"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night" (Joshua 1:8). Have you ever tried to pry a bone away from a dog? Watch outyou might get snapped at, or nipped! This is a picture of what it means to meditate on Scripture. Not the snapping or nipping partthe gnawing. One of the Hebrew words which our Bibles translate as meditate is ve...

"Get ready to cross the Jordan River." (Joshua 1:2) Treading water gets tiring. Getting to that distant shore seems impossible, so I keep treading water, momentarily safe. My efforts get me nowhere but exhausted; I can't keep doing this. What's the other alternative, drowning? It's terrifying to stop treading water, scary to start moving forward. I can't reach the shore, ...

Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: "The Lord your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land (Joshua 1:13). You are to help your brothers until the Lord gives them rest (Joshua 1:14b). Please pause here and picture a sleeping baby. Did you smile? They are so sweet when they're sleeping, aren't they? Yet their way to dreamland ofte...

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua, "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River " (Joshua 1:1-2). What got you here may not be all you need to get you there. As the book of Joshua opens, the people of Israel are at a significant "restart" moment. Forty years of wilderness wander...

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 Once upon a time in a land far away I was a teacher. In college I took an education course specifically geared toward instructing new teachers how to create effective lesson plans. It was tedious work, but all th...

Jeremiah 2 Has it ever happened to you that a good friend "got in your face" about some aspect of your conduct and, much as you may not have liked the experience, you had to (eventually) agree that your friend was on to something? Welcome to Jeremiah 2. Here the "friend" is the Lord God Almighty, and the faces being gotten into belong to the people of Israel. It's a tou...

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13). One of my early childhood memories is of my brother and me drinking water from an artesian well. Over the years that memory faded. Then came the daysixty years later--when my mother and I re-visited ...

"My people have forsaken me, the spring of Living Water, and havedug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water" (Jeremiah 2:13). The high school soccer trophies on the bedroom shelf. The honors cords draped over the college diploma. The plaque honoring excellence at work. They all hold some measure of success, offer some sense of security: Look what I did...

They did not ask, "Where is the LORD?" The priests did not ask, "Where is the LORD?" My people have forsaken me, the spring of living water (Jeremiah 2:6, 8, 13). Unhook is our theme word for this third week of our Restart! Series: it's hard to really get restarted if you're chained to something! How do we get unhooked so that we can get going again? The feeling of bei...

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13). [Editor's Note: because our writing team had the week off between Christmas and New Year's, our Connect Devotionals got a week behind the preaching and home group study schedules. We're now back in sy...

God called to Moses from the bush. And Moses said, "Here I am" (Exodus 3:4). This week we've been exploring what it means to Restart. How do we keep going in what feels like an unending wilderness? How do we "find God" in situations that seem only to communicate God's absence? Where do we gain the energy to hear and obey God when we feel weighed and dragged down by so man...

Exodus 3 On December 23, 2009, in the middle of a record breaking blizzard, Team Waldstein rolled into Minot, North Dakota. (Pronounced MY-not...rhymes with, "Why not?"...see what I did there?) It was a new start for our family, and one only my husband was excited about! Outwardly I went willingly, because I knew in my head it was the right move for our family. Inwardly I...

Exodus 3 and 4 When our second child was just a couple weeks old my husband approached me with a radical idea. "I'm going to start applying for other jobs out of state." My then sleep deprived state keeps me from recalling my exact reaction, but I'm positive laughter was involved. We had a brand new baby, a two-year-old, two full time jobs, my entire extended family withi...

"So now, go. I am sending you" (Exodus 3:10). Inertia? Have you felt it these past few months? Forced into months of semi-isolation and limited contact with others, was it easy to get lazy, stay in the sleep pants, and watch yet another Netflix show? Did it become more comfortable to stream the church service at our convenience? Have we preferred working from home with it...

Moses led his flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb,the mountain of God (Exodus 3:1). Happy New Year, and welcome back to Connect Devotionals! A new year begins, and a new sermon series: Restart! As 2021 begins, a restarta fresh startreally is something to long for, as a country, as a church, as a person. 2020, with its pandemic, political turmoil and on...

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling with us (John 1:14). Drum roll, building, getting louder music, beginning quietly in the bass register, but rising, crescendoing sudden spectacular, full-throated chord, the entire symphony cranked all the way up, tutti fortissimo! Cue the choir, angelic and earthly! Wait that's it? That's all? A baby? Yeah, babies are cute a...

Silent night, holy night/All is calm, all is bright 'Round yon virgin Mother and Child/Holy infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace/Sleep in heavenly peace It has been easy for me to slip into a new sleeping pattern this year. In college I scheduled my classes in such a way that I could use the wee hours of the night for studying, because I found it hard to co...

"In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:4-5) "Son of God, oh, love's pure light" ("Silent Night") Driving back from Durham last week, I was momentarily and agonizingly blinded by the brilliance and intensity of the nearly-setting sun. That blinding brilliance made me thi...

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). In Him was life, and that life was the light of men (John 1:4). The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world (John 1:9). Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace (Silent Night) Abba, I come to be settled down. ...

"Silent Night" and John 1:1-18 If you had to pick "the best" of all the Christmas carols, "Silent Night" would certainly be at or near the top of the list. This weekChristmas is this Friday! we wrap up The Weary World Rejoices sermon series by listening to this beloved carol and "the Christmas story according to John," found in the first eighteen verses of this fourth an...

"Let Let Let Let " ("Joy to the World") What is our hope as followers of Jesus? I don't mean what is my hope for my life, for my future. That's an important question, just not the one asked here. As Christ-followers, as we look upon the entire burdened world and its long and wearying history, what are we hoping for? We hope, we look forward to, we anticipate, we await...

He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found (Joy to the World) Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And t...

"Now the dwelling of God is with men" (Rev. 21:3). "No more let sins and sorrows flow,/Nor thorns infest the ground./ He comes to make His blessings known/Far as the curse is found." ("Joy to the World," Isaac Watts, 1719) Jesus was born to die. As Christians, haven't we frequently heard that from a well-meaning parent or pastor? Their intention is clear: to guard us ...

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away"(Revelation 21:3,4). ...

He comes to make His blessing flow/Far as the curse is found ("Joy to the World") No longer will there be any curse (Revelation 22:3). For nearly a century, the Boston Red Sox supposedly lived under a curse. Having won the World Series in 1918, the Sox owners made a diabolical deal to trade Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1919. Ruth, nicknamed the "Bambino," alleged...

"Glory to God in the highest!" (Luke 2:14) This week, as we continue our The Weary World Rejoices series, we've been listening to the soaring music of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and "the Christmas story" as we are given it in Luke 2:8-15. We've thought about the shepherds (why send angels to them alone?), the noisiness of our hearts and times, and the humility of heav...

Luke 2:10-18 We all know enough of Luke's account of Jesus's birth to picture the shepherds, well away from town, probably sleepy, surrounded by sheep, terrified by the appearance first of one angel, then a "host," and excitedly rushing off to see the Baby Jesus. I'm trying to slow down during these first days of Advent, being purposeful in looking at a well-known (maybe ...

Mild He lays His glory by (Hark the Herald Angels Sing, by Charles Wesley) I imagine Charles Wesley was moved to write "Mild He lays His glory by" by Paul's observation that Jesus voluntarily set aside his status as God to become one of us (see Philippines 2:6-7). Being demoted from a position of honor is a big step down. Perhaps it happened when you were an only child a...

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people" (Luke 2:8-10). There isn't a lot of holiday hustle...

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about" (Luke 2:15). There you are, keeping watch over your flocks by night. If you're stuck with "night duty," you probably aren't getting rich from tending sheep. Suddenly: Hark! Do you hear that? L...

"I am gentle and humble in heart"( Matthew 11:29). Of whom do we sing of when we sing "O Holy Night"? Who is it who comes on this silent, holy night? Why would he come, whatever could be the heart motivation for such a journey? There is just one place in Scripture where Jesus discloses his heart to us. Of course, we see his heart "in action" throughout his life, through...

He knows our need, to our weaknesses no stranger,Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend! ("O Holy Night"). Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Weary gets us to the fork in the road. From one direction despair beckons. From the other direction desperate striving beckons. Weary requires that we stop. We have to sto...

Matthew 11:28-30 Have an independent streak when it comes to doing things? "I can manage this workload myself." "I won't wait for help; I can move this heavy furniture across the room." What does that get you? Pride in taking credit for the work? Satisfaction you redecorated by yourself? Couple that with resentful coworkers or an aching back, and what have you really gain...

O Holy Night Matthew 11:28 I should have kept a tally of how many times I listened to O Holy Night in preparation for this week's Connect Devotional. I listened to various artists sing it in many different styles; I listened while driving, while walking the dog, and while sitting on the porch watching the kids play. It's a song I've enjoyed at Christmas time my whole l...

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). This week we're listening to "O Holy Night" and to a familiar passage from Matthew 11. The title of our current sermon series, The Weary World Rejoices, is a line from the hymn. One of the gifts of our times is the ease with which we can access all kinds of versions of this hymn; so ...

Ocome, O come, Emmanuel,/And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here/Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel/Shall come to thee, O Israel. As a teacher I take attendance every day. However, remote learning has thrown off my record-keeping. On my attendance sheet these days, I've added markers for "video off" and "technology issues" to the ...

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too" (Luke 2:34,35). I remember when Mary's part in the Christmas story came alive to me: I was halfway th...

"'For my [Simeon's] eyes have seen your salvation...a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel...And a sword will pierce your [Mary's] soul too'" (Luke 2:30,32,35b). "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, / And ransom captive Israel Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel / Shall come to thee, O Israel." This is my favorite Christmas carol. I love its beautiful ...

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer/Our spirits by Thine advent here, O drive away the shades of night/And pierce the clouds and bring us light. ("O Come, O Come Emmanuel," 12th century Latin hymn.) Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.He was waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him (Luke 2:25). L...

"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" Luke 2:25-35 We are in in-between times, aren't we? In between Thanksgiving and Christmas, in between Election Day and Inauguration Day, in between the start of the pandemic and its longed-for end. Some of us are in between jobs, or in between a diagnosis and a hoped-for cure, in between our desire to be with family and friends and the recommen...

