Tag: eternal
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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.
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People Past
Read: Psalm 25; Isaiah 25:6-9; Philippians 3:20-21; John 6:37-40 🔎 Focus “This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.” John 6:40 (NRSVue) Those who have died, that have been a direct…
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Veiling Mystery
Psalm 111; Isaiah 25:6–10a; Mark 6:35–44 The veil has long existed as a physical reminder of mystery. The truly veiled bride becomes a mystery (again) as she walks down the aisle toward an anxious and waiting groom. Modern weddings have pretty much eschewed the bridal veil. The bride may have a nominal veil, but it…
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Choosing the Fruit
Psalm 92:1–4, 12–15; Genesis 3:14–24; Hebrews 2:5–9 There is something odd about the story in the Garden of Eden, and it isn’t the Fall (though that is central to our faith). The story in the Garden of Eden revolves around loving obedience/respect of God (that was a failure) and two trees. The apple (usually red)…
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Unity of Three
Isaiah 6:1–8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12–17; John 3:1–17 In the current age, the concept of the Trinity has been attempted to be explained by books such as “The Shack” (which acknowledges itself as an allegory and not as doctrine, a key response to those who decry it), or an egg (shell, white, yolk), water (which,…
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Roads of Dust
Psalm 135; Isaiah 26:1–15; Mark 12:18–27 As one of the wealthy nations in the world, passages like this in Isaiah should cause us to reflect. Will all our stuff be crushed to dust and be walked upon by the poor? If you’re reading this, you may well say, “I am poor.” Truly a lot of…
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Living Speech
Psalm 133; Daniel 2:24–49; John 12:44–50 One of the gifts of being human is speech. One of the curses of being human is speech. Perhaps the whole reason for the King of Babylon’s test of all the magi and wise men was that they all talked too much. Perhaps (as many paid consultants today) they…
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Stingless
Psalm 118:1–2, 14–24; Genesis 1:20–2:4a; 1 Corinthians 15:50–58 God created humanity in God’s own image. When we read Paul, it may be easy to conclude that this is only a spiritual image. In many respects, it is indeed a spiritual image. On the other hand, as God made us even our physical being is an…
