Tag: compassion
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Seriously
Psalm 123; Jeremiah 7:16–26; 2 Corinthians 10:7–11 The Christian understanding of God is one of love, forgiveness, and grace. These are often the primary characteristics on which we focus. If we are honest, it’s because, with such a God, a lot of pressure is off of us. There are many, however, who claim these same…
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We Maybe Sheep
Psalm 23; Genesis 48:8–19; Mark 6:30–34 “They’re running around like chickens with their heads cut off!” For someone who wasn’t raised on a farm (me), it is probably a bad phrase to use, though I understand the concept. I’m sure it’s different were one to experience it. Oddly, that phrase comes to mind when Jesus…
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Force or Choice
Matthew 20:20–28; Matthew 22:15–22 The author Robert Heinlein once wrote, “When you vote, you are exercising political authority, you’re using force. And force, my friends, is violence. The supreme authority from which all other authorities are derived.” There has been a transformation in our society where this seems to be truer now than when Heinlein…
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Mercifully Faithful
Matthew 9:9–13; Luke 10:25–37; James 2:5–13 “For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” — Hosea 6:6 (CSB) It’s interesting that the same translation, the CSB, translates Hosea 6:6 with faithful love, while in Matthew 9:13 it’s mercy. What makes it even more interesting is that the same word…
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Solitudinal Gift
Mark 6:30–46 The story of feeding 5000 people (or more, as many question if this 5000 was only counting the men, or everyone) is very impressive. Feeding the hungry is a good thing and should be celebrated. This story, though, is bookended by something that we often skip over so we can get to “the…
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Bound Emotion
Ezekiel 24:15–27; Jeremiah 16:5–9 There is something unusual about marriage. For whatever reason, a man and a woman have a special kind of relationship that transcends logic. There is a deep spiritual aspect to it that is part of the Christian marriage ritual, “what God has joined let man not separate.” While this is the…
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Shear Time
The year of the Lord’s favor is probably not this year. The ever-changing nature of this year, and all the odd and bad things that are going on would in no way seem to be the harbinger of the Lord’s favor.
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NIMBY
…there are many among them that feel that the only way they will be listened to is through destruction. While many might decry that, the reality is that destruction is what sells.