Colossians 3:5-14 In high school I was a member of the marching band, and after summer band camp we were all issued identical uniforms. The uniforms came with standard care instructions and also instructions on how to conduct ourselves when wearing them. The expectations were that we would be at our very best behavior when wearing the uniform. The uniforms identified us a...

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12, 14) I've been six feet tall since I was 13 years old. I grew up 60 miles from the nearest mall, too, so you can imagine the challe...

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things upon the earth, for ye are dead and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-3 KJV). During one season in my early years as a believer I participated in a small group who worshiped God to the ac...

"Set your minds on things aboveand be thankful" (Colossians 3:2, 15b) When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? (J. Oatman) Has 2020 left you feeling "tempest tossed" and "bear[ing]" much? We don't know how hard this virus ...

you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in the image of the Creator Therefore, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:9, 10, 12, 14) When it comes to Real ID, we som...

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.I will be found by you," declares the LORD, " and will bring you back to the placefrom which I carried you into exile" (Jeremiah 29:13-14). Exile is either the end of the road or the place for an unexpected, undeserved new creation. Exile is the loss of everything we've ever known and loved or the place...

Jeremiah 29:1-14 Several years ago I found myself plucked from the only place I had ever lived and dropped into the very last place on earth I would have chosen to move. I prayed some of the most fervent prayers of my life in that place--all of which were along the lines of begging God to, "Please deliver me from this pit of despair!" I guess you can say I empathize with...

"For I know the plans I have for you to prosper you and not to harm you,plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). How often have I shared that verse with my adult children in difficult times? I can't be alone; I imagine that verse is embroidered on pillows on countless couches and cross-stitched on innumerable pieces of artwork. While I want to remind my kids...

Jeremiah 29:4-14 It's a rather strange saying, isn't it? "Bloom where you're planted." After all, how could you bloom in a place you aren't planted? Which is the point God is making in Jeremiah 29 to those exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon. If the people didn't put down roots in Babylon, they couldn't and wouldn't bloom. Right there it sounds like God had a plan to prosp...

Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.Pray to the LORD for it, for if it prospers, you too will prosper (Jeremiah 29:7). Have you noticed? Churches in the United States, and elsewhere throughout the Western world, are finding ourselves more and more in the position of exiles. There's another Real ID marker that we may not be in a...

1 Peter 2:4-12 I will be the first to admit I'm no expert on construction of any kind, but even this novice knows one does not set out to build a house on uneven ground with just one stone. Many stones are needed in the building of a house, and a solid foundation ensures it will last for generations to come. I've been watching the progress of Chatham Church's building si...

"Sinful desireswar against your soul" (1 Peter 2:11) I know sin is bad; of course I know that: I'm a Christian. I know giving in to sinful desires hurts my Savior. I know giving in can hurt my body, my bank account, my friendships, my family. But have I realized giving in engages me in a war against my soul? I don't want any part of that war, so how do I avoid it? One wa...

1 Peter 2:1-16 The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Ingredients blend to make a delicious cake, members form a winning team, notes come together in a touching melody, individual shards create a striking mosaic. "As you come to him, the living stone -- rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him -- you, also, like living stones, are being built int...

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us (I Peter 2:12). Peter was writing to Kingdom of God people living "as aliens and strangers in the world" (v.11). That's us. We once felt at home in the world. Now, with our new identity, we have a new perspective. Now the...

You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual houseto be a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5). We've been thinking long and hard about Real ID, what it means to be in Christ, to be crucified with Christ, to continually press on to know and love Jesus more and more, to live together as citizens of our King. Peter will now add an additional true identity marker ...

Jesus answered, "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (John 18:37). And Pilate responds, "What is truth?" If only Pilate had stayed in the conversation, had kept listening! What is truth? Is the truth like an equation or statement we can chisel into granite? Does truth work more like a sword or more like light, like wind, like water? Is the truth something we ca...

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world...But now my kingdom is from another place." John 18:36 There aren't many trees on the plains of the upper Midwest, but what varieties there are are sturdy. They are quite strong and able to withstand the constant winds that blow across the wide open spaces. Harsh prairie winds serve as strengthening exercises for these trees, ...

"My kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:36) The kingdoms of this world; what do they look like? Each has its unique set of operating principles whether Pilate's kingdom with its political and military priorities, America's kingdom with its emphasis on success and status, or my kingdom with its unrelenting busyness to provide the best for my family. Each kingdom natura...

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place" (John 18:36). It started when I started to question the limited gospel I'd heard for the beginning twenty years of my Jesus-following life. I remember driving home from church back then, intent on digging into the Ne...

Pilate summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?""Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?" (John 18:33-34). For a busy Roman procurator of a restless, troublesome province, this was one more annoyance. Early in the morning, way before "office hours," a band of religious leaders requests an audience. They have with them...

I have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:19) Why is identity so important, and sometime so difficult? Identity is important because it is the way we live: I live according to my understanding of who I am. If I know myself as a zero, a nothing, a mistake that should not have happened, I live one way. If I see myself as A#1, the Center of the Universe, I live accord...

"Do not set aside the grace of God" (Galatians 2:21) Real ID is the TSA-compliant identification needed to board a flight beginning late 2021. It is proof, stamped with a gold star, to validate I am who the government ID says I am. Real ID is freeprovided I have offered proof of birth and residency, driven to the DMV, and waited in an interminable line. It is simply a gi...

I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could begained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2:21) Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now I'm found, Was blind, but now I see! Amazing Grace was one of the first hymns I memorized as a child. Looking around the sanctuary of my childhood c...

For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! (Galatian...

Galatians 2:19-21 What prompted Paul to write "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me"? It was not some abstract theologizing done on a sunny afternoon; it was prompted by Peter's screw-up, a screw-up that had everything to do with true identity. The risen Jesus graciously gave the "keys of the kingdom" to Peter, who use...

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss ... But I press on ...But this one thing I do ... (Philippians 3:7, 13). If our true identity is in Christ, how do we actually live our way into that identity? How does "in Christ" move from an idea in our heads to a reality we are living into? Paul'sbuts in Philippians 3 point the way. First he writes, "But whatever was ...

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippines 3:8). As soon as we're born, people start to clothe us. After a few years, we learn to clothe ourselves. I think this is how it is with identities. First others put them on ...

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ(Philippians 3:7-8). Ever held on to something you knew wasn't good for you? We likely all have at some po...

"If anyone thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the fleshconsider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christand be[ing] found in Him" (Philippians 3:4,8,9). Resums aim to secure our acceptance and security. They document our worth to ourselves we want to be seen as important and valuable and to others since they gain admission to a co...

Philippians 3:1-14 In this next week of our True ID series, we'll continue to explore how that glorious and spiritually dense phrase in Christ shapes how we think about identity (who am I, really?). This week, a dive into Philippians 3. Is your identity just something you're born with, something that was given to you? After all, you didn't choose your genes, gender, pare...

You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of youwho were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek,slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-27). Who am I "in me" who am I when I measure and define myself using myself as the standard? Or when I allow myself...

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:27-29). Pro-Biden signs, MAGA caps, anti-maskers, right wing this, left wing that, anti-vaxx protestors, Black Lives Matter signs. We expect such division in society as a whole, but wh...

that we might receive adoption to sonship (Galatians 4:5b). Picture a city inhabited by scads of street kids. These poor miserable urchins run rampant through the streets, dig through garbage cans for food, pick pockets, bully and are bullied, cower in dark alleyways and whimper in the night. Why is this happening? Because they are orphans with no one to parent them. To...

...to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father" (Gal. 4:5-6). What does that really look like, to be His "sons?" What does it look like to actually live life as these "sons" (and daughters) who are free to know Him as Father?In th...

New series: True ID It is not a hostile question, this "Who do you think you are?" It's not asking to you to defend or justify your existence, or prove your worth. Honestly: who are you? We're beginning True ID, our new sermon series, which will help us explore what Scripture says about our identity, who we really are or better, whose we are. "Tell me about yourself." ...

Nehemiah 1:1-13:31 We're approaching the end of Let's Rebuild!, a sermon series that has immersed us in the Book of Nehemiah. As we prepare to wave farewell to Nehemiahbut not to the necessary and continuous hard work of building, rebuilding and maintaining healthy and robust communities of faithlet's give thanks together. Thank you, Nehemiah, for showing and reminding u...

Nehemiah 13:14, 22, 29, 31 Nehemiah's book begins and ends in prayer. The "action" begins with Nehemiah learning of the sad condition of the Jewish remnant in and around Jerusalem. His first act? To praysee 1:4-11. The very last act in the book? A prayer, the tenth time Nehemiah records his prayerssee 13:31. And the very heart of the book: a prayer (chapter 9). We don't...

"Remember meO my God[for] what I have faithfully done" (Nehemiah 13:14). "Some time later [Nehemiah]came back to Jerusalem" (10:6b-7a). Had he been away months, years? However long it's been, and it appears to have been years, the people have moved past the great rebuilding project and instead of a "happily ever after," Nehemiah finds they have dramatically forsaken all t...

"Didn't your forefathers do the same things, so that our God broughtall this calamity upon us and upon this city?" (Nehemiah 13:18a). Sanballat and Tobiah. Do those names ring a bell? (It would be totally understandable if they didn't!) These two showed up in Nehemiah 2 "very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites." Shortly after th...

Nehemiah 13:4-30 Why couldn't Nehemiah have ended his book with chapter 12? The wall has been rebuilt, that accomplishment has been joyfully celebrated (chapter 8), and then we come to the dedication of the wall (chapter 12)another joy-filled celebration with a restored Temple, rebuilt walls, a repopulated capital city. It's like the days of Kings David and Solomon! After...

The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great. Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days (Nehemiah 8:17-18). ...

And all the people gathered with one mind at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel (Nehemiah 8:1). At the start of the quarantine our family chose to have a deeper devotional and worship time together. A highlight from this has been that our kids are asking m...

"Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve" (Nehemiah 8:11). The people of Jerusalem have completed the wall, a great physical work worthy of celebration. But a work is still needed in their hearts. The temple had already been rebuilt, but perhaps reading of scripture had not been routine for the people are hungry enough for the Word to stand for six hours during ...

