Tag: character
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Enduring Soil
I’ve read the Parable of the Sower many times. I’ve preached on it. Heard plenty of sermons on it. Verse 15 hit me today. What struck me this time, in particular, was “endurance”. When you go back and re-read the parable, endurance makes sense. It may indeed be the point of the entire parable. Developing…
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Movie About a Christian
Read: Luke 9:18–50 One of the reasons I love and appreciate the concept of the “church year” is that we are often confronted by the hard passages, especially those that often make no sense to our post-enlightenment (i.e., science- and data-driven) minds. This is, as you probably inferred, one of those days. Today is Transfiguration…
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God of Boxes
We struggle (and that’s fine) with the concept that God would discipline through pestilence, famine, war, etcetera. We will often use the language of “God allows”, or explain things as “an ‘old world’ understanding”.
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Servant Life
Psalm 123; Ezekiel 2:1–5; 2 Corinthians 12:2–10; Mark 6:1–13 In certain cultures, and in certain times, it was not dishonorable to be a servant. In fact, being a servant could well lead to a different path than what could else be accomplished. One of the most famous servants in US culture is a man named…
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Fairly Cruci-Formed
Psalm 30; Lamentations 3:22–33; Mark 5:21–43; 2 Corinthians 8:7–15 Grace. Unmerited favor. Overwhelming love. Not words that would usually be associated with Lamentations. With the content of Lamentations being a result of the fall of Israel (and in particular, Jerusalem), it is peculiar to think of grace. Lamentations is poetry, lament, and theology all wrapped…
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Aiming to Change
Psalm 30; Lamentations 2:1–12; 2 Corinthians 8:1–7 The implication of today’s reading in Lamentations is that this came suddenly, or that all the preparations were annihilated. The sad reality is that sometimes things that came “suddenly” were actually quite predictable. God sent multiple prophets. Before the Israelites even entered the Promised Land, Moses had warned…
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Natural Freedom
Psalm 29; Isaiah 1:1–4, 16–20; Romans 8:1–8 Psalm 29, without question, is a praise of God. It observes God’s power, strength, and presence. Almost the entire Psalm is about who God is. The last verse, though, is different. It is more of a plea to God about the people of Israel. A cynical person could…
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Hand Power
Psalm 115; Numbers 8:5–22; Titus 1:1–9 In Numbers, the outline for priestly behavior is pretty minimal. Do your job. They also have an end date, 50. Yes, there were other concerns (as the children of Eli showed in 1 Samuel). By and large, though, the duties of the priests were what set them apart, not…