“Cardio-Inscription”
Reverend Weiss’ sermon Sunday was titled “Cardio-inscription,” which reminds me of Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (NLT)
The parable in Luke that Reverend Weiss read as the second scripture reading (Luke 18:1-8) started out by stating the story’s purpose—our need for constant prayer and to show us to never give up. This doesn’t mean continued repetition or long prayer sessions. It means we need to constantly be in contact with God so that we’re keeping our requests/concerns before Him as we live for him day by day, believing He will answer (in his time and way).
When we persist in prayer, we grow in character, faith, and hope. The main character in the parable was a widow. Both Old and New Testaments insist that needy people, like orphans and widows, must be properly cared for. If even the godless, uncaring judge relented to the persistence of the widow, how much more will our loving, caring God respond to us?
It is important to note that the stewardship card that you have received for this year not only asks for your commitment in the usual ways of monetary and time (voluntary), but also a third way—prayer. Nathan Carbonara pointed out this difference during the Stewardship meal after the service Sunday. Thank you, Nathan, for clearly talking about our church’s monetary, volunteering, and prayer avenues. God has his way of tying everything together for us when we study his Word. Thanks be to God!
1 Samuel 7:2-17
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Luke 20:27-40
Luke 20:27-40 It is rare that a passage from a previous Sunday’s sermon pops back up for this midweek devotion, but such is our good fortune this week. Luke 20:27-40 tells of Jesus’ interaction with the Sadducees; the one in which they challenge Jesus using Levirate marriage. (If you missed last Sunday’s sermon, it could be helpful to go back to it before reading the rest of this devotion). As I noted on Sunday, this is a disingenuous question because it focuses on the resurrection and...
2 Corinthians 11:21b-33
2 Corinthians 11:21b-33 “And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28) Paul was clearly a pastor. Obviously, he was more than a pastor. A missionary, an apostle, prophetic in his writings, but he was definitely, certainly, even in the midst of all these other things, a pastor. The litany of hardships that precede 2 Corinthians 11:28 is hardly fathomable. Whipped, spanked, stoned, washed out to sea; sleepless, naked, and...
Luke 17:20-37
Luke 17:20-37 “Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’ Then he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, 'Look there!' or 'Look here!' Do not go, do not set off in...
Deuteronomy 4:25-31
Deuteronomy 4:25-31 “When you have had children and children's children, and become complacent in the land…” (Deuteronomy 4:25) The Lord speaks to His people just on the wrong side of the Jordan – just as they’re about to cross onto the right side – and is compelled to issue a warning about complacency. Complacency is interesting. It almost never happens with things we are actively working for or toward. One cannot be complacent and active at the same time. No, complacency comes about in two...
Ezekiel 11:14-25
Ezekiel 11:14-25 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone” (Ezekiel 11:16) Another week of lectionary readings and another selection from the people of God’s Exodus/exile/diaspora narratives; this time from Ezekiel, who also writes during the time of Babylonian exile. By now, the reflection for our times is obvious: Just...
Deuteronomy 19:1-7
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Jeremiah 32:36-44
Jeremiah 32:36-44 “Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, “It is being given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence”: 37See, I am going to gather them from all the lands to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation; I will bring them back to this place, and I will settle them in safety. 38They shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39I will give them one heart and one...
Jeremiah 30:18-22
Jeremiah 30:18-22 “And you shall be my people, and I will be your God” (Jeremiah 30:22) One of the earliest rules in writing is that you don’t begin a sentence with a conjunction. Yet here it is, in sacred scripture, just ripping apart all grammatical guidance. Since God is not a capricious rule-breaker, there must be a reason. First, just a little English major nerd-fun for you. There are four types of conjunctions, but only two – coordinating and subordinating – are worth noting here...
Daniel 5:1-12
Daniel 5:1-12 “Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the vessels of gold and silver that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and...