For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law (Nehemiah 8:9b). The thing that most intrigues me about Nehemiah 8 is the intensity of the Israelites' interest in and reaction to the reading of the Law. What, I wonder, accounted for this? As I write, wildfires rage across our Pacific Coast states. Millions of acres are destroyed and thousands...

Nehemiah 8 As we continue our "Let's Rebuild!" series this week we enter the heart of the Book of Nehemiah, chapter 8. And, at the heart of the heart, God's Word, and our responses to it. It's been several weeks since the rebuilding of the walls was completed. The opposition of their enemies has quieted, the predatory practices of some of their nobles ended. The people h...

"Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table,as well as those who came to us from surrounding nations"(Nehemiah 5:17). My husband I recently headed out with our kids and another family to paddle to an island we love. Our friends had never been, and they enjoy the great outdoors as much as we do. As we drove our paddle boards out to the boat launch,...

Nehemiah 5:1-12a As disconcerting as the disturbance in Nehemiah 4 was, in Nehemiah 5 an even more troubling disturbance occurs. This time the actors causing the disturbance are not from outside the community, but from inside. Having an outside enemy can unite a community. Consider the unity in America after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Having an enemy within, however, c...

"Restore to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses,also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oilthat you are exacting from them" (Nehemiah 5:11). Prior to Covid one of my sons told me about a time in his school hallway where he witnessed a bully picking on another student. What he remembered ...

But out of reverence for God I did not act like that (Nehemiah 5:15). You might remember from Nehemiah 3, the "job assignments" chapter, that some nobles from Tekoa "would not put their shoulders to the work" of rebuilding the walls. We gave them a dismissive brush-off ("Selfish entitled jerks!") and moved on, assuming we were done with them, that their only role in the s...

Nehemiah 5:1-13 Nehemiah has motivated the Jews to overcome 100+ years of inertia. They are rebuilding their crumbled walls while summoning courage to resist foreign opposition. That is hard enough, but they continue to face decades-long oppression from their own rulers: exorbitant interest, high taxes, demands for collateral, even slavery. What kind of courage is needed ...

Meanwhile, the people of Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble we cannot rebuild the wall." Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will kill them and put an end to the work." The Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us" (Nehemiah 4:10-12). Ah, it se...

"what my God had put in my heart to do" (Nehemiah 2:11) and Nehemiah 4:1-6 Have you ever embarked on a new challenging endeavor? (Writing these devotionals counts as that for me!) Nehemiah and Co., all those years ago, embarked on a new challenging endeavor. Let's look for the similarities in our experiences. Starting out by sensing God's direction, and having an inner ...

After I looked things over, I stood up, and said ... "Don't be afraid of them.Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers,your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses" (Nehemiah 4:14). Have you ever faced opposition while you were trying to complete a goal, or perhaps experienced it in a relationship where you can remember the words ...

Nehemiah 4 What are you trying to rebuild? It isn't likely the walls of a city, but whatever it is it matters: to you, to God, and perhaps to others. Just know this: opposition will come. Here, for Nehemiah and the Jews, it comes - and it comes immediately - from clear enemies. Sanballat and Tobias, likely fearing the rebuilding project as a threat to their place in the ...

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed When they heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone ahead they were very angry. They all plotted to come together and fight against Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4:1, 7-8). Rebuilding is hard enough work all by itself. Add in some opposition, however When God works not eve...

Nehemiah 3 One of the good things about regular, consistent engagement with Scripture is it allows God to sneak up on us and surprise us: "Wow, I've never seen that before, I've not thought about it like that, it had never crossed my mind until now that " The Book of Nehemiah is about many things: rebuilding; leadership; community; prayer; dealing with opposition; dealin...

Nehemiah 3 In its thirty-two verses, Nehemiah 3 lists more than seventy names. Around half are the names of ancestors: so-and-so the son of so-and-so, which means we're introduced to around thirty or so individuals who served as foremen or supervisors of a specific part of the overall rebuilding project. Everyone mentioned in this chapter, everyone listed in the Book of ...

"went to workbuilt the adjoining sectionrebuiltrepaired the next sectionmade repairsrestored" (excerpts from Nehemiah 3). Up until Jerusalem was sacked and its leading citizens taken into exile the city was central to the practice of the Jewish faith. It isn't a surprise; therefore, that descendants of those exiles would long to return and rebuild. Nehemiah was one of the...

Nehemiah, son of Azbuk made repairs as far as the House of Heroes (Nehemiah 3:16). Archaeologists are not sure what the House of Heroes mentioned in Nehemiah 3 was or its precise location. May we suggest that the chapter itself is a "house of heroes"? You may be familiar with Hebrews 11, the "heroes of the faith" chapter: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses and the rest ...

Nehemiah 3 Nehemiah 3 is one of those chapters we mentioned last weekfull of strange names and unfamiliar places, a chapter we're tempted to skip. In the midst of this strangeness are two key words: rebuild and repair. Behind them, a word that pervades Nehemiah's book: remember. Re- words denote doing something again, typically something that needs redoing because it has...

Nehemiah 2 As we read our way through Nehemiah in the weeks ahead, we'll likely skip around one-third of the book: those lists of names of people who pretty much don't appear anywhere else in Scripture, and those genealogies that Scripture just can't seem to get enough of but which bore us to tears. Why would the Scripture-inspiring Spirit insist on including all those na...

I went to JerusalemI set out during the nightthen I said to them (excerpts from Nehemiah 2:11-18) Nehemiah had become a wise man by the time he entered Jerusalem that day. His was a wisdom honed by focus on the One True God who got him there. Contained in that wisdom was a treasurethe mission God had entrusted to him. Nehemiah didn't know these inhabitants of Jerusalem;...

I went to Jerusalem I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heartto do for Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:11-12). If you were asked to name the most important people in your life, you could do that pretty easily. How about the most important places? Maybe it's your childhood home or hometown, or a favorite vacation spot you return to year by year. Perhaps you enjoy visit...

I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:12). Have you been depressed by the breadth of brokenness surrounding you? Have you been overwhelmed with a looming project or the sheer volume of work that needs to be done? I certainly have! Gosh, it seems as if the world is crumbling around us right now! Nehemiah is overwhelmed with ...

Nehemiah 2:11-20 [Editor's note: Good to be backthanks for letting us take a brief break! We're always looking to add to our Connect Devotional writing team. You don't need to be a professional writer or Bible scholar. If you're at all interested in exploring the possibility, contact Alex or Brian.] Why rebuild? In Nehemiah's day Jerusalem was a shattered city on the far...

8"Rememberthe instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatteryou among the nations,9but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gatherthem from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.' (Nehemiah 1:8-9) (Note: If you're just joini...

8"Rememberthe instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatteryou among the nations,9but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gatherthem from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.' (Nehemiah 1:8-9) (Note: If you're just joini...

I confessthe sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's family, have committed against you.7We have acted very wickedlytoward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. (Nehemiah 1:6-7) (Note: If you're just joining us, for this week's Connect Devotional I'm recapping the daily exercises that I ended the message with this...

4When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.For some days I mourned and fastedand prayed before the God of heaven. (Nehemiah 1:4) (Note: If you're just joining us, for this week's Connect Devotional I'm recapping the daily exercises that I ended the message with this past Sunday. If you missed the message, you can watch and/or listen to it here.) Nehemiah asked the q...

2Hanani,one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnantthat had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 1:2) This week we're doing something a little different with the Connect Devotional. While the team of writers are away, we're going to play! At the end of yesterday's message I closed out with a s...

All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall treeand make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it (Ezekiel 17:24). It's a beautiful picture: Chatham Church as "a noble cedar," planted by God our Father-Gardener, grounded and secured in Christ our King-Taproot, water...

"'This is what the SovereignLordsays: 'I myself will take a shootfrom the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.On the mountain heightsof Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruitand become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find...

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very topof a cedar and plant it I will plant it I will plant it; it will produce branchesand bear fruit and become a noble cedar (Ezekiel 17:22-23). Most of Ezekiel 17 is a sobering parable about the righteous judgment and justice of God. But it ends with a beautiful messianic promise: in the mid...

I (the Lord) will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches (Ezekiel 17:23b). Twenty birds were perched on a telephone wire. One of them was shot. How many birds remained on the wire? None. (Since the remaining nineteen were instantly up in the air.) ...

Ezekiel 17:22-24 We're not starting a new sermon series this week; instead, we're looking forward to a "family meeting" this coming Sunday. Alex and Jaime will host a "vision refresh"a chance to catch our breaths, remember who we are in Christ, and revisit what our King is calling us to be and to do as Chatham Community Church. The text for this coming Sunday is Ezekiel ...

Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions were his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus There were no needy persons among them (Acts 4:32-34). What happened first? What...

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does theLordrequire of you?To act justlyand to love mercy and to walk humblywith your God (Micah 6:8). All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessionswas their own, but they shared everything they had.With great power the apostles continued to testifyto the resurrectionof the Lor...

Act justly; love mercy; walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). Selling their possession and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need There were no needy persons among them (Acts 2:45, 4:34). This week's two passages from Acts both follow immediately upon the apostles' proclamation of the resurrection. Our passage from Acts 2 comes right after Peter's sermon on Pentecost...

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does theLordrequire of you? To act justlyand to love mercy and to walk humblywith your God" (Micah 6:8) "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teachingand to fellowship, to the breaking of breadand to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.All the believers were to...

Act justly; love mercy; walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-37 As we enter this fourth and final week of our Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly series, we want to explore how the early church began to walk out the Jesus way. We'll use two passages from early in the Book of Acts, Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-37. Luke authored both our Gospel of Luke ...

What does the LORD require of you? To act justly, love mercyand walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10). Are you catching echoes of the prodigal son story in the story of Zacchaeus? A son who has "un-son-ed" himself based on his attitudes and behavior a good shepherd/good Father who seeks the return a...

What does the LORD require of you? To act justly, love mercyand walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10 As we have been attending to the perhaps familiar "Zacchaeus story" this week, it's important to set it in its wider context. Good Bible reading doesn't just attend to a given passage, it also notices...

