David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving is a classic Old Testament passage in that it is daunting in scope yet intensely relatable. David, a mighty king who wants neither wealth nor power, is reduced to the confused humility we all possess when basking in the glory of God. Despite benefiting firsthand from God’s love, David has difficulty Read more about December 20, 2019 | 2 Samuel 7: 18-22[…]
This passage reminds me of an excerpt of the poem Desire of God by Frederick W. Faber: “But none honors God like the thirst of desire, Nor possesses the heart so completely with Him; For it burns the world out with the swift ease of fire, And fills life with good works till it runs Read more about December 18, 2019 | Psalm 42[…]
In the text today, we see God in all His glory—from his anger and divine frustration to his unconditional love. To the people of Zion in the passage, Israel was just a barren land torn apart by strife and chaos, but when God looks upon the nation, he sees a bright future of children playing Read more about December 17, 2019 | Zechariah 8: 1-17[…]
I have always loved Advent. I love the season’s special promise, the sense of anticipation that there is something better coming. Even as a child, what I enjoyed about the Advent season was the excitement of looking forward to something, much more than the actual celebration on Christmas Day. And yet, over the last couple Read more about December 16, 2019 | Isaiah 29: 17-24[…]
Today’s scripture is Luke 1:46b-55, referred to as Mary’s Song of Praise, or in Latin, the Magnificat, taken from Mary’s refrain, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” To accompany this reading, I have included an excerpt from “Mary’s Song: A Poem” by Lisa Sharon Harper (Find the full poem here: https://sojo.net/articles/marys-song-poem). Lisa Sharon Harper, the author Read more about December 15, 2019 | Luke 1:46b-55[…]
1 Samuel 2:1-8 is a prayer of awe and wonder by Hannah after she gives birth to a son whom she had prayed for to God for many years. This prayer of rejoicing and thankfulness reminds me of a blessing from the book To Bless the Space Between Us called ‘In Praise of the Earth’. Read more about December 14, 2019 | 1 Samuel 2: 1-8[…]
In a scene from A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh, Winnie and Piglet check on their friend Eeyore, who confesses to feeling “really rather Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All.” Eeyore says that to be near him would be a waste, that Winnie and Piglet should go on and Read more about December 12, 2019 | Ruth 1:6-18[…]
Genesis 15 cuts deep and directly into a long-standing confusion in my faith. Namely, how does God involve himself in earthly affairs? It is all too easy for me to fall into thinking he’s not there because I can’t see his impact on the world. Reading Genesis 15 re-orients me towards this question by telling me a Read more about December 11, 2019 | Genesis 15: 1-18[…]
In this passage, Paul speaks of the goals of his ministry, namely, to preach to those who do not yet have a foundation in Christ. Though they may not have yet accepted Christ as their own, Paul keeps faith that members of his audience are filled with a fundamental goodness. This goodness underlies what may Read more about December 10, 2019 | Romans 15: 14-21[…]
Earlier in this chapter of Isaiah, God stated how his people had gone to Egypt for help without asking him if that was the right thing to do (verse 2), and he described them as a “children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord” (verse 9). Then the passage shifts to talking about the Read more about December 9, 2019 | Isaiah 30: 19-26[…]
The words from this Scripture passage that compel me the most are 15:5-7 (please reread these). Paul expresses his wish for God to grant the Romans the ability to approach one another with the mindset with which Jesus approached his contemporaries. That mindset is one of gentleness, compassion, understanding, and, as Paul emphasizes, acceptance. Acceptance Read more about December 8, 2019 | Romans 15:4-13[…]
A Story of Worth I’m not a theologian, and I’ll be honest: I don’t know much about why the Pharisees were so interested in figuring out who John was or why it was a big deal that he was baptizing people. But the first time I read this passage, I was struck by the way Read more about December 7, 2019 | John 1: 19-28[…]
Paul’s speech in Acts 13 reminds us that God is faithful to God’s promises. Paul begins by offering a reminder of God’s work throughout Israel’s history: liberating them from Egypt, leading them through the wilderness, delivering them their promised land, and so on. The list culminates in the greatest act of God’s faithful provision: the Read more about December 6, 2019 | Acts 13: 16-25[…]
This semester we have been reminded that not every leader will “judge [their] people with righteousness, and [their] poor with justice.” We have been bombarded with messages about injustices all over the United States, China, Bolivia, Sudan, Chile, Syria, Venezuela, and so many other countries. This semester, I have found myself trapped in the midst Read more about December 5, 2019 | Psalm 72: 1-7, 18-19[…]
Perhaps it is the mini-class on rappers and religion I took a couple of winters ago at Montreat, or my overuse of the “Top Hits” album on Spotify this semester, but this passage from Matthew cannot stop reminding me of the chart-topping song “Jesus in LA” released by Alec Benjamin this year. Even though the Read more about December 4, 2019 | Matthew 24: 23-27[…]