Exodus 29:1-30:10 ~ Matthew 26:14-46 ~ Psalm 31:19-24 ~ Proverbs 8:14-26   So each time we get to the stories of Christ’s betrayal, of his giving up his life in such truly horrific fashion, becoming the living sacrifice, laying down his perfect life for us and dying the way that he did to purchase our salvation, it is difficult because it is the most joyous thing in our very existence and yet it is difficult to watch this happen, you know?  So we see Jesus in the garden and he is seriously human at this point, right?  I mean, he is crying out to God in anguish, and these are human emotions.  This wasn’t a situation where Jesus had transcended his humanity and just kind of went through it all, just aloof to the whole thing.  He suffered as a man in this moment.  “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak,” he said.  He says something very poignant in his prayers, the final one just before his betrayer came and kissed him.  It is something that should help us as we face hardship [Read More]

2 Kings 4:18-5:27 ~ Acts 15:1-31 ~ Psalm 141:1-10 ~ Proverbs 17:23   Another day really rich in history and in heritage here both, in the Old and the New Testaments.  A great prayer of David in the Psalms today.  A very good day, at least it made my heart come awake.  The very stuff that I needed to hear.  It’s a great story of resurrection for the Shunammite woman who had befriended and taken care of God's man, God's prophet, Elisha.  Her son was prophesied and then her son died, but God saw fit to raise him from the dead and return him to her.  I love stories like that.  And then this story of Naaman, this high-ranking official who comes to Elisha, and Elisha won't even go out to see him.  He just says 'go dip in the Jordan'.  Of course, that just tics off Naaman.  He's going to go home unhealed.  He has leprosy.  This story is a double-edged sword, though, because Naaman eventually does give it a shot.  He's like, 'well, I'll give it a whirl', and he's healed.  So he comes bac [Read More]

1 Samuel 2:22-4:22 ~ John 5:24-47 ~ Psalm 106:1-12 ~ Proverbs 14:30-31

Its odd. I recorded a completely different reaction to the Scriptures today and I stopped midstream, erased it, and came back because I felt like I was supposed to say something completely different, focus on something completely different.

I was focused in on the Old Testament and the tragic loss of the ark of the covenant, so I will point that out by way of just saying, hey, that’s a bad thing that happened today. But its this Proverb that has stuck with me and I imagine that this is for many of us in the community.

A sound mind makes for a robust body, But runaway emotions corrode the bones.

So, I don't know if its fear that you are facing right now, fear of the unknown, fear of the future; if its some kind of emotional trauma that you're going through over your family or relationships; or whether its your view of yourself. If its any of those things, I encourage you to go back and [Read More]

Joshua 24:1-33 ~ Luke 21:1-28 ~ Psalm 89:38-52 ~ Proverbs 13:20-23

And so we come to the end of the book of Joshua, but we come to the end of the life of Joshua as well. And just like his mentor, Moses, he comes together with all the leaders of Israel and admonishes them to never leave the Lord. In fact, he puts the choice before them. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The response of the Israelite leadership is 'of course we will serve the Lord. The Lord saved us from Egypt, rescued us, and conquered this land. Went before us and gave us The Promised Land. Of course we will serve the Lord.' And Joshua tells them 'but you still have some miles. You still have some things in your lives, in this country that are not of God, and you're going to have to decide once and for all, I mean, once and for all that you really do want to obey the Lord.' And the people said 'the Lord is our God and we will worship only him. We will obey only him.' Joshua sets up [Read More]