurture it and allow it to blossom within us for others to experience. Through that experience, we can then become “like” Him and be the spark in others.

As my faith has grown over the 15+ years that I have been here at Immanuel, I have experienced the power of His love through the relationships of so many fellow members. This has given me the courage to take the risks outside of the safety of the Immanuel walls. Whether it is talking with a client about my faith and how I seek to conduct business with faith as the foundation or whether it is initiating a prayer after dinner giving thanks for a group of CEO’s with whom I network, the seed has been sprung from my blessings while here at Immanuel. Thank you God for your love and ability to choose to nourish my seed through and with others!

Week 4 - The call of Abraham: Genesis 12:1-9 Read Genesis 12:1-9 Reflection by Donna Kniffen

So, God called Abraham, we read. “Abraham”, God said, “I want you to leave your country, your home and all your family. You will likely never be able to return.” Now at that time, leaving one’s family was very different from our experience today. The concept of family meant everything in the time of Abraham. Families were closely knit and typically all lived in close proximity. They relied heavily on each other for sustenance and protection. But the Bible tells us “Abraham went.” We don’t hear Abraham offering excuses not to go, questioning God’s wisdom, or having qualms about God’s command. God didn’t need to repeat His call to Abraham two or three times. Without any conditions, God promised Abraham a land of his own where he would be the leader of a great nation. In addition he was told by God that he would be a blessing to many people and his name would be honored for generations.

As we know today, the name of Abraham is not only honored by us as Christians, but by Jews and Muslims alike. So….Abraham answered the call and went. If we look at this in the context of time, we see that God’s call to Abraham was a great turning point in religious history. At that time the people throughout Babylonia worshipped many gods, especially those of astrology—moon, stars, sun, as well as the god of fire. They also made many idols. In fact, Abraham’s father was an idol maker, so he was not raised in an environment conducive to belief in one god. Yet Abraham had complete trust in his God. History shows us that this is really the beginning of man's belief in one God, or monotheism. So how is this story significant to us today? Do we sometimes sense a little stirring within—little enough that we can sometimes ignore it? But what about when it comes a second time—or a third? Are there some repetitive patterns in our daily life that we can’t shake off? We say that we believe God is always with us and speaking to us. But sometimes we are not attentive enough—or quiet enough—to really listen. Or maybe we hear God’s call but fear keeps us from answering. God may not speak to us from a burning bush or a parting of sea waters to get our attention, but He is always calling us to a life of faith. It may not feel like this sometimes, and life may lead us into uncertain waters. At times we will fail and suffer the consequences of our sin. But we need not fear--God will continue to work His will in us and through us. Just as He called Abraham and delivered on all His promises, He will do the same for us. God will not lead us where He will not sustain us. God is indeed calling, calling you and me to a life of faith. How will we answer His call?

Week 5 - Sarah Laughed: Genesis 18:1-15 Read Genesis 18:1-15 Reflection by Randy Moroney

“And Sarah laughed”. After ninety years of being childless, God informs Sarah that she is to have a son within a year. What an incredible, miraculous story of one of God’s plans. It is also very fitting that this passage includes “Is there anything too wonderful for the Lord” (Genesis 18.14). Sarah’s laughter, however, was that of doubt and disbelief.

I think we can all relate to Sarah’s doubt is some way. In hearing this story many times over the years, I would struggle with it wondering why there so many people with lifelong hopes and dreams that seem to go unfulfilled. There are lots of people that hope and pray to have children that remain childless. There are those who hope and pray to overcome a degenerative illness, cancer, or chronic pain that they or a loved one endure year after year with no resolve. There are many who long for a loving relationship or the mending of a broken one that seem to go unfulfilled. What about those who seek employment or a more satisfying job without success? These types of experiences and challenges in life would seem to justify feelings of doubt in God’s capabilities and at times challenge my faith.

Are these hopes and dreams too wonderful for the Lord? Well, bad things happen. God is not to blame. He does not subject us to evil and want us to suffer. We are not puppets on strings where God controls our every move and everything that happens to us. God does provide us the ability reason, choose right from wrong, make decisions, live with the consequences and reflect with a conscience. With hope and prayer, the bad things in life can provide us opportunity to find light in the darkness, life after death, and realize love ultimately prevails over evil. The examples of hopes and dreams mentioned above are founded on our plans whereas Sarah’s were aligned with God’s plan. It was God’s plan for Sarah to have a baby at age 90. In Genesis 17.15, “God said to Abraham...I will bless her (Sarah) and more over I will give you a son by her”. God’s plan is again reinforced in Genesis 18.10; “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son”. What we do know of God’s plan for us is to live according to his will, share our gifts and talents to be “Jesus like”, create an extension of Heaven on earth through our actions, and live a life of providing love and grace to those around us. We need to distinguish the difference between our plans and God’s plans for us. We need not envy Sarah and wonder “why not me?” We should instead marvel in the greatness of God’s capabilities and miracles and trust in God’s plans for us even when we do not know all of what those plans are. Truly, there is nothing too wonderful for the Lord.