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does theLordrequire of you? To act justlyand to love mercy and to walk humblywith your God (Micah 6:8). And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold" (Luke 19:8). The story of Zacchaeus the tax collector...

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). Jesus said to him (Zacchaeus), "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:9-10). Scripture tells us of two...

Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8) (Luke 19:1-10) [Editor's note: we're continuing our Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly series, diving this week into the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. I think you'll find that our writers will help you see that there's more to this story than we thought!] "Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little m...

Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). "Please come put your hands on my dying little girl and heal her," Jairus asked.So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed. And a woman (Mark 5:23-25). The waiting is the hardest part: waiting for lab results, for the doctors to evaluate them, for the doctors to finally get to you and give you the news t...

And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). ...one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus...fell at (Jesus') feet and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." So Jesus went with him... And a woman...who had bee...

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does theLordrequire of you?To act justlyand to love mercy and to walk humblywith your God (Micah 6:8). He went in and said to them,"Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were wit...

He has shown you what is good and what the Lord requires of you -- do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake Then one of the s...

What does the LORD require of you, but to do justice,love mercy and walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). Why doesn't Micah 6:8 instruct us to do mercy (act mercifully), just as it tells us to do justice (act justly)? Why are we to love mercy? We're taking Micah's three verbs in reverse order. Last week we looked at the third, walk humbly with your God. This week we'll ...

What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercyand to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). Six months ago life was already pretty complicated, right? Now add in a pandemic, turmoil and conflict around our complicated history with respect to race, and accompanying economic uncertainty, political gridlock, and it's feeling more complicated than ever. N...

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). Jesus gave them this answer, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does" (John 5:19). He was standing alo...

He has shown you what is good and what the Lord requires of you -- do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). Jesus gave them this answer: "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does (John 5:5-21). Children learn by example: that adage ri...

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does theLordrequire of you? To act justlyand to love mercy and to walk humblywith your God (Micah 6:8). "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself;he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does" (John 5:19). The old saying goes something like this: "if you ...

What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercyand to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). So because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working" (John 5:16-17). It's a bit complicated but hang in there and allow the Holy Spirit t...

Another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; he was given a great quantity of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth; and there were peals o...

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes,and from where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me,"These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robesand made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:13-14). Every human being on the face of the earth has a unique...

After this, I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb' (R...

...there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Revelation 7:9-10). "Th...

I looked, and there was a great multitude from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb crying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Revelation 7:9-10). What a beautiful scene: that great multitude, as "diverse" as we could possibly imagine, gathered to worship, cente...

They chose Nicholas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism (Acts 6:5). We've been looking at how the first Christians responded to a significant challenge and problem, a disparity in treatment between the Hebraic and Grecian widows. Usually, when we hear a sermon on this passage, we're looking at the beginning of the "office of deacon" and think the major take-away has to do...

Acts 6:1-7 When you're driving your car and hear a new noise, one that's different than normal, you become alarmed and rightly so. If you're wise you gather information about the noise -- when does it occur, at what speeds, in what temperatures, etc. -- you seek to determine its cause, and you take steps to fix it. If you're unwise you can ignore it, hoping it will go awa...

This proposal pleased the whole group ... So the word of God spread (Acts 6:5a, 7a). I was in my second year of teaching. My students were third graders and we were off to a good start. One day a new girl joined our class. I didn't know why, but the kids didn't welcome her as I expected they would. Trying to make up for their cold shoulder, I paid extra attention to her. ...

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing,the Hellenistic Jewsamong them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widowswere being overlooked in the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1). So you think we've got problems, huh? The truth of the matter is that problems have existed in the church from the very beginning. God is building a spiritual ...

the Grecian Jews complained against Hebraic Jews (Acts 6:1). Everything human has problems. This does not mean that every single thing humans do is bad. Just that it is mixed, a mixture of some of our best impulses and some of our worst, of mistaken certainties and honest questions, of motives base and noble, of God's Spirit and our sinfulness. This "mixture principle" ...

A priest, when he saw the man, passed by on the other side. So, too, a Levite saw himand passed by on the other side. But when a Samaritan came to where the man was he went to him (Luke 10:31-34). What we do is heavily dependent on what we see what we are willing to see. The priest and Levite in this parable see a danger, a not-my-problem situation. We don't know what ...

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was;and when he saw him, he took pity on him (Luke 10:33). Samaritans were a people the Jewish faithful had despised for generations. So it is ironic that their name has become forever paired with "good." That has happened because, with this story of the Samaritan, Jesus shows us what good looks like. The Samaritan ...

Luke 10:25-37 "Whwhwhat happened? Where am I?" "You're at the Jericho Palms Motel, pal. I run the place." "What am I doing here? How did I get here? Ouch! What's the story with all these bandages?" "You don't know what happened to you?" "Let's see I had some business in Jerusalem, and was heading home, and oh, my: I remember now! It was terrible what they did to me ...

But he wanted to justify himself,so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29) To the first-century Jewish mind, the Parable of the Good Samaritan is scandalous. I remember hearing it as a kid, and without any understanding of the historical setting of the story, it still made sense. Out of three who saw the injured man, only one was willing to love his neigh...

In reply, Jesus said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho " (Luke 10:30). We're continuing our new Race, Power and Healing series by listening to one of Jesus' most familiar and beloved parables. "Good Samaritan" has entered our language and even our legal system despite many people no longer knowing where the phrase originated. This sermon series began with ...

"The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it." (Genesis 4:6-7) At the root of every sin is a broken relationship. From the beginning of the Bible to the end, God is clear about one thing: ...

Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?""I don't know," he replied, "am I my brother's keeper?"" (Genesis 4:9). Well, that was unexpected: on top of a pandemic, lock-downs, re-openings, hygiene and masksa brutal, appalling killing of an unarmed, handcuffed African- American man by a white police officer (while three other officers stood by) and rightful ...

Genesis 4:1-16 Thanks to the wonders of modern medicine it's only about once a century that we experience a global pandemic, and because of the enduring reality of sin there are times in each generation when an event confronts us with layer upon layer of brokenness and sin. And with that confrontation an opportunity to make crooked things straight. Given the magnitude o...

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-40).Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home (Luke 1:56). Who is your go-to person, or persons? Say you have gotten good news...or bad news. You are confused or overjoyed. You need someone to ...

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled."Then the angel left her (Luke 1:26-38). It's June and already feeling summery, but our Scripture for this fifth and final week of our Into the Unknown series may have more of a December ring to it. Most of us have heard this scene recounted during Christmases past. Some strange guy comes to Ma...

The LORD appeared to Abram so he built an altar to the LORD who had appeared to him. From there, he went on and pitched his tent there he built an altar to the LORD (Genesis 12:7-8). Marie Kondo has made a name for herself and a small fortune by teaching us how to declutter. We could have learned all that and more from Abram. Abram pitched his tent, but he built his ...

"Go from your country, your people and your father's householdto the landI will show you."I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:1-3). Have you ever wondered ...

"Leave your country, your people, and your father's house and go " (Genesis 12:1). Abram left everything, but he didn't leave alone. We had one of the most significant "leave and go" moments of our lives about two years ago. Our pastoral assignment in Massachusetts was drawing to a close. And we were experiencing those hard-to- capture but also hard-to-ignore nudges and ...

Then the LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." So Abram left, as the LORD had told him... (Genesis 12:1, 4a). Sometimes the harder thing is when God's word is "Stay," as in Stay and I will bless My people with a better recovery from this virus. In Abram's case, God's word was "Go." We wo...

Genesis 12:1-9 Why did Abram have to go? Why couldn't God have blessed him, made him into a great nation, even blessed the whole world through him right where he was? Because something necessary happens on the way. As we head into this new week of our Into the Unknown series, we pick up this ancient story of an incredible journey. Journey-stories are among our most an...

The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.But just say the word and my servant will be healed" (Matthew 8:8). It's been said that justice means getting what we deserve; mercy means not getting what we deserve; and that grace means getting what we could never deserve. In the face of uncertainty, the centurion is motivated by compassion ...

I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:11-12) Reading aloud has always been a part of the bedtime routine in our house....

"When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help."Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed,suffering terribly." Jesus said to him,"Shall I come and heal him?" The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with so...

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith" (Matthew 8:10). Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would" (Matthew 8:13a). Small children have astonishing faith in their mothers and fathers. Why? Their little beings have s...

Highlights and news from CCC on 5.23.20...

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him,asking for help (Matthew 8:5). Into the Unknown How do we find our way in the face of great uncertainty? Uncertainty certainly feels uncomfortable, threatening, exhausting. Is seeking certainty the right response to uncertainty? Maybe not as much as we think. Of our four Gospels, Matthew is the most Jewish in tone a...

But Naaman went away angry he turned and went off in a rage "Go in peace," Elisha said (2 Kings 5:11-12, 19). Naaman knew how things worked and how to get things done. He was capable, decisive and successful. A military man, he knew about orders, obeying them and giving them. As a well-established, well-regarded commander, maybe more these days about giving orders. Na...

"Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, washyourself seven timesin the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed." But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of theLordhis God, wave his handover the spot and cure me of my leprosy So he turned and went off in a rage.Naaman'...

Namaan was a commander of the army a great man in the eyes of his masterhighly regarded a valiant soldier but he had leprosy (2 Kings 5:1). Leprosy, like corona virus, is no respecter of persons. This week's passage is about paying attention to "outside" voices, those that come from outside the normal channels, our preferred sources, the "proper authorities." Namaan's...

So Naaman left... (2 Kings 5:5b). So he went down... (2 Kings 5:14a). Then Naaman...stood before him (the man of God) and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel" (2 Kings 5:15). Naaman had three problems. The first was obvious. The second was too close for him to see. The third was too foreign for him to comprehend. Naaman's first pro...

2 Kings 5:1-17 What a bizarre story! A top-gun army commander named Naaman falls ill with leprosy and a slave girl suggests he travel into enemy territory for a cure. So Namaan heads off loaded down with gold and silver for the enemy and ticks off the king when he arrives. Then Namaan gets connected with a prophet whose cure is nothing more than washing in a river. Ser...

