Tag: comfort

  • Not Quite Yet

    Not Quite Yet

    Psalm 100; Jeremiah 50:1–7; Hebrews 13:17–25 Babylon was the enemy of Jerusalem and Jews at the time of Jeremiah. It makes sense, as Babylon had destroyed much of Jerusalem, and taken a majority of the population into exile. It was the big nation with the biggest might. For the Jews, there was no bigger enemy.…

  • Give It Up

    Give It Up

    Psalm 123; Jeremiah 7:27–34; Matthew 8:18–22 There was this guy who loved science. He loved nature. He pursued the academics to take care of the wilds. Except he was stubborn. You see, what he loved wasn’t the science, but Creation. In fact, he wasn’t good at it at all. He stuck with that choice for…

  • Our Warring Hearts

    Our Warring Hearts

    Psalm 30; Lamentations 2:18–22; Luke 4:31–37 In the science fiction series, Babylon 5, we learn about the “great” war. The great war was between two sides fighting for the benefit (or the evolution) of the “lesser” species. Each side has a different method to initiate change and improvement. One side (“the light”) seeks to change…

  • Lamentable Change

    Psalm 30; Lamentations 1:16–22; 2 Corinthians 7:2–16 The might of God both obvious and not-so should provide comfort for all who follow God. We should also be aware of it such that we do not wander far away. We read the triumphant story of Joshua yesterday, and today we read lament. This lament is that…

  • Take the Message Forward

    Take the Message Forward

    Psalm 150; Jeremiah 30:1–11a; 1 John 3:10–16 We have a lot in front of us. The end of the COVID-era seems to be approaching. Although there seems to be a step back for every step forward, at least we are moving forward. This doesn’t mean we’ll be going back to normal. In fact, the normal…

  • Repair and Refine

    Repair and Refine

    Psalm 84; 2 Chronicles 29:1–11, 16–19; Hebrews 9:23–28 A few days ago, we read about Jesus cleansing the Temple. As noted, then, prophets doing “over-the-top” things weren’t totally unexpected. Generally, it was uncomfortable, but God’s true prophets weren’t known to bring comfort without discomfort. Sometimes amid human depravity, a person bursts out of the decay…

  • Promises of Grace

    Psalm 111; Romans 9:6–18 Promises hold a significant place within the stories in the Scriptures. Much of this has to do with having to trust the fulfillment of a promise that people would not see. Abraham is one such example. He was given a short (one year) promise as a “down payment” for the long…

  • Surpassing Peace

    Surpassing Peace

    “So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and ponder them in…