(REFLECTIONS ON Deuteronomy 25:1-19) When Christians talk about the Old Testament Law, there is usually some level of negativity to it. Either we say that it is just a bunch of rules and regulations that make no practical sense in today’s world, or we say that it is the basis of a religious structure and not […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Deuteronomy 21:1-23) The burden of being holy, just living, doing what was right, was heavily on Israel. No matter if they were issues of justice, human dignity, family order, or communal responsibilities, Israel was called to reflect God’s holiness, mercy, and order. In today’s Scripture, we see that crimes committed in their midst were […]
(REFLECTIONS ON 1 John 5:1-12 ) Perhaps we have heard the saying, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” in reference to Christmas. However, the point of emphasis in 1 John is that “Jesus is the Christ is the reason for the season.” Jesus is the Christ, means that Jesus was not just a man that walked […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Nehemiah 9:1-38 ) 1 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. 3 They stood […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Ezra 8:1-14) While reading today’s genealogy of those that returned with Ezra to Jerusalem, I began considering the timing of their return. About eighty years prior, the first group led by Zerubbabel and Joshua came back to Jerusalem with one clear goal, and that was to rebuild the temple of the Lord. This first […]
27 October – 2 November 2019. Habakkuk 1 (click to read). Like many other prophets, Micah saw the way that the people of Jerusalem had turned to evil to make a profit – robbing, cheating, stealing from the needy, and oppressing the weak and poor. Like other prophets before him, Micah warned the Israelites that […]
17–23 February 2019. Leviticus 3. Thank God! (click to read). Many cultures and religions around the world have had the idea that their gods needed to be fed. Food is important to us, and we like to feed the ones we love. It’s not surprising then that people also wanted to feed the gods they […]
10–16 February 2019. Matthew 26:57–75 (click to read). A friend once told me how when she was back in school she decided to find a new church to attend. One Sunday morning she visited a church nearby, and during the service she noticed that one of her classmates was there, too. After worship her classmate […]
3–9 February 2019. Matthew 23 (click to read). We all know about Jesus’s incredible love, his graciousness, mercy, and gentleness. But in today’s reading we see a very different side of Jesus. We see him truly furious. Matthew 23 is unique in all the gospels, because it’s in this chapter that we hear Jesus’s harshest, […]
27 January – 2 February 2019. Matthew 18 (click to read). One of Jesus’s most difficult teachings is his command to forgive. It isn’t difficult because it’s hard to understand – after all we have all heard this teaching before, we all know that Jesus commands us to forgive others “seventy times seven” times (v. […]