SCRIPTURE: Amos 1:1-5:17 “When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?” (Amos 3:6) When a judge sends a murderer to prison, is the judge to blame? Yes, the judge directs (causes) the punishment, but they are not to blame. The consequences of murder are the blame of the murderer, not the judge. Amos is…
No more excuses
SCRIPTURE: John 12:1-11 “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” (John 12:8) Some people use these words as an excuse not to address the problem of poverty. But the real issue is that they are looking for excuses not to love. It was the same for Jesus; it’s not…
Avoiding the press?
SCRIPTURE: John 11:54-57 “Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea.” (John 11:54) Jesus is not simply avoiding trouble, He is avoiding premature trouble. He is a dangerous person in a dangerous time, He could touch off a ‘revolution’. He is not this kind of messiah, but this is the kind of messiah the…
Little did he know…
SCRIPTURE: John 11:45-53 “Better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” (John 11:50) As an occupied nation, Israel was at risk whenever someone claimed to be king. People were talking about Jesus, about the miracles He performed. The religious leaders are worried, rumours of a rebellion would lead Rome…
Believing is seeing
SCRIPTURE: John 11:38-44 “If you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40) I believe God CAN raise a dead person to life. But I normally do not believe that God WILL raise a dead person. For some reason, God doesn’t go about raising dead people on a regular basis. God does do it for…
Listening to my counsellor
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 119:1-24 “Your statutes are my delight; they are my counsellors.” (Psalm 119:24) A counsellor is someone who helps us on our journey through life towards wholeness. The sacred writings (‘graphe’, scriptures) of the bible (‘biblos’, books) do this too. The bible is not a science textbook, nor is it an ‘answer book’ for all our…
Am I my brother’s keeper?
*** Today’s readings (Joel & Obadiah) is divided between yesterday and today. See yesterday for reflection on Joel) *** SCRIPTURE: Obadiah 1:1-21 “You should not gloat over your brother in the day of his misfortune.” (Obadiah 1:12) Israel (descended from Jacob) and Edom (descended from Esau, Jacob’s brother) fought for years. Here Obadiah describes how Edomites took…
Sincere repentance
*** Today’s readings (Joel & Obadiah) will be divided between today and tomorrow. Come back tomorrow to read through and reflect on Obadiah) *** SCRIPTURE: Joel 1:1-3:21 A severe locust invasion devastates the land, the crops are destroyed. Joel uses this tragedy to urge God’s missionary people to repent. If they do, God will renew and…
With love and tears
SCRIPTURE: John 11:28-37 “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) In Jesus, we see God; in Jesus’ tears, we see God’s tears. “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” (John 11:37) Could God or Jesus keep us from dying – technically, yes. For some reason God (as seen through Jesus) does…
The source of LIFE
SCRIPTURE: John 11:17-27 “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25) Through this ‘I am’ statement, Jesus equates Himself God and with God’s LIFE. John writes in his letter later on: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” (1 John 5:11) Though we are physically alive, we are not fully alive, physically…