Tag: grieve

  • People Past

    People Past

    β€ŒRead: Psalm 25; Isaiah 25:6-9; Philippians 3:20-21; John 6:37-40 β€Œβ€ŒπŸ”Ž Focus β€Œβ€œThis is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.” John 6:40 (NRSVue) Those who have died, that have been a direct…

  • Joy to Tears

    Joy to Tears

    Psalm 22:25–31; Amos 8:1–7; Acts 8:1b–8 For many people, singing in worship of God is a significant part of their life of faith. They love the joy-filled worship of God. The image provided in Amos takes those joy-filled songs and turns them into songs of pain, sorrow, and lament. The misery of the people of…

  • Take the Message Forward

    Take the Message Forward

    Psalm 150; Jeremiah 30:1–11a; 1 John 3:10–16 We have a lot in front of us. The end of the COVID-era seems to be approaching. Although there seems to be a step back for every step forward, at least we are moving forward. This doesn’t mean we’ll be going back to normal. In fact, the normal…

  • Graveside Dancing

    Graveside Dancing

    Psalm 30; Hosea 13:4–14 Yesterday was the birthday of my stepfather. He passed away years ago. For whatever reason, this year his birthday hit me kind of hard. He and I had our good moments. We had our bad moments. Just like any parent-child relationship. I was his only child. At his burial, the priest…

  • Bound Emotion

    Bound Emotion

    Ezekiel 24:15–27; Jeremiah 16:5–9 There is something unusual about marriage. For whatever reason, a man and a woman have a special kind of relationship that transcends logic. There is a deep spiritual aspect to it that is part of the Christian marriage ritual, β€œwhat God has joined let man not separate.” While this is the…

  • Lamenting Forward

    Lamenting Forward

    Ezekiel 2:1–3:3; Lamentations 3:17–33; Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 There are two prevailing feelings currently: fear and anger. Neither one is productive over time. In the end, they can destroy a person emotionally and spiritually. Ezekiel ate words of lament, mourning, and woe. In the vision, the edible scroll tastes a sweet as honey. At the same time,…

  • Time Alone

    Time Alone

    Matthew 14:1–23 Jesus’ cousin and herald was dead. He was murdered. Why was he murdered? He called the powerful to account. Herod’s marriage to Herodias had some issues. Herod had visited Herodias while she was still married to Herod’s brother, Philip. They decided they like each other, so they decided to be married. However, Herodias…

  • The Tension of Pain and Joy

    Job 4:1-21, Psalm 77, Ephesians 2:1-10 (read online ⧉) Job’s friend, Eliphaz, was one of 4 friends that came to visit Job in his time of trouble. While, ultimately, they misspoke of God, at other times they spoke truth of God and Job. Eliphaz told Job that he was a teacher of God and a…