When they got into the boat, the wind ceased (Matthew 14:32). WARNING: I am going to call into question a cherished phrase of Christianese. GOOD NEWS: you get to decide if I'm right or wrong! Or somewhere in between. The phrase is "get out of your comfort zone." Maybe it's because I've heard it too often. Maybe it's because I am too comfortable. But at the same time, I ...

"'Lord, if it's you,'" Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water.""Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the waterand came to Jesus (Matthew 14:28-29). It is never an easy thing when Jesus summons us. If answering the call was easy everyone would do it, but there is always something to consider before doing so. Often the task at hand ...

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water.""Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat,walked on the water and came toward Jesus (Matthew 14:28-29). I love going to the pool. As soon spring starts warming up I start getting the itch. My son gets excited, too. He gets so excited I must make sure he applies sunscreen before leaving th...

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side But the boat was already a considerable distance from the land, buffeted by the wavesbecause the wind was against it But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I.Don't be afraid" Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying,"Truly you are the Son of God" (Matthew 14...

"It's a ghost!" they said and cried out in fear Jesus said, "Take courage, it is I.Don't be afraid" Peter said, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water" "Come," Jesus said Peter got out of the boat (Matthew 14:26-29). VUCA is apparently a new acronym for our times: life is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. Volatile: changing rapidly, constan...

Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were,and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it (John 20:25). "Doubting" Thomas, that wet blanket on the resurrection party. Talk about being in a confined space: "Unless I stick my hand into the spear wound in his side, I won't believe it." Poor Thomas has become the go-to illustration...

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders,Jesus came and stood among them and said,"Peacebe with you!"After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.The disciples were overjoyedwhen they saw the Lord. Again, Jesus said,"Peace be with you!As the Father has sent me,I am sendi...

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. John 20:19-20 NIV (The verses in bold below represent the same passag...

"Unless I (Thomas) see...I will not believe it."Then Jesus told him (Thomas), "Because you have seen me, you have believed;blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:25, 29). Have you ever felt a bit sorry for Thomas? After all, he's gotten a bad rap all these years as the guy who didn't have the faith to believe Jesus was alive when the others in...

Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you Peace be with you Peace be with you!" (John 20:19, 21, 26) Elijah wanted to die. Nebuchadnezzar wanted the three rebellious Jews to die. Paul and Silas didn't die in Philippi, but a severe beating and imprisonment in a first-century jail probably got them pretty close. As we come this week to the fourth and ...

The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joybecause he had come to believe in Godhe and his whole family (Acts 16:34). Everyone in this passage is in a tight space. Paul and Silas, in prison, of course; they're the heroes of the story. But also: a slave girl, economically exploited and demonically oppressed. Some prominent Phi...

After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailerwas commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.About midnightPaul and Silaswere praying and singing hymnsto God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:23-25). On the surface, being...

After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison...About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,and the other prisoners were listening to them (Acts 16:23a and 25a). In the movie A Walk to Remember, Landon takes Jamie to the Virginia/North Carolina state-line and asks her to stand with one foot in one state and one in the other. ...

Acts 16:16-36 March 13. That's when everything changed. As a teacher and mom of three school-aged children, hearing school would be closed at the end of that day for an unknown period of time rocked my world. I was working hard, cooking dinner, taking kids to practice, going to church, and going about life as normal up until then. I had been listening to the news, of cour...

Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment, the spirit left her (Acts 16:18). What got Paul and Silas into the tight space of a jail in Philippi? We're more familiar with how they got out, or rather how God got them outmore on that during this third week of ou...

They saw the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; theirrobes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them (Daniel 3:27).Refuse to bow in worship? Into the fire you go. The king orders the furnace heated "seven times hotter than usual" and orders his strongest soldiers to bind them tightly and toss them in. The heat is so i...

There are some Jews who neither serve your godsnor worship the image of gold you have set up" (Daniel 3:12). Exile to Babylon was, for the Jews of Daniel's time, the ultimate discipline from the Lord. But God's judgments are righteous and redemptive; their goal is not punishment, but recovery of identity, restoration of true health, reclamation of mission, and-- God ext...

"'But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what godwill be able to rescueyou from my hand?' Shadrach, Meshach and Abednegoreplied to him, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliverus from it, and he will de...

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 3: 12, 13, 16, 19, 20, 22, 26, 28-30). The most famous story in the Book of Daniel doesn't even have Daniel in it. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: every single time they appear in Scripture, they appear together and "in order," always Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Each and every time, standing as one, speaking as one. They appe...

Daniel 3the whole chapter, please! As we relearn each and every Easter, God does his finest work in the tightest spaces. Please keep that empty tomb in mind as we work our way through this Shelter series. Easter is not a once-and-done date on a calendar; death-and-resurrection is how God always goes about his work Be on the lookout for ways in which each of our Shelter ...

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life (1 Kings 19:3) Where did Elijah think he was going? What was he hoping to find once he got there? He runs because the powerful king and queen of Israel, Ahab and Jezebel, have sworn to kill him. He flees, first, all the way to Beersheba, the southernmost city in the Promised Land. From there, a day's journey into the desert. Find...

"'Go out and stand on the mountainin the presence of theLord, for theLordis about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful windtore the mountains apart and shatteredthe rocks before theLord, but theLordwas not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but theLordwas not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire,but theLordwas not in the fire. And after...

The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD,for the LORD is about to pass by" (1 Kings 19:11) What if God would like to have a different kind of conversation with us, with you? And what if God is present, is with us, in our current circumstancesin our current tight spacesto that end? There are all kinds of tight spaces. Some are shelters...

And the word of the Lord came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (I Kings 19:9b and 13b). A few weeks after saying my life-transforming "Yes" to Jesus, I sat in a church service where I Kings 19:3-18 was being preached. Although that was forty-plus years ago, I can still hear that pastor's reading of "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He put strong emphasis on the...

Elijah traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.There he went into a cave and spent the night (1 Kings 19:8-9). God does some of his best work in confined spaces. Jonah inside a great fish. Paul writing much of our New Testament from prison, and John, the Book of Revelation from a penal island in the Aegean Sea. Bunyan's Pilgrim's P...

So Joseph brought some linen cloth, took the body down,wrapped it in the linen and placed it in a tomb (Mark 15:46). What is today, this day that you are reading these words? Well, it's Saturday, April 11, 2020 a weekend day, Day Number Whatever in our virus-changed world maybe your birthday, or anniversary just another day the day after Good Friday, the day before E...

Mark 16:1-8 Take time with the story; take time in it. Notice: Mark tells the story of the Resurrection through the lens of three women. They have been "minor characters," not even mentioned by Mark until the very end of chapter 15: these women witness the crucifixion and watch as Jesus' body is entombed nearby (15:40, 47). It has been just a week since what seemed to b...

Mark 16:1-8 As you work your way through Mark 11-15 and arrive at this week's passage, Mark 16:1-8, the sermon text for Easter Sunday, here are some things to notice. First, notice Mark's very strange ending. The final word in Mark's Gospel is afraid! You'll probably have some footnotes in your Bible that explain that we're not sure if this is how Mark intended to conclu...

... they were on their way to the tomb... "Don't be alarmed, "he (the young man dressed in a white robe) said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here... But go, tell his disciples..." Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid (Mark 16:2, 6a, 8...

"As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robesitting on the right side, and they were alarmed."Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene,who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him,ju...

When the Sabbath was over very early on the first day of the week,just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb (Mark 16:1-2) We'll be reading this week's Connect Devotionals in the days immediately after Palm Sunday. However, they focus on the sermon text for next Sunday, Easter Sunday. So we're doing a bit of time-bending here, providing tomorrow's news (or n...

"No, said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet" (John 13:8). Oh, Peter: you got it partly right. It is of course inappropriate that the one you call "Lord" should be washing your feet! (We note that Peter is happy to advise Jesus, but not leap to his feet and switch places with him.) (And, noting how this story unfolds, Jesus would not have let Peter switch places.) It...

If I don't wash you, you can't be part of what I'm doing...So, if I, the Master and Teacher,washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet." (John 13:8) As I parent I hear myself saying, "Just watch me. I can explain, but just watch for a minute and you'll get it." Likewise, as a daughter, I find myself doing things just as my mom did them -- because I saw her do i...

Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now,but you will know after this" (John 13:7). I had never participated in a foot-washing ceremony until 2007 when I began attending a small historic church in NJ. Their custom was to do this on Maundy Thursdaythe night commemorating the Last Supper. Never since have I read the account of Jesus wash...

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied,"You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered,"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" (John 13...

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This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters (1 John 3:16). A tiny virus we can't see is bringing our world to its knees. We're hearing the phrase "new normal" a lotand it seems like we're getting a new new normal every day. This can be confusing, scary, wearying, but it looks like...

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20). The tension in the operating room was palpable as the chief surgeon resolutely pushed the gurney carrying the heart donor through the doors. Waiting inside lay the terminal pa...

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God,who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20). You might be familiar with this "old Maine" joke: a tourist stops to ask an old Mainer for directions: "How do I get to Millinocket?" The old-timer rubs his chin, looks one way, ...

Follow God's example,therefore, as dearly loved children,and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved usand gave himself up for usas a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:1-2). My wife loves to cook. Some of her favorite dishes to make are ethnic: Thai beef salad, Korean pork tacos, and Greek chicken gyros, to name a few. My all-time favorite is Hunga...

live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself upas a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2). Many of us are familiar with this Scripture: "Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life '" (John 14:6). Before Jesus is the truth and the life, he is the way. Jesus calls us to follow him. Follow his lead. Follow his example. Follow his c...

In him you too are being built together to become a dwellingwhere God lives by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:22). The Jesus way is the only way God goes about God's business. We're looking at God's new-Temple building project, as Paul unpacks it in this week's passage (Ephesians 2:11-22). And very suddenly and unexpectedly, we're thinking about this in the face of a pandemic. ...

