SCRIPTURE: Psalm 78 When a child is being disciplined, what they usually sense is their parents displeasure and anger. Even though their parent’s heart may be throbbing with love, the child will not likely sense it. In this Psalm, Asaph reviews Israel’s history: God’s gracious help, Israel’s stubborn ingratitude, and God’s discipline. Asaph is aware of…
Something better than karma
SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 10-16 “The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.” (Proverbs 10:16) This verse makes it sound as if we earn our eternal reward. It sounds like ‘karma’, the Hindu/Buddhist teaching that your deeds determine your destination. My sense is that these religions are sensing the very…
Ears to hear?
SCRIPTURE: Luke 8:1-10 The good news is the message of the kingdom of God… God restoring His creation through Jesus, the promised messiah. Jesus embodies this new creation life, and some people are open to it, while others are not. These women, and the disciples, seem to get it: they have ‘ears to hear’, open and…
Crazy love?
SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:44-50 “Whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:47) I find these words of Jesus challenging. The strength of my love reveals the strength of my gratitude. This woman displays excessive, what some might call ‘outrageous’ or ‘crazy’ love. People judge her for it, but Jesus welcomes it. Reminds me of when David danced…
Jesus does know! Do I?
SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:36-43 “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:39) Two people, a pharisee and a woman, who is the greater sinner? Depends who you ask; this pharisee was ‘prophet’ enough to recognize that this woman was a…
Fickle, who me?
SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:31-35 People can be fickle, inconsistent, hard to figure out (that includes you and me). We want God and everyone else to dance to our own tune, yet our tune changes every day. We want the freedom to do whatever we want, and we want the help to fix the consequences. We want God…
What’s nesting in your hair?
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 77 “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.” (Psalm 77:11) This person is in a time of deep distress, groaning and unable to be comforted. Have you experienced a time like this, or someone that you know and love? In times like this, the mind…
Warning lights!!!!
SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 5-9 “Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?” (Proverbs 6:27-28) This is so obvious, why does it need to be said? Because for some reason so many people are blind to the obvious, and do stupid things…
Accept or reject?
SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:24-30 “Among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (Luke 7:28) John’s greatness comes from his important role preparing the way for God’s messianic king. How can anyone beat that? Yet the least in God’s restored…
The help we really need!
SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:18-23 The Israelites longed for the day when God would come to help them, as the Prophets had promised: “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will…