>Today’s reading. This passage shows the many ways that the gospel of the kingdom runs counter to the wisdom of this age. 10:1-12 — In God’s kingdom, marriage is not about personal fulfillment, convenience, or even building stable communities. It is about our Father’s will for us and our loving obedience to him as his… Read More ›

> Today’s reading. The introductory note to this chapter says “To the choirmaster.” Presumably, this psalm was sung as a part of worship in OT Israel, and, like all the rest of the psalms, has been sung by the church for two millennia. The thing that I find surprising about that is it’s a real… Read More ›

> Today’s reading. The last chapter closed with the disciples seeing more clearly that Jesus is the Son of God. In this chapter, three of Jesus’s closest friends get to see it in a way no one has seen it thus far. Jesus is transfigured before them and has a chat with Moses and Elijah,… Read More ›

>Good Friday morning, all. Take the time to catch up on any reading you may have missed this week, pray, and reflect. Below is a short prayer to help in that purpose. Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now… Read More ›

>Psalm 12 is an interesting one. The psalmist is disheartened because “the faithful have vanished from among the children of man” (12:1). Can you empathize? Do you ever feel as though you are alone or in a distinct minority in believing what you do? In striving to be pure in some way?  In this case,… Read More ›

>Mark 8 is an extremely pivotal moment in the book. The book’s introduction is important to remember. It is “the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1), and Jesus summarizes his gospel message in that first chapter by saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe… Read More ›

>p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial}p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial; min-height: 15.0px} Psalm 11 is short and sweet. Perfect for my birthday passage. There is no place on earth that the psalmist believes is safe. When faced with the danger of the wicked, he is told by others… Read More ›

>p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial}p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial; min-height: 15.0px} Mark 7 tells of my favorite example of faith in all four gospels, the Gentile woman from Tyre and Sidon (modern-day Lebanon) (7:24-30). Jesus has travelled a bit north of where God’s people live. We don’t know why… Read More ›

>Psalm 10 gives us insight into the unrepentant mind. Verse 4 tells us that all the thoughts of the wicked are, “There is no God.” He doesn’t mean this literalistically; unrepentant people don’t walk down the street thinking, “there is no God, there is no God, there is no God,” like an atheistic little engine… Read More ›

>In Mark 6, there are multiple groups of people who are given the opportunity to respond to Jesus and his message.  In Nazareth (6:1-6), where Jesus grew up, the people think they know Jesus, think they know who he is. So when He starts speaking like the Son of God, they say to one another,… Read More ›