In him you too are being built together to become a dwellingwhere God lives by his Spirit (Ephesians 2:22). Ephesians 2:19-22 describes an active construction zone: building materials (people!) are gathered, cornerstone (Jesus!) installed, foundation laid, an entirely new kind of "building" is risinga building that actually is not a physical structure but a new kind of ...

"For he himself is our peace,who has made the two groups oneand has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2:14). When I was a kid, my favorite thing to do was go to my grandparent's house. It was a land of delicious food and endless amounts of Disney movies. My grandfather's den was known as "the grandkids room," and my sister, cousins and I ...

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to ...

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God's peopleand members of God's household (Ephesians 2:19). My husband Tony immigrated to America from Asia in 1969. I've wondered if this is why photos of grateful immigrants becoming US citizens tug at my heart. When I read this verse, however, I see that maybe my spirit identifies with im...

Ephesians 2:11-22 Your Connect Devotional scribes hope our readers are reading the whole of the week's Scripture passage before diving into our brief attempts to comment on one or two aspects of it each morning. Please get a sense for the forest before reading our observations on one or two trees! We're currently exploring a wonderful, beautiful, un-boundaried "forest"...

He forgave all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:13b-14). I volunteered in a refugee camp as a college student one summer. Though I witnessed much pain and loss, God blessed me so much during that time. I enjoyed getting to know people in t...

When you were dead in your sins God made you alive with Christ (Colossians 2:15). We're a pretty "performance oriented" country. We love high-performance cars, get performance reviews at work, experience "performance anxiety" of all kinds and in lots of situations, and know that "past performance is no guarantee of future results"! We're only as good as our last perfor...

When you were dead in your sinsand in the uncircumcision of your flesh,God made youalivewith Christ (Colossians 3:13). There are no zombies in the family of God. You've all seen your fair share of zombie flicks, right? Zombies are those half-dead creatures, formerly human, who now teeter somewhere between the realm of the living and the dead. They aren't fully consciou...

He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:14b-15). Do you like to be told what to do? True confession: I don't. Okay, that's not always true. But when as a teenager I pushed back at my mother's list of Saturday morning chor...

God made you alive forgave all our sins cancelled the written code that was against us disarmed the principalities and powers, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:13-15). We all have favorite colors, right? As a child, when you got that box of new markers or colored pencils or paints or the Crayola 128-crayon mega-box, you had some colors you used more than ...

God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting our sins against us.And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). The message of reconciliationthat great good news that through the cross, God has reconciled us to Godis hard to say and harder to hear in our current context. The general idea of reconciliation is highly regar...

God made him who had no sinto be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Have you ever wondered, "Why the cross? Why did the Son of God have to die on a cross in order to forgive my sins?" The answer to that question is at once complex and incredibly simple. The cross reveals God's wisdom through what it allowed Him to ac...

All this is from God, who reconciled himself through Christand gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). Reconciled is a wonderful word about a bad situation. Reconciliation is needed when a relationship has broken down, gone bad, been destroyed by evil, injustice, anger, rejection, bitterness, unforgiveness. Reconciliation involves hard and difficult ...

And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselvesbut for Him who died for them and was raised again (2 Corinthians 5:15). God is Love. Love exists in relationship, and God is all about relationship. God is, therefore, all about reconciliation when there is relationship break-down. The archetype of relationship break-down is found in the Genesi...

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) At the heart and center of the Christian faith and life hangs a crucified man. And around that terrible image some weighty and wonder-filled words have gathered: atonement, reconciliation, ransom, forgiveness, redemption, restoration, substitution, sacrifice, blood, victory, along with many others. We w...

Then Jehoshaphat stood up and said "O LORD God we have no power to face this mighty army. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you" (2 Chronicles 20:5, 12). Ever feel at a loss for words when it comes to prayer? The Bible is chock full of prayers: every Psalm is a kind of prayer, so there's 150 of them. The Lord's Prayer. The prayers that Paul prayed for the ...

Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's (2 Chronicles 20:15b). Some Old Testament stories are grim, but they were preserved because each has a lesson for us. Often we can go for years not-getting-it, then one day our eyes are opened to its relevance for our life. In 2 Chronicles 20 Jehoshaphat and his people are ...

"...Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's" 2 Chronicles 20:15. In the regular army the higher you go up the chain-of-command, the less likely you are to find people who fight. The logic is simple. It's much easier to oversee the execution of a battle plan if you're not on the front lines facing the brunt of the...

"Attention everyone -- all of you from out of town, all of you from Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat -- God's word: Don't be afraid; don't pay any mind to this vandal horde. This is God's war, not yours. Tomorrow you'll go after them; see, they're already on their way up the slopes of Ziz; you'll meet them at the end of the ravine near the wilderness of Jeruel. You wo...

Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Israel fell down in worship before the LORD (2 Chronicles 20:19). What's the most human thing we do? Better yet, what's the most humanizing thing we dowhat is it that makes us most distinctively and most fully human? Worship. Every human being is a worshipper of something. Christ calls us to be wo...

Ephesians 6:10-17 There it is, four times, in this classic Pauline passage on "spiritual warfare": stand. Take your stand stand your ground after you have done everything, stand stand firm. Not stand around doing nothing. Not stand still, unable or unwilling to move. Not stand in a safe spot. Stand in the battle. Keep your position. Follow the "standing orders" of Ki...

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,against the authorities, against the powers of this dark worldand against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). If ever a person had a right to be angry with people, it was Jesus. Think about it: while he was being nailed to a cross, the blood being spilled with ever...

"Put on the full armor of God" (Ephesians 6:13). If you ran into someone, let's say at a crowded checkout line, dressed in a full suit of Roman armorhelmet, breastplate, shield, sword, the whole worksyou might be puzzled, bemused, or maybe annoyed: no wonder the line's moving so slowly! If, however, you encountered someone whose life was characterized by truth, righteous...

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) A good first step in recognizing our enemy is discerning whom our enemy is not. Thankfully Paul tells us up front that our enemy is not people. Yes, it ma...

"Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). The King James renders Ephesians 6:12 like this: "We wrestle not against flesh and blood." Many Christians have mis-heard and mis-read these words as saying "we don't have to wrestle." But if you are a Christ follower, you are already in a wr...

2 Kings 6:8-23 Wouldn't it be terrific to know what your enemies were saying and planning? Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to see, as Elisha could, God's armies of fire, surrounding and protecting you? Surely, if we studied Elisha's life and story deeply enough, we could discover some spiritual tips and techniques to provide ourselves with that kind of hearing, that k...

2 Kings 6:8-23 It's a funny story: an ancient warlord who finds himself being spied upon by God; he imagines he has surrounded his enemy, Elijah the prophet, only to find he has been surrounded by the armies of God; he and his army are struck blind, then led like sheep straight to their opponent and to certain death ("Shall I kill them, my father; shall I kill them?" ve...

"but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom" (2 Kings 6:12b). On October 7, 2010 I got to be God's messenger girl. I was driving through Netcong, NJ when I glimpsed a woman standing on the corner smoking a cigarette. Into my awareness came this message: "My Sweet One, you need never smoke a cigarett...

"Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?" And one of his servants said,"None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israelthe words that you speak in your bedroom" (2Kings 6:11-12). A download is a transfer of information from one system to another, and many people think that downloading started with the age of ...

[Elisha's servant said], "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" The prophet answered,"Those who are with us are more than are with them" (2 Kings 6:15-16). We're beginning a new series, "Eyes Wide Open." Let's set the scene for this week's Scripture passage: It's been about 200 years since King David, and around 850 years before Jesus. God's people Israel, originally unit...

From Blessing to Building Brian and Kathy Emmet Blessed are the poor in spirit Everyone who hears these words of mine and putsthem into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock (Matthew 5:3, 7:24). Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with blessing. Who doesn't like to be blessed? Jesus ends the Sermon with a story about two builders and two bui...

Good Tree, Bad Tree Lana Waters Liu By their (the false prophets') fruit you will recognize them. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit (Matthew 7:16, 18). If the idea of a good tree and a bad tree sounds familiar to you, you may be remembering the two trees in the Genesis garden. We were told way back then that the bad tree is the...

Not Everyone Brian and Kathy Emmet Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). "Jesus is Lord!" is the core Christian confession. The apostle Paul wrote that if we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, we ...

If This Fruit Could Talk Blake Barbera "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a disea...

Two Ways, Two Trees, Two Buildings Brian and Kathy Emmet Matthew 7:13-29 Fred Rogers ("Mister Rogers"), who appears to have known Jesus pretty well and modeled some pretty right-side up living in our upside-down world, said, "Life is deep and simple, and what our world gives us is shallow and complicated." Jesus makes things simple, which is not the same as making th...

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Salt and light...

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Kingdom salt and light...

Jesus says it’s hard to live this kind of blessed life. There is resistance and opposition, both internally and externally, to living a blessed life characterized by poverty of spirit, meekness, mourning, purity of heart and all the rest that Jesus lists in his nine blessings. Resistance and opposition means persecution....

The way Jesus is talking, that way is upside-down. It sounds like He's saying showing up and being with Him is the right-side-up way. Or even just longing to show up and be with Him....

Here’s the good news: God begins the righting of the upside-down world, not by commanding or rebuking or punishing, but by coming in person and speaking words of blessing. Blessing gets life going -- true, real, and abundant life!...

Putting Jesus first frees us from self-absorption. ...

A life of faith, hope, and love...

Paul exhorts his readers that love is more lasting than spiritual experiences, that's why it's the most excellent way. ...

Paul gives the definitive answer to this question....

Love matters more than the other things that vie for our attention and affections....

Lots of people answering the question "what's the good life?" ...

Paul helps us to win the battle in our heads!...

You can either prayerfully expand your dominion (training, skills, mentors, get help) or surrender and embrace your limits. ...

thanksgiving fights anxiety...

The Spirit is in us, making us gentle and strong...

Paul in Philippians 4 invites us to rejoice in the Lord always--one of the ways he's going to instruct us in fighting to win the battle for the voices in our heads. ...

Paul cites an ancient hymn to help us to understand who we need to be in relation to one another....

Paul lists things that kill community and exhorts us to get rid of it!...

The unique and distinguishing characteristics of Christian community...

In Philippians 2, Paul encourages the church to lean into their shared experience in Jesus....