Week 6 - Abraham & Isaac: Genesis 22:1-19 Read Genesis 22:1-19 Reflection by Becky Carlson

I’ll be honest, when I looked at the assignments for the “Top 40 Bible Readings” after I agreed to take part and saw THIS story as my first reflection, my heart sunk to somewhere beneath my belly button. There’s no two ways about it. This is an uncomfortable story…a really uncomfortable story. It doesn’t have the joy and wonder of the Creation story. It’s not a familiar story from childhood like Noah’s Ark or Daniel in the Lion’s Den. It’s not even like the grim but promising account of Good Friday. It, at first glance at least, is just plain uncomfortable. That’s what made this a challenge for me- a good challenge– and I hope it was for you too.

I think it’s easy to “go all in” with the Bible with the stories I mentioned previously. They are easy to understand, have a clear message, and make you feel good. But this one? Totally different. The challenge for me was to open my heart and mind to a story I had heard before – but so badly wanted to avoid. So I took a deep breath, and read. The story tells of Abraham and his long awaited son Isaac. God was telling Abraham to do an UNTHINKABLE thing – to sacrifice his own child. As a recent new mama (for the second time around), I couldn’t help but read this with my own kiddos in mind. I imagined myself as Abraham. I imagined the feelings I have for my bubbly, goofy Linnea or my wide-eyed, sweet Britta. Feelings that Abraham no doubt had for Isaac. In the Biblical account, we don’t get to hear Abraham’s inner monologue, but I imagine it was probably the same as mine would have been – or yours – if WE’D be asked by God to do such a thing. Why, God?! I can’t. I won’t. A God who would ask this of me is NO God of mine. I’ll be honest – I might have shared some rather choice words with God, had I been Abraham… But with a little bit of reflection, there’s good news! This was just a test for Abraham. God didn’t ask him to go through with it – and I don’t think ever intended to. Although it’s hard to wrap my brain around why God would challenge Abraham in this way, reading this story reminds me that God may be asking me to do things that I don’t understand, that are scary, or that I don’t want to do.

While I trust that God won’t ask me to sacrifice my kids like when he tested Abraham, I DO think God will – and does – ask me to do hard things. Maybe it’s repairing a broken relationship, taking a new job, or reaching out to help a stranger. A lot of times when I hear God’s voice asking me to do these types of things, it’s easy to want to ignore God. The “I can’ts,” “I won’ts,” and sometimes even anger creep in and cause me to not listen to God’s call. This is a challenging, uncomfortable story. But it reminds me of a larger call. My takeaway from this story is to be like Abraham. I’m certain that Abraham didn’t understand why God was asking him to sacrifice Isaac. I’m sure that he was scared, uncertain, and probably angry. But Abraham trusted God, and knew that God wouldn’t lead him astray. I challenge you to have that same trust in God’s call for you. So I ask you to consider…what scary thing is God asking YOU to do today?

Week 7 - Joseph & forgiveness: Genesis 50:15-21 Read Genesis 50:15-21 Reflection by Steve Germundson

The story of Joseph is huge, over a quarter of the entire book of Genesis. Yet the brief passage for this weeks’ Top 40 is just seven verses out of these 14 chapters, and it may contain the most powerful part of the entire story. Here’s the short version. Jacob dies, and now that their father is out of the way, his sons are in fear of certain retribution for their heinous acts they leveled on their brother, Joseph. But on his deathbed Jacob has the last say in the matter as he instructs Joseph to forgive them. How did Joseph respond? First he wept. Then he told them to not be afraid as he will provide for them. Finally he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Sound familiar? A father shows favor on his chosen son; brothers do son harm and then are in fear of punishment for their wrong; the chosen son weeps, forgives and tells his brothers to not be afraid as he will provide.

It reads like much of the Jesus story, doesn’t it? There is the common theme of wrong doing and the wonderful theme of forgiveness. There is also the not-so-wonderful theme of fear, which has been a part of the human narrative for millennia. It certainly has been part of my reality all too often. Yet I do have confidence that it doesn’t have to be this way, that we can indeed change if for no other reason than God tells us we can change. What does this kind of change look like? It looks like focusing on sufficiency in present circumstances rather than lack (fear of not having enough), honoring our creation in the image and likeness of God rather than focusing on how we are less (fear of not being enough), envisioning the future with confidence rather than worry (fear of the unknown), and reconciling with rather than rejecting those who are different even when those differences seem completely intolerable (fear of things not understood). The list can go on. We can use our God-given free will to embrace a change in our hearts to not live in fear. As with the stories of Joseph and Jesus, we can make this our story, too.

