Saturday, February 8, 2020 | Reflections
Jesus is truly the model and blueprint for the Christian life.Our gospel reading shows how people misunderstood Jesus and constantly argued with him. Repeatedly they accuse him of blasphemy and being possessed by the devil. Take a minute to ref….(View this...
Friday, February 7, 2020 | Reflections
Stories about Abraham remind us that the Bible is, at its heart, a love story. Abraham’s relationship with God is all about friendship, faith, and unconditional love.Abraham knows what he wants—a family, a place to belong—and finds these things in his relationship...
Thursday, February 6, 2020 | Reflections
From The Archives: February 27, 1995Who ever imagined a creation so limited that human beings were the best God could do? Creatures winged with the wind, “molded in beauty…subtle as flame” are hardly surprising if God is able to shape ….(View this reading...
Wednesday, February 5, 2020 | Reflections
Abraham hears a call to sacrifice his son, and he believes this call is from God. Abraham has an unshakable faith and knows God will always provide for him and his family. Abraham listens deeply, pausing each step of the way to Moriah to ask: Really, God? Are you sure...
Tuesday, February 4, 2020 | Reflections
A little fish spent its life asking other fish where to find the ocean. An ancient sea creature told the little fish that it was, in fact, swimming in the ocean. The little fish couldn’t accept that this was the ocean and continued to believe that all it was doing was...
Monday, February 3, 2020 | Reflections
What is the work of God today? Prayer is the training ground for our life of faith, and it calls us to be emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually involved in God’s work in the world. Prayers are not simply to be said or thought—they are to be lived out with the...
Sunday, February 2, 2020 | Reflections
Over and over, God in scripture says, See, I am sending my messenger. Over and over, we say, Here comes the messenger, let us kill the messenger. The messages are hard to hear. The consequences are hard to swallow.Malachi calls the children of Israel to ….(View...
Saturday, February 1, 2020 | Reflections
Abraham, Sarah, and Jesus call us to pay attention to the whens and wheres of our lives. When will we love God with our heart, mind, and soul? When will we believe the promises of God? Where are the places we need to bring the love of God? Where are we seeking and...
Friday, January 31, 2020 | Reflections
In our desire to come out on top, we often try to drag God onto one side or another of our worldly squabbles. Things are not that different in Jesus’ day. Jesus flees the attempt by the crowd to make him into a worldly king just as he resisted this same line of...
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Reflections
From The Archives: September 27, 1938 When there is a great thing to do, it is the great thing that counts. But though great things make up the rare crises in life, it is the long chain of little things that lead up and prepare the way for t….(View this reading...
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 | Reflections
If you want to experience the truth of this verse, visit a nursing home. I spend time in one weekly, bringing communion and prayers to the residents.Wealth and poverty. Beauty and plainness. Prestige and humility. It’s all stripped away in the final stage...
Tuesday, January 28, 2020 | Reflections
Jesus heals a man on the sabbath by the mystical pool of Beth-zatha. Beth-zatha means “house of mercy.” That name has to feel sadly ironic to the man ill for thirty-eight years, with no one willing to help him into the water.This episode unveils the great conflict...
Monday, January 27, 2020 | Reflections
Olive trees are central to life in biblical times. Agriculture, the economy, and social life revolve around this sturdy tree and its fruit. Kings and prophets are anointed with its oil.The prophet Jeremiah likens Israel, when it was obedient to God, to a...
Sunday, January 26, 2020 | Reflections
Depending on which list you read, Christianity includes more than 33,000 denominations. However you slice it, Christianity is a pretty divided body.If we focus on our differences, we easily lose sight of our shared life of faith. Even within the same denomination, we...
Saturday, January 25, 2020 | Reflections
A goad is a pointed stick used to prod cattle in a specific direction. The more the animal resists the goad, the harder the cowpuncher prods it. To kick against the goad can cause serious pain or injury for the prodded beast.Saul’s life before his conversion on the...
