Month: June 2020
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Following Further
Acts 18:24–19:5; 1 Corinthians 3:5–15; 1 Corinthians 3:18–23 (read online ⧉) Continuing from yesterday, Peter and Paul were, and remain, worthy examples to follow. In particular, it is their faithful following of Jesus Christ and their wrestling with the faith for themselves and others. Not too long into things, however, already following fell into camps.…
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Following Followers
Matthew 16:13–20; Acts 11:1–18; 2 Corinthians 11:16–30 Peter appears to have been the first one to put it all together. He declared that Jesus was the Messiah. We often look back at Peter, thinking, “Well, that was obvious!” There were actually a number of people wandering around saying they were the messiah. Jesus wasn’t the…
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A Little Prophesying
Deuteronomy 13:1–5; Deuteronomy 18:20–22; Jeremiah 28:1–9 Doomsday prophets are certainly a thing. There are a lot of them, and of varying kinds: epidemiologist (disease), environment, morality, political, sexuality, education, freedom, financial, and so on and on. Doom sells. Doomsayers may also be helpful to guide us toward some sort of preparation or change. At this…
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A Different Desert Journey
Numbers 14:28–35; Numbers 21:1–4; Numbers 21:21–26; Numbers 21:31–35 (read online ⧉) We often think of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years in kind of a nebulous way. There was indeed follow the cloud of smoke by day, and fire by night. They would settle where pillar did, and then move again when…
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Releasing Darkness
2 Kings 25:1–12; Ezekiel 33:21–33 (read online ⧉) The fall of God’s City. The first taking of people had happened 9 years prior to the verses in 2 Kings. Then almost 1-1/2 years of a siege. The so-called People of God were people in misery. The warriors fled. Let that sink in. This is not…
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Money Change
Luke 7:36–8:3; Luke 24:1–12 (read online ⧉) In Jesus’ day, women held a “lesser” societal role. It’s not that they held no role. In Roman culture, women’s roles were actually in somewhat of a cultural disarray as “free” marriage was opposed by Augustus Caesar who wanted a “traditional” male-dominant marriage. Marriage differed between “noble” and…
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Pour
Matthew 25:14–30; Luke 19:12–27 (read online ⧉) If you’re like most people in the US, you have a retirement account. If you’ve retired, the stock market swings may not affect you very much, except for secondary investments. If you are not retired or have other significant investments in the stock market, your stock funds—your financial…
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La, La, La, I Can’t Hear You
Jeremiah 26:1–15; Romans 5:1–10 (read online ⧉) The news is filled with doom. Doom, doom, doom. Many of our movies and entertainment are filled with doom. In the middle of doom, hope is a breath of fresh air. On the other hand, some times a message of doom in a time of despair isn’t doom…