Tag: life

  • Transitioning

    Psalm 29; Isaiah 43:1–13; Matthew 3:13–17 Many people claim to have heard from God. Often in church culture, we hear about Elijah and the “still, small, voice of God” (1 Kings 19). In Psalm 29, however, the voice of the Lord is anything but quiet. Massive trees break, the earth shakes, deer giving premature birth,…

  • Worth or Hardly Worth Doing

    Psalm 1; 2 Kings 5:1–14; Luke 3:1–18 Let’s reword Psalm 1:1… How happy is the one who walks in the advice of the holy and righteous, who walks on the path set by God, and sits in the company of those who follow the Lord. Sometimes by writing the opposite in the Wisdom/Poetry literature, it…

  • Salvation of Becoming

    Psalm 2; Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 56:1-8; Luke 2:41-52 Many people have taught and believed that once a person prays the Sinner’s Prayer that they are safe from Hell. The most famous one was used by Billy Graham to lead people to Christ. It is: Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and…

  • Great Expectations

    Psalm 55:1–7; Luke 2:21–38; 2 Corinthians 11:18–30 Families are often quick to share their expectations of a newborn (or coming) baby. The pressure can be on pretty quickly. The parents, too, have expectations of their children. They are often called “dreams” or “maybe someday.” As much as this can put pressure on the child, it…

  • More Present

    Psalm 139; Isaiah 12; Matthew 1:1–12 The lineage of Jesus. How boring. Did you think that? You are not alone in that. Many people read the lineage of Jesus or just skip it. Wait, did you skip it? If so, please read it now… Why was that important, you ask? It tells a story. It…

  • Comfy Story

    Psalm 72; Isaiah 60:1–6; Micah 5:1–6; Matthew 2:1–12 The richness of the story of the Magi could probably fill volumes. Magi were people who retained, studied, and added to ancient knowledge. In many respects, they were a combination of priest, counselor, academic. They would be the people who advised the rulers but were probably not…

  • Seventh Day of Christmas — New Year’s Eve

    Psalm 103, 1 Samuel 4:1-22, Isaiah 43:14-25 Imagine being someplace you’ve never been and driving down the road only looking at the rear-view mirror. Your peripheral vision would catch some of the more dangerous things, but you would miss a lot. All too often we go through life this way. You may not have escaped…

  • Foundations and Firmaments

    Psalm 148, Colossians 3:12-17, Luke 2:41-52 What are your thoughts when reading Psalm 149? Do you ever think of all of Creation praising God, the Creator? If you haven’t seen Louie Giglio’s Stars and Whales (link below), I strongly recommend it. To think that it is not just us (human beings) that are called and…