Today we sit in prison beside the prophet Jeremiah as he wrestles with trying to understand what God is up to.  Jeremiah serves the Lord at a time when Jerusalem is being attacked by the Babylonians.  He is in prison because he told the King and leader of the day exactly what was going to happen, they would be handed over to their attackers; they did not like the message, so they put the messenger in jail. 

It’s not always easy being God’s messenger…yet that is Jeremiah’s calling.  He’s thrown in jail.  I like the little story about a messenger in a movie.  The production company was filming an English language movie, but in order to add authenticity, they wanted a few lines in the Swahili language ~~ a messenger is scripted to dash in, collapse, and gasp out a vital message to the plotline.  They found a man who knew Swahili… the director was so pleased with the scene, that is, until it was shown in an African town where Swahili was well-known. A moment of high drama nose-dived into comedy as the panting messenger gasped out: "I don't think I am being paid enough for this part!"

Live as if the future is now.  When you celebrate God’s watchful care, when you figure out his promises are always GOOD, as soon as you fully believe God is loving and able, then you can Live as if the future is now! 

Today’s scripture, Ps. 130, is a prison gem… the Psalmist may not literally be in prison, but the opening line could easily be spoken by a prisoner: “Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord.”  This Psalm speaks to many situations from those literally in prison to those who are feeling lost.  I found an old Frank and Ernest cartoon I clipped out years ago:
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Frank is in a hospital bed looking miserable and the nurse is explaining to Ernest: “Yes, he’s on the critical list – critical of the food, critical of the nurses, critical of the service….”   

(NOTE: the video is the full service.  Skip to somewhere in middle to view sermon only) 
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I have sold thousands of items on Ebay.  I often wonder why people buy this or that ~ every now and then I hear the story.  Years ago Sally and I needed extra money; I looked through our old unused CDs on Ebay to see if any were selling well.  I found an old out of print Christmas CD by Evie going for $40-$60!  Woo hoo.  Obviously it was being snatched up by baby boomers with too much money! A small gold mind! I asked Sally if she minded if I sold it because she had it before we were married.  I played the CD to test it, and to my disappointment, it had tons of scratches and skips…  I decided to list it anyway…

I started the listing at $1.  I said I did not listen to the whole thing, maybe there is a way to get the scratches out, I have no idea.  One woman wrote and asked me if I would be willing to try one particular song.  I played the CD and listened to the single song.  It was perfect...  The woman bid.  Another person bid against her.  The woman raised the price.  Over the course of the next 2-3 people kept bidding ~ to my amazement (and entertainment), the Evie CD closed for a price of $18.00.  Who, in their right mind, would buy an old scratched up CD for $18?  Then the woman wrote me the story.  “My father has alzheimers” she said.  “The way it has affected him is that he sits blankly all day with no connection to this world. A few months ago I had the radio on, when this song was played.  My father smiled.  I could not find the song anywhere, until I found your auction.  I would have paid a whole lot more to see my father smile again.”