Tag: change

  • Hallowed and Halos

    Hallowed and Halos

    ‌📖 Read ‌Matthew 10:32–39; Matthew 28:16–20; Hebrews 11:33–12:2 ‌🔎 Focus “Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.” ‌Matthew 10:32–33 NRSVue ‌ “I believe in…the communion of saints” The Apostle’s Creed ‌…

  • Hearts and Ashes

    Hearts and Ashes

    Is, happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, the way you live?

  • Narrowed Ways

    Narrowed Ways

    ‌What if, when Jesus speaks about the narrow gates and hard roads, he was transitioning from treating others as you’d have them treat you to looking out for false prophets? The narrow gate and the hard road become transformed.

  • Happiness and Joy…or Not

    Happiness and Joy…or Not

    Psalm 44; Isaiah 22:8b–14; James 4:4–10 ‌‌🔎 Focus ‌Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? James 4:4 NRSVue ‌…you did not look at the One who did it, nor did you see the One who planned it… Isaiah 22:11 NRSVue We don’t like pain or suffering. We often do…

  • Untrashed

    Untrashed

    Malachi 1:6-9 Perhaps you’ve heard an acquaintance, a friend, a family member say, “God won’t accept me until I clean myself up.” Or perhaps, “if I enter the church, lightning will come down and/or the church will catch on fire.” Behave, believe, belong has long been the order in the church. That’s likely where these…

  • Rubble and Ruin

    Rubble and Ruin

    Psalm 142; Amos 9:1–4; Acts 23:12–35 I don’t know about you, but I’m a little jaundiced about earthquakes. I grew up in Northern California. Earthquakes were…normal isn’t the word…to be expected. So much so, that the first earthquake my wife experiences was in the middle of the night. She woke me up in a panic,…

  • Tossing Diamonds

    Tossing Diamonds

    Psalm 119:81–88; Ezekiel 2:8–3:11; 2 Corinthians 11:16–33 Don’t be rebellious…eat my words…sweet as honey. God’s words to Ezekiel set Ezekiel apart from his people. As a prophet, Ezekiel would indeed be separated from the Israelites. By “eating” the words of God, Ezekiel set himself apart. This obviously wasn’t going to be an easy separation either.…

  • The God of Where

    The God of Where

    Psalm 123; Jeremiah 7:1–15; 1 Corinthians 4:8–13 The change between Jeremiah and Corinthians cannot be overstated. The clash between law and grace is right there before us. The CEB (the primary translation currently being used to write and to read for this devotional) and NRSV translated Jeremiah 7:7 as, “…only then will I dwell with…