Matthew 8:28-34 “…two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way” (Matthew 8:28) A pastor-friend grew up with a stutter. Like most (if not all) children with a stutter, he was quieter because of it. He knew that o-o-o-one instance of this verbal t-t-t-t-tick could send all the children around him into fits of laughter. When this inevitably happened, he felt his cheeks burn with shame and his soul erupt in flames of sorrow. A woman knows that...

Ephesians 1:1-10 “he has made known to us the mystery of his will… to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:9-10) In the first creation account in Genesis 1, we’re given an image of God ordering the world in a systematic and rational way. In the midst of this story is the separation of sky and sea, a way of signaling that God is ordering 3-dimensional life. He’ll go on to give dominion of the sky to the birds and dominion of the sea to the fish and...

Leviticus 19:1-18 “When you offer a sacrifice of well-being to the LORD…” (Leviticus 19:5) “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:9-10) It’s always interesting to see how God’s economy is presented. To be sure, God is very...

Psalm 9 I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. (Psalm 9:1-2) COVID-19 has stolen so much from us. I don’t need to list it out. You watch the news. You know the toll – in lives, in the economy, in freedom – there is no need to state them all. But amongst the newsworthy lists of things robbed from us by this pandemic you won’t the opening verses of Psalm 9. And yet...

Colossians 1:15-23 “He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17) As these weeks have gone on, it is easy to feel like we’re coming apart. Strains at home are real as we are forced into non-stop, daily interactions – and daily irritations – with one another. Too much time apart makes it feel like we aren’t a church body anymore. We might even feel ourselves fraying within ourselves. In this short devotion, I want us to focus and trust in one thing...

Exodus 15:22-16:10 “…for I am the LORD who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26) Well, there it is. Isn’t that our hope and prayer right now? In the middle of a global pandemic, isn’t it to “the Lord who heals you” that we are most desirous to turn to? Yet I’m struck by a few things. First, this healing is a contingent healing – “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring...

Psalm 9 “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2) On the Wednesday after Easter, it is good to read and following Psalm 9. No matter the troubles or challenges before us – either as individuals or a society – the Lord is risen (He is Risen, Indeed!). This first week of Easter is an invitation to just sit and dwell in the joy of Jesus’ resurrection,...

Lamentations 2:1-9
“How the Lord in his anger has humiliated daughter Zion!” (Lamentation 2:1)

Reading Lamentations is tricky business. Reading it is risky.

On the one hand, whenever catastrophe strikes, we find some sense of relief in reading that God is in control of it. I mean, how scary would this COVID-19 pandemic be if we thought it was running wild, beyond the grasp of God? On the other hand, if God is in control of it, we struggle to reconcile the anger of God with our normal image of Him as love. Do we want a God who can’t control or a God who can get angry and harm things and hurt us? It’s a spiritual catch-22.

Reading Lamentations is holy business. Reading it is therapeutic.

Nowhere in the text does the cognitive dissonance – that catch-22 – ever get resolved. Instead, while reading the entire thing, we slowly just come to embrace the paradox and pain of it all. And in learning to do that with the text, we gain the skills and resources necessary to do this with all the pains of the real world.

2 Corinthians 2:14-3:6
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?” (2 Corinthians 3:1)

It is frequently clear from Paul’s letters that being an itinerate preacher who worked in local communities only for a limited time before moving on (indeed, before being called by God to another place) was really trying on his leadership abilities and authority. He frequently has to make appeals – in multiple letters – to the time when he was with the church and, occasionally, his desire to return to them. It’s like he has to just keep resubmitting his resume again and again. And that’s nearly impossible to do. Which is why he doesn’t really do it.

Psalm 147:1-11 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre. He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry. His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner; but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:7-11)  “To each is given...