Blog (Page 215)

Romans 8:1-6 “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” vs. 6 The fleshly part of life can never be escaped…it’s a part of our environment and a big part of who we are. It’s necessary and important…and can be a deadly distraction! The flesh offers instant gratification through material gain and satisfaction of desires, but it never can give the satisfaction that our souls crave and…

 Psalm 65:9-13 “You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.” vs. 9 It’s possible to look at the earth and use science to explain how it has gradually evolved into the beautiful productive planet that we call home. And it’s true…there is an explanation for every change and development in our environment, a natural cause for everything…

Isaiah 55:12-13 “Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” vs. 13 Day by day, as the water of the life-giving word of God seeps into our lives, we are being transformed by the re-creative power of the Holy Spirit. The effects may be minimal at first…a tiny blossom of…

Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;” vss. 10-11a All of us would probably agree that there is power in words. We see them hurled back and forth on the national scene, tweeted and published in…

Matthew 11:25-30 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” vs. 28 What an amazing invitation from Jesus! “Come to me, all of you that are weary…and I will give you rest.” Through the centuries, sinners have heard hope in these words, hope that can calm their anxious hearts and wipe away their burdens of guilt. And it works! It really does! His voice is so gentle, and he…

Matthew 11:16-19 “the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” vs. 19 Jesus wasn’t at all like John the Baptist in his habits or lifestyle. He didn’t live in the wilderness or worry about dietary restrictions, and he certainly wasn’t picky about his companions. He called tax-collectors and sinners his friends and he even hung with wealthy…

Romans 7:18-25a “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” vss. 24-25a As a faithful Jew Paul was fully aware of God’s commandments as contained in the law…and he believed these commandments to be holy and just and true. He was determined to live in obedience to them…but he couldn’t do all the good that he wanted to do. Simply put, his spirit was willing…

Romans 7:12-17 “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” vs. 15 Of all the things written by Paul, these words probably resonate most completely with our own experience. We see their truth in every area of our experience, whether it be in sport or in our personal relationships. For example, every serious golfer knows the elusiveness of the perfect swing, even when we know…

Psalm 145:11-14 “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.” vs. 13 It’s easy to get discouraged with the never-ending shenanigans of Washington and the never-realized promises of politicians. Somehow things never turn out the way they’re supposed to and justice seems only a dream. Right now it seems we’re at an impasse and governments struggle to function at all. Seemingly…

Psalm 145:8-10 “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” vs. 8 Occasionally we hear voices being raised against the Old Testament, with some saying that a divorce needs to take place, that followers of Jesus should distance themselves from the patriarchal and genocidal legalisms of the Hebrew scriptures. It’s as though our modern sensibilities need protection from the teachings of our ancestors. Such thinking is not only misguided, it’s horribly misleading. What we…

Zechariah 9:9-12 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” vs. 9 We’re familiar with this little verse from Zechariah because we associate it with Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and its numerous Palm Sunday reenactments. Because of its familiarity it’s possible to miss the prophet’s radical message. This isn’t an image of…

Matthew 10:40-42 “and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” vs. 4 Sometimes we get the idea that being a follower of Jesus requires amazing heroism, doing really big things that have an impact on millions of people. But that’s not what Jesus says. In fact we might easily summarize his teachings with the words, “it’s the…