Tag: trust
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A Father’s Legacy
Psalm 89, Matthew 1:6–25, Matthew 2:19–23, Luke 2:41–52 David: the man (somehow) after God’s own heart. Imagine passing that down as your legacy. Even more, how about others passing it down for you. We “love” famous people. We “love” famous stories. Fame is fabulous. When we pass on family stories, which (we hope) are full…
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People Dynamics
Exodus 6:1–13, Psalm 37:1–24, 1 Corinthians 3:18–4:5 “I want you to walk up to your estranged family (who just so happens to be the world power at the moment) and tell them to release their biggest labor force.” Hmm. We are so accustomed to Moses’ story that we often will miss pieces of the story.…
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Circle of Life and Death
Genesis 2:4–19, Isaiah 2:11–22, Proverbs 3:1–18 “…Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust…”—Book of Common Prayer, Burial Liturgy The Circle of Life was (and remains) a powerful song. Just the title itself reminds us that life is a circle. Adam (i.e., mankind) came from dust. That dirt swept off the floor or vacuumed out of the…
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Eighth Wednesday after Epiphany
Psalm 38, Leviticus 5:1–19, Luke 17:1–4 “Already forgotten.” “Don’t worry about it.” We sometimes hear these words when trying to apologize or make amends for something we have done wrong to another. Sometimes the person says these words as a veiled acceptance for the apology. Sometimes it was so inconsequential to them that they spent…
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Seventh Monday after Epiphany
Psalm 120, Mark 13:9-13, 2 Peter 1:20-2:9 Psalm 120 is a lament. The psalmist is among those who live a life of lies. These same people are warmongers, seeking strife and conflict. The psalmist is living in foreign lands that seek no peace, but the cry of the psalmist’s heart is for peace. The psalm…
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Trusting God’s Way
Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17:5-10, 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 Has someone ever said to you, “I don’t trust anyone?” First, imagine living life like that. Someone who lives such a paranoid life could never be happy. You cannot love if you cannot trust. Second, anyone who says that hasn’t walked down the road of thinking that through…
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Sixth Friday after Epiphany
Psalm 51, 1 John 1:8-2:6, Mark 13:31-14:2 Honesty is the best policy. Or is it? Some people will take advantage of our honesty. Some people will look down on the honest. Think about politicians. Most people don’t trust them. Many of their campaign promises are false, or impossible whether due to finances, political will, and…
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Sixth Monday after Epiphany
Psalm 37:1-12, Jeremiah 12:1–17, 2 Peter 1:2–10 We can look around, and wonder what’s wrong with the world. Those who are corrupt or greedy seem to be doing so much better than good people. When we look around, we can either be discouraged or we can look up. This really is nothing new. The psalmist…