We have to learn how to do community and how to do it well. ...

The law was an attempt at keeping the flesh at bay. The Spirit was a much better option....

Why biting and devouring and destroying happens, especially in religious communities....

We need Jesus to help us to really understand what God means by love, freedom, and other key concepts...

We've got to understand what real freedom looks like and means...

God wants us to be free. We just gotta' get on the same page about what that means...

Our character formation in Christ leads us to a place where we can ask whatever we want and God will (one day) grant it!...

Some suggestions for engaging difficult sayings of Jesus...

Remain in Jesus--hard but simple!...

Jesus says God is a good gardner who prunes us....

A reflective reading of the Good Friday story...

A reflective reading of the Maundy Thursday passages...

Jesus walked the guys on the road to Emmaus through the Old Testament. ...

Our disappointments are the other side of our expectations and hopes. Jesus meets us in those and sometimes blows them up for something much better. ...

Jesus asks the men on the road to Emmaus questions to surface their hearts and needs...

Jesus celebrates that the woman does what she can. That frees us to do what we can do and know that Jesus delights in it as well. ...

Worship is a waste of time and money unless Jesus is worth it. People will always object, and they're right. Unless Jesus is who he says he is and unless God is as good as Jesus tells us he is....

Sometimes you've got to break a valuable thing to do the priceless thing....

The chief priests became the type of people who could kill Jesus day by day and bit by bit. ...

Jesus has come to Jerusalem to embrace his necessary ending. We have to embrace ours, too. ...

Bringing your curious mind with you when reading scripture is one healthy practice for deep and meaningful Bible engagement....

The names that are placed on you shape the way the world sees you and the way you see yourself. ...

You have a meaningful part to play in the bigger story....

Focus on your legacy and you’ll lose it. Focus on loving the Lord and the people he places in front of you and you’ll leave a legacy that will be worth remembering....

We operate for much of the time as if we’re the main character in the story....

Ruth and Boaz are both noble people, no matter what. ...

Sometimes doing the right thing is an abrupt surprise to the people around us. ...

Naomi gives Ruth a crazy set of instructions, Ruth rolls with it. ...

When the church is working well, we're family for each other. The ancient church had to be family for one another because of their level of persecution....

Sometimes we settle. Naomi pushes Ruth to not to. ...

Naomi utters her first positive words in Ruth on the other side of Ruth's interaction with Boaz, as both Ruth and Boaz do courageous things that bless others. ...

Participate in the blessing economy by crossing a typical social boundary or barrier. ...

God has positioned us to bless others...

God's at work, even in our darkest times. ...

Faced with all sorts of uncertainty, Ruth takes a small courageous step of faith. God's Spirit makes us strong to do the same kind of work....

Kinship that has morphed into friendship is demonstrated by Ruth's commitment to Naomi. ...

God sometimes seems out to get us. Naomi and Ruth's story shows us that's not true...and we have to fight for what is....

God's grace is available to us, even in difficult times. Sometimes we just have to slow down long enough to receive it....

What we do when our life feels mostly like we're "without" is something we can learn from. ...

The book of Ruth opens up with all kinds of heartache. God is still at work, even though it doesn't look like it. ...

In a sober warning to the religious leaders, Jesus warns that they will break apart on him as they continue to refuse to recognize him and receive his words. ...

There are lots of warning passages in the Scriptures, how do we receive them as a gift of grace rather than frown upon them as judgmental and angry? ...

The Father and the Son are devoted to sharing their inheritance with you....

Israel ignored God's warnings, killing the prophets. We do the same thing. ...

If we stick with Jesus long enough, we'll bump up against something that's hard for us. Stick with it, it's worth it. ...

We all want to be justified on some level. Let God's justification of us carry the day!...

If our understanding of God is warped our prayers will be warped. Our prayers can help us to see as a mirror our picture of God--and help us to do some correction if necessary...

How do we have convictions and yet live generously?...

Jesus didn't get along with self-righteous religious people like many of our friends who aren't Christians. That's good news!...

Jesus frees us from empty religion to a real relationship...

God gives us earthly money to allow us to invest in something eternal....

Jesus challenges us to invest in eternal things...

Sometimes we have to remember reading Scripture is a cross-cultural experience. Be patient, do a little digging and we might learn some things....

Getting creative with problem solving takes a little step back sometimes...

Jesus shows us how to continue to trust in God's goodness even in the midst of our disappointment with his slowness to act on our behalf. ...

Jesus invites us to pray because God is good and God is love. ...

The persistent widow persists! How might we persist in our own works that we need to do today? ...

Nobody feels like they pray enough. That's why Jesus gives us instructions to stick with it....

Luke tells us that Jesus tells us that we should always pray and never give up!...

Jesus describes the heart of God to have a full house marked by the gathering of people who were previously overlooked...

Daily life can cause us to miss out on the kingdom of God...

It's always easier not to go, not to do things. But there's a core of our relationship with Jesus that compels us to get going. ...

Jesus invites us into the great banquet of the kingdom of God...

Jesus challenges the religious and is kind to the people in the margins. How do we do at matching pitch with our audience? ...

Clarity never comes from the crowds. Jesus shows us where it comes from and how to handle the crowd pressures. ...

Jesus tells the demons to be quiet even though they're speaking truthfully about who he is. ...

Jesus heals and touches people to make them well!...

Healing isn't just for us. It's for us to be a blessing to others. ...

Peter's married--he's normal! That means the ways that Jesus intersect his life has something to teach us about how he might want to intersect ours....

When we experience Jesus's power and authority in our lives, there's a response of worship and witness that are natural. We need to share it....

Jesus is the re-humanizing agent in a world full of darkness and corruption and pain ...

The demons are afraid of Jesus--so we have hope for our own battles against darkness. ...

A quick look at demons in the Gospels...

Good news: Jesus is the authority we can trust and we were made for....

Self-righteousness is one of the biggest competitors for your heart. ...

The prophet is rejected in his hometown--what hometown wisdom we will refuse to listen to? ...

Jesus's mission statement doesn't seem to include us, but that's a good thing....

Jesus's first sermon, he reads his mission statement from Isaiah...

Jesus goes home and hangs out at the old synagogue. ...

Memorizing Scripture helps to cut through the fog of temptation. ...

Description of why Jesus was tempted...

Lord's prayer, lead us not into temptation...

Temptation definition, overcoming it....

Jesus in the desert...

Helping to understand why Jesus got baptized when he was without sin....

New year and a new voice for the Connect Devotional ...

What do you do when people project their Messianic desires on you? ...

Forfeiting the soul doesn’t usually happen in a moment....

Some days, I want the Lord to tell me the direction he wants me to take so that I can decide whether to submit to him or not. This is not his way....

Paul pursues Jesus with all his energy: “straining” and “pressing on.” As he does so, his past has less and less influence on him. Christ comes to rule and reign in his heart....

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!...

The experience of redemption isn’t complete for us until we’ve responded to Jesus with gratitude....

No one is excluded because of their ethnic background or the place of their birth. We all have an opportunity to be part of Jesus’ kingdom and to thrive under his reign....

A God bigger than our imagination or comprehension will always be shrouded in mystery. He offers us a mystery; he offers us himself....

As we approach Christmas, let’s remember that the baby whose birth we celebrate on this holiday became the King over all. And this gives us cause for great rejoicing....

We aren’t told why God chose this particular place, this particular community. And this is a common experience for us....

Word studies allow us to dig deeply into the meaning of words and their usage in the broader biblical and ancient context....

There’s a fulfillment that happens in the near term and then a second fulfillment that happens down the road....

What do you think God sees when he sees you? ...

From the very start, he’s extraordinary: God who is truly with us....

Who’s going to give us the sign we need to move forward into the uncertain future with confidence?...

How does the Lord set up an eternal kingdom marked with justice and righteousness? ...

A new generation, a new king offered a new start, hope that things can take a turn for the better, that the future might be great....

Light in the darkness … that’s a powerful image for Christmas-time....

The Jesus who pushes us to love across borders did this himself and did this by design....

As we see God’s willingness to include places and people who society considers on the margins, we can feel both sobered and encouraged. ...

Christmas comes every year. In a way, Christmas feels inevitable. As we spiral out and look at history, that feeling persists....

This is a great way to let your curiosity guide you into the biblical text and to create space for the Lord to speak to you in your study of the Bible....

It’s important to pay close attention to the Lord’s engagement in this story. He seeks out the main characters. He listens to them. He responds to them. He stays, well, engaged....

Listening carefully to and believing fully in the words of God protects us and, graciously, restores us. But doubt, confusion, and distrust stand daily at our elbows....

We may not have all the resources we might want ...

We desperately need God’s grace...

We would expect to feel something positive when we’re in the sweet spot of our destiny, even if it isn’t always easy. Perhaps that’s part of the reason God wants us to do good works. ...

Paul wants to protect us from the temptation to take credit for our salvation....

God gives us something we don’t deserve, haven’t earned, and desperately need....

Years ago Alex introduced us to a phrase that offers great insight into this dilemma: “God’s ‘No’ is always in service to his larger ‘Yes.’”...

In Christ, we see God’s persistent initiative. We aren’t left to our own devices. God follows through on his promises....

As we consider God’s faithfulness to Christ as faithfulness to us, we’ll gain confidence that God can be trusted....

We’re going to invite you to meditate on a verse this morning. ...

What does Jesus tell us about God’s character and intentions?...

Generosity will change and shape you. Becoming a generous-hearted person may cost you. Some might take advantage of you. But in the long run, you’ll flourish....

The good and beautiful life is always available to us. We may find ourselves in challenging and desperate situations. We may have moments when we can’t see through the tears. But God is for thriving. And he will make a way for you to experience life and joy … if you are willing....

How can both Nebuchadnezzar and the Lord Almighty carry the people off into exile? ...

Communities frequently have to rise to challenges. They rebuild. They restructure. They forgive. And these challenges leave a mark on the community … in some cases a scar, in others a callous, and in still others a pearl....

Something had changed in Zacchaeus....

Jesus’ every word and phrase can ring in our ears....

What do you expect God to do when he sees you?...

