Hello, my friend Dr. Brad Miller here with the Daily Bible Refresh.

This is your daily reading of the Bible from a progressive point of view.

In a bit I will read the New Testament lessons selected from the Revised Common Lectionary for this very day.

The reading is understandable.

I use the message version relatable.

Please listen to the points to ponder and applicable and with action steps you can take.

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Here's today's reading and we are reading today from Acts 7:30, 34 from the Message.

Forty years later, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to him in the guise of flames of a burning bush.

Moses, not believing his eyes, went up to take a closer look.

He heard God's voice.

I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Frightened nearly out of his skin, Moses shut his eyes and turned away.

And God said, kneel and pray.

You are in a holy place, on holy ground.

I've seen the agony of my people in Egypt and I've heard their groans.

I've come to help them.

So get yourself ready.

I'm sending you back to Egypt.

Well, my friends, that concludes the reading.

Let's get into this a little bit today and sit for a moment with with Acts 7:30 through 34 where it's a revisiting of Moses and the burning bush story.

Moses sees the flames.

Here's God saying, I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

And this is the part that gets me.

God tells him, you're on holy ground and I've seen the agony of my people.

I've seen heard the groans.

I've come to help them and get ready.

I'm sending you back.

Wow.

So this is heavy duty stuff for Moses and I think it's kind of heavy for all of us too.

So let's revisit this here.

Let's talk about it from a progressive point of view that cares about justice, compassion and honest faith.

Let's take a look at some points to ponder some teaching points.

The first one is this holy ground isn't a place, it's a presence.

The bush is in the wilderness.

There's no temple, there's no choir, it's not a church.

No perfect mood lighting, anything like that.

No music in the background, just sand, scrub and one nervous guy who's ready to run away.

And the holy, the holy God.

And God in himself shows up in ordinary places and imperfect moments.

For me, holy ground looks like the laughter of my granddaughters.

Or maybe like a hike in the woods with my wife for 34 years as we talk about life and our kids who are growing up and our grandkids.

And those moments are holy ground to me.

They're not churchy, as it were, but they hum with God's presence.

Progressive faith says we don't have to escape the world to find God.

We meet God in the end of the world, and especially in the cracks where tenderness and truth peek through a second point to ponder.

God hears your groans and sends us anyway.

I've seen the agony.

I've heard the groans, he says.

I've come to help.

To me, this is all about liberation.

And God's compassion isn't theoretical here.

It's action oriented.

And then comes the hard part.

So get yourself ready.

I'm sending you.

So to me, that's not only God talking to Moses, that's God talking to me and to you.

Because liberation is God's work.

And God's work means we are participants.

As you've listened to my podcast here on Daily Bible Refresh.

Or maybe if you listen to my podcast called Cancer and Comedy.

You know, we talk a lot about hope and coping and humor, and cancer is a groaning thing.

It's literally and figuratively a hard thing to deal with.

And I learned from my community that it's not about denial.

It's about a decision to show up every day, hold hands, tell good stories, break the tension, stand up for equitable care and support.

Progressive faith doesn't spiritualize suffering.

It hears it, names it and moves toward it with love and courage.

One more point to ponder.

Calling grows us in the wilderness.

Not after you fix yourself.

It's during the process.

Moses is frightened nearly out of his skin is what it says.

And he's not auditioning for the hero part of a movie or something like that.

He's a person with a past.

He's got failures, he's got self doubt.

And yet the call lands him right there in front of God, hearing God's voice.

So if you're waiting to be perfect before you step into what love requires, you'll miss the burning bush that's right there beside you.

And a progressive view of this.

A progressive lens gives us permission to be human, to bring out your questions, to bring out what comes out of your therapy sessions, our messy family life, our calendars which are full, all the things we have, the good things and the bad things, and say yes to the next faithful step.

Courage isn't the absence of fear.

It's the presence of love, stronger than fear.

So what do we do about this?

Let's talk about some action steps.

Name one place in your life that you're going to treat as holy ground and maybe a person for whose groans you'll respond to.

The holy ground could be an ordinary space.

It could be a place in your home, your kitchen.

It could be a walk in your neighborhood or a park.

Or it could be a seat that you watch a ball game in and just pause for a few minutes, maybe three minutes, and whisper, I'm listening.

Then the groans identify a concrete need near you.

A friend in treatment, somebody who needs a ride, some food, a neighbor under financial stress, a local advocacy group that needs your support.

Or do something.

One small act.

A call, a meal, a donation, a volunteer moment, writing your representative about some injustice and make it small enough that you'll actually do it and loving enough that it matters.

In a moment.

We're going to pray together to conclude our time.

But I really want you to know that we have a great resource for you called the ABC 123 Bible study method.

And I hope that you go over to our website, voiceofgoddaily.com pick it up.

It's free to you.

Let's pray.

Oh God of burning bushes and quiet kitchens.

Thank us.

Thank you for meeting us in ordinary places, on the trails and hospital rooms, living rooms, with our families.

We need your presence today.

We need to hear the groans that we sometimes hide from or pretend to ignore.

Help us to hear them again.

The pain, the fear, the weariness, the endless appointments, the longing for good news.

Hold us gently and send us out bravely.

Give us eyes to see, holy ground under our feet and courage to move towards suffering with compassion.

Make our small actions part of our big liberation.

Bless caregivers, patients and all who stand in the gap.

Teach us to laugh again and to breathe again when we feel frightened and nearly out of our skin.

Speak our names and remind us we're not alone and we're loved.

We're sent.

Amen.

My friend, I am delighted you chose to join me for today's recipe reading.

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My name is Dr. Brad Miller and I'll be right here tomorrow with your daily Bible refresh.

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Remember, God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new every morning.