Tag: shape

  • People Past

    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…

  • Wise Wisdom

    Wise Wisdom

    Theoretically, each should should be evaluated by their past successes and failures, yet, it just doesn’t seem to actually work that way. We Christians are often complicit in this. While we are called—whether by James, the wisdom of Solomon, or the Psalmist—to be wise, we often succumb to the world’s temptation to follow the arrogant.

  • Fairly Cruci-Formed

    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…

  • Inside Fruit

    Inside Fruit

    Psalm 115; Exodus 28:29–38; Philippians 1:3–11 The Holy Spirit as gift can often lead us to wonder if the Israelites ever had the Holy Spirit or spiritual gifts of any sort. The answer is some did and some didn’t. The Urim and Thummim were used by the high priest to make decisions regarding the will…

  • Mighty

    Mighty

    Judges 2:6–15; 2 Corinthians 10:1–11 At this point, there are a lot of stirred up people. You might even be one of them. The question is, what really is stirring you? Is it a belief that the current president is a lunatic and must be destroyed (metaphorically or in reality)? Is it a belief that…

  • Power Granted

    Power Granted

    Isaiah 41:14–20; John 1:29–34 ♫ Nobody likes me; everybody hates; just because I eat wo-oorms ♫ I don’t know if you remember that song from your childhood. I recall it as some weird camp song. Really, who would eat worms? At the same time, I did learn that other cultures ate maggots, caterpillars, and even…

  • Peace-Filled Traditions

    Matthew 15:1–9; Luke 11:42–46 Yesterday (or the weeks prior to it), all Americans had the opportunity to participate in a great tradition…voting. Regardless of whether your candidates won or lost, there is something great in this tradition. People choosing their leaders is a great gift, and should not be squandered. As Halloween and All Saints‘…

  • You’re MINE

    You’re MINE

    Luke 9:49–56 Family feuds can be long and painful. Some people are relieved that they won’t be traveling for the annual family gathering during Thanksgiving. The Jews and the Samaritans were family. They were at one point, at least. Over the generations, things continued to get worse, until they became enemies. Peculiarly, the Samaritans still…