All sorts of things motivate people to seek Jesus: a longing for meaning, a desire for community, curiosity, financial interests, peer pressure … the list goes on and on....

God desires to bless the entire cosmos with life. ...

God loving the world must have come as quite a shock to Nicodemus...

God has given a big gift and, in some ways, taken a big risk, in the hope that we will believe and, in that belief, enter into his family and receive life....

God offers us his committed loyalty and covenant faithfulness....

Take some time today to read the dramatic conclusion of Mephibosheth’s story. Commentators disagree as to what happens with him here....

The Lord’s way of lifting us out of our shame isn’t to create a fiction in which we have nothing of which to be ashamed....

When we walk in step with his Spirit, we find ourselves drawn toward holistic engagement with people in need....

When you think about God, do you think of him as kind?...

Faithfulness to the Lord overflows into kindness toward others. ...

God can make you brave...

You don’t have to be muscular to be strong. You don’t have to be intimidating to be influential. The Lord can do mighty things in and through you if you’re willing to let him guide you in the use of your voice....

What do you do when you’re disrespected?...

David found himself in the in-between part of his story: anointed but not yet ascended to the throne. And those in-between places can be so challenging....

Change and loss can be disorienting to us. We can struggle and veer out of control. These are the times when we most need friends. These are the times when we most need God....

The easy, obvious shortcut that appeared in that cave in En Gedi might not actually have been as strategic as it seemed....

That kind of respect for the office, for David, stemmed directly from his respect for the Lord. ...

Moments like these reveal what’s inside of us. What do we choose to do in the opportune moment?...

Don’t be discouraged. Complex problems are just that. And they can be overcome. ...

The desert is both a challenge and an opportunity...

We easily underestimate the influence we have on others. An idle word or comment or bit of action or inaction can carry outsized cachet. ...

Good Bible readers will float and test theories as to why things are happening in the text and why people say and do the things they do....

Food and water are almost always more than food and water....

History never repeats itself exactly. And the new thing that happens can be remarkable....

Although the Bible is intimately concerned with the highest spiritual themes, it doesn’t shy away from engaging with issues like hunger and thirst....

When we refuse to fight the giant on the giant's terms, the Lord can lead us via creative paths to a meaningful victory....

David spent his youth working as a shepherd. His experience there marked every corner of his life, from his leadership to his spirituality. ...

Faith and courage don't prevent us from experiencing fear and anxiety; instead, they help us to connect with God in the midst of our fear and move forward in the face of our anxiety....

On a day when the virtue of courage is publicly celebrated, perhaps it’s appropriate for us to look close to home for examples of courage. When we find them, we can show honor, express gratitude, and thank God....

We are better together. The Lord has hard-wired us for community, that we thrive when we have meaningful connections. And this also is the best way for us to engage the world for good....

Hope became confidence. Confidence became courage. Courage become action....

David's confidence in the Lord is so central to his identity that it comes spilling out of him even when trash-talking....

David does not let his lack of direct experience disqualify him. David does not presume future success because of his past victory. David is less focused on his qualifications than on the Lord’s presence. ...

A new person jumping into an old, stuck situation with a new perspective (and maybe a little new life) can change history....

When God wants to get us moving again, he has to reframe our relationship with our giants....

Words and speech can be cheap if they aren’t backed by action and truth. ...

Today’s passage circles back around diagnostically. If we feel no pity when faced with a brother or sister in need, something has gone wrong with our relationship with God....

Compassion is the most important action in the face of need....

As a church community, we are blessed to have some in our midst who have material possessions and others who are in need....

We need help to move toward real love. Our love-compass is broken. It spins and spins in circles because the magnetic power of our own neediness overwhelms everything in our orbit. We need Jesus to settle us so that we can love....

Proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ completes our joy. It satisfies some need deep within us. It terrifies and blesses us. And it can change the world. ...

The purpose of proclamation is connection: connection with each other and, ultimately, with God. Fellowship. ...

Try letting the Holy Spirit guide your reading today...

A co-opted Jesus is not Jesus. He doesn’t work for our political or philosophical schemes. He stands on his own feet. Mash him together with the rest of that and you’ll lose him altogether. ...

Jesus breathes new life into us as his love invites us to live with him in a larger, clearer, brighter world. ...

The clearest picture of love isn’t buried in some corner of the future or hiding in some region of the present. You can see love as easily as you can see your own shadow … if you’ll look....

We need common ground and we need someone else to set it for us....

Our valuation of love can vary as widely as our definitions of it....

The Pharisees look at the individual behavior and not the system behind it. They ask about the disciples’ activity and not their poverty....

Sabbath often brings collisions between our values. What do we do when our values collide?...

Rest requires effort. Rest is not passive. Rest is active and rewarding. And when our restless souls find their rest in God, we thrive....

From God’s initial creative work in the universe work and rest are intertwined....

The Lord provided non-condescending support, guidance, and structure in the Sabbath...

Slaves work day-in and day-out. They have no rest from their labors. But our heavenly Father wants to give us good, good rest....

Our reasons for rest reach back to the ground of creation and the dawn of time. ...

In times of restlessness, the knowledge that the Lord is real and really loves us changes everything....

Some of our restlessness is fueled by our surprise that troubles show up in our lives....

We are at our most realistic when we realize his realness and reallocate our attention accordingly....

Fear can drive restlessness....

The same Lord who gives shelter and security and sleep also gives support to those who dream the dreams he so generously gives....

Every night when you drift off to sleep, you have a powerful reminder that you are loved by God....

There’s almost always more work to do than can ever be done....

The Lord’s will is not bound to ours as if he’s a marionette being pulled by the strings of our activity....

If we think we’re in it all on our own or that our effort is the only effort that matters, when will we ever rest?...

In reading, we experience communal relationships not only with the author but also with others who are listening to the words. ...

What do you do if your father’s instruction and your mother’s teaching don’t feel like a garland to grace your head or a chain to adorn your neck?...

One way to navigate the communications chaos in the world is to set up priority people, people to whom you’ll listen no matter what....

A humble take on our current era can help us pursue wisdom in healthy ways in our generation....

The echo of the proverbial straight path reminds us that trusting Jesus is how we get to holiness, righteousness, and life....

The easiest path isn’t always the most direct one....

How much trust does it take to walk with the Lord for a lifetime?...

The Lord knows what it’s like to experience disappointment. ...

Maybe the struggle isn’t with guidance; maybe the struggle is with trust....

The Lord cares how we live our lives. ...

Our relationship with the Lord can create space for us to have other relationships....

Wholehearted trust in the Lord looks like depending on him rather than your own understanding....

We have so many options for where to place our trust....

We don’t just pursue wisdom for our sake. When we get wisdom, everyone around us gets blessed....

You can choose who you spend time with and how you will allow them to influence you....

You’ve been entrusted with something precious....

If we want to grow in wisdom, we need to spend time with those who have wisdom. ...

What do you picture when you picture walking with the wise? ...

Don’t turn your mind off when seeking the Lord. He’s the source of all the brilliance that dwells inside you....

Wisdom and Wealth are not enemies....

You don’t have to already be wise to gain wisdom....

God’s reaching out to us makes it possible for us to reach back out to him with hope and confidence....

Wisdom will watch over, protect, and guard our hearts according to Proverbs. But what does that look like? How can we guard our hearts?...

Which path do we want to walk?...

What makes wisdom so valuable?...

Wisdom emerges from relationships: relationship with your context, with your community and with your heart....

God’s invitation to us is to receive free, healthy, wildly-alive hearts. Jesus came to give us hearts that fill our lives with life. Walking wisely with him requires us to tend thoughtfully to the condition of our spiritual and emotional lives....

All the good we do in the world in the name of this particular King must be done in love....

What if this new way of seeing the world got its light from relationships rather than from obedience to rules?...

Don’t let the commandments take the place of God....

We may want to have a different set of conversations with the people we love or a different way of engaging with our local community. But we have to start where we can start....

Ask yourself: “Of all the _______, which is the most important?” Pause for a beat and reflect on what your answer reveals about you and your perspective....

What does this prayer show me about the way I think about God and feel about this person for whom I’m praying?...

There’s something powerful that happens when we pull our affection into our awareness and communicate it to another person....

Paul feels the way about his friends in Philippi that mothers often do for their children....

The work won’t reach completion for a while. But don’t lose heart. God loves you and won’t let you go....

Joy fills our prayers and our hearts and spills out from our faces as we go to the places God sends us with the people he gives us....

Jesus doesn’t just serve; he empowers us to serve....

Learning the secret of contentment requires relationship....

Contentment always seems to be just around the corner and just out of reach....

When we rest in the security of contentment we can be available to truly see and respond to the needs of people around us....

Don’t let guilt or shame over past inaction keep you from making a difference in the future. ...

The ultimate destiny and goal and end of all strength is service....

Serving always requires strength....

There’s something special about pausing for a beat to study on your own....

The hard and joyful work of the soul that’s alive to God in Christ is to serve anyways. Where we can. When we can. And to be gentle with ourselves when we just can’t....

The example Jesus gives us lands in the midst of God’s empowering work in our lives....

Sorry to flood your inbox, but I just remembered that I wanted to add something....

When we’re included in Christ, new bonds spring into existence between us and each and every individual who is connected with God....

Human connection is an essential element for Christian social engagement. It’s what makes Christian social engagement distinctly Christian....

Love doesn’t preclude passing laws, boycotting, protesting, or engaging in activism. Love shapes the way we do all of these things. ...

This week we’re going to be studying a whole book of the Bible. Sure, it’s only one chapter. But that still counts!...

Amazing things happen when we obey God....

Ananias needed to see differently before he could do differently. ...

The reason Jesus includes Ananias has little or nothing to do with Ananias and a lot to do with Jesus....

Comfort and Challenge with Jesus...

The resurrection changes everything....

Why might there be no needy persons in a faith community?...

Our most important question in life kicks in here: What is God like? ...

When we forget the resurrection reality and treat Jesus as a dusty historical figure, our experience of connection and impetus for generosity begin to fade. We lose perspective. Our petty differences take on an exaggerated significance....

Unity precedes generosity. And generosity always follows unity....