Week 8 - Moses' Birth: Exodus 2:1-10 Read Exodus 2:1-10 Reflection by Clare Kooiman

What a wonderful account to teach small children about Godʼs care and concern! Of course, it is not only for them -- we who are at any age can reflect on this passage. It is rich with elements that make for an exciting story: great danger for the baby, motherʼs love, sisterʼs protection, a strangerʼs compassion, and a happy outcome! And, what do you know! Reading further in Exodus we see this little baby was the one God chose to lead His people out of slavery! But letʼs not get ahead of the story -- let us consider instead what we can share with the little ones.

Moses was born into a loving family, but could not remain with them because he would be taken away when the Egyptian authorities found out about him. Imagine the great desperation his mother must have felt! But she was one of the Israelites who had been promised by God that he would take care of them. She, therefore, relied on that promise and acted in a wonderfully resourceful way to save her baby boy. The sister (her name was Miriam, even though she was not named in this account) was given a huge part in carrying out the plan. Isnʼt it exciting that she waited until just the right moment to suggest a good way for Pharaohʼs daughter to enjoy this darling “find” from the river? The royal daughter “had compassion” for the baby (he was crying at the time) and decided to keep him. Why would she make such a decision? A whim? Or did God have a hand in this? So Moses lived and thrived in the royal household, kept under Godʼs care. His mother got to take care of him, and Miriam, we can be assured, helped, too. Hooray for family!

Week 9 - Moses and the Burning Bush Read Exodus 3: 1-15 Reflection by Scott Sabin

How is God calling you? What is He calling you to do? For some, these might be easy questions to answer. For others, not so much. It’s probably safe to say that whatever the answers they are not nearly as direct, dynamic and epic as God’s call to Moses.

Reading this story immediately makes my think of Charlton Heston, Cecille B. DeMille and watching The Ten Commandments every Easter Sunday Evening on ABC. God decided that it was high time to deliver His chosen people from the oppression of the Egyptians. God was again holding true to His covenant to not only free the Israelites but to restore them to the land promised their ancestors. Of course as we know, God rarely chooses to act alone. Whether out of curiosity, faith or something else Moses answered God’s call. Moses also demonstrated just how much he is like each and every one of us. “You want ME to do WHAT? At least tell me who I can say sent me?” God’s answer is so simple yet so powerful. “I will be with you.” And “I AM who I AM, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

God was with him, who better for this endeavor than Moses? God made a new covenant with all of us. Through the gift of His son we are all called to God. And even though Jesus died for us, was resurrected and ascended to Heaven, we were not left alone. The Advocate, The Holy Spirit from the Father is bestowed on each of us at baptism. God is with us, who better to answer His call than you and me? So I’ll ask again… How is God calling you? What is He calling you to do?

Week 10 - Crossing the Red Sea Read Exodus 14:1-31 Reflection by Joy Klemp

With Moses as their leader, God had led the Israelites out of Egypt with a cloud to guide them by day and a pillar of fire at night. As the Israelites journey they questioned Moses about why God had brought them out of Egypt and left them to die in the wilderness. The Israelites were afraid. Then the Israelites see the Red Sea in front of them as another challenge with the Egyptian army led by Pharoh pursuing them. Of course, the Israelites were scared about their own safety and well-being. Moses reassured the Israelites that the Lord will accomplish his purpose for leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses said, “Don’t be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you.” Exodus 14:13

With Moses following God’s direction, the Lord did part the Red sea with walls of water on both sides so that there was a dry path allowing the Israelites to walk through the Red Sea to the other side. The Lord also hardened the hearts of the Egyptians so as they were going into the Red Sea after the Israelites, the waters covered the Egyptians. This was to show the Egyptians that God is the Lord and in control. God’s action in this story was aimed at both Israelites and the Egyptians. God led and saved Israel with his mighty acts. The people feared and believed in the Lord. God is all powerful and He alone is to be trusted. And there is also an application for us today. God asks us to trust in Him. Are there times when you feel hemmed in by circumstances just as the Israelites were as they approached the Red Sea? I know I sometimes feel overwhelmed and fearful. Where do we go for help and direction? Do we spend time daily talking with God and asking Him for guidance and direction? Do we spend time daily reading God’s Word to learn? Do we take time daily to reflect on where God is leading us? The Lord is in charge and we must be obedient to Him. That might require us to go through difficult times. God will see us through if we trust and follow Him. God has promised His enduring faithfulness and powerful protection, as we trust in Him as our personal Savior.

Top 40 - Reflections on the texts

• Weeks 1-10, Creation to Crossing the Red Sea
• Weeks 11-20, Living in the Wilderness to the Prophets
• Weeks 21-30, The Prophets to the Raising of Lazarus
• Weeks 31-40, Jesus heals in Mark's Gospel to the book of Revelation