PENnED
…before they're washed away
recent posts
- Does God Take People Away? Rethinking Job 1:21 in Context
- Grafted Into One Tree: What Paul Actually Meant About Israel, Gentiles, and the People of God
- When Frameworks Distort Scripture: Learning to Hear the Text Again
- The Obscenity of Misplaced Allegiance
- A Reflection Honoring the Women Harmed by Cruel Abortion Laws
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Category: Reflections on Scriptures
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Read 2 Peter 3:10-13 A Discover Magazine article has a list of “20 Ways the World Could End.” The Bible has only one. And it declares it in a matter-of-fact way: “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare”…
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Read John 1:43-51 On some hot and humid day, the best thing to do is do nothing. A good place to do just that: under the shade of broad-leafed fig tree. And if it’s too hot to go elsewhere for some snacks, the tree might offer some sweet refreshment as well! But perhaps Nathanael was just killing…
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Mark 1:9-11 (NIV) 9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love;…
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Read: James 4:13-17 The world around has been telling us that if we do the “right” steps–and they usually exclude knowing the will of God–then we can do whatever we want and we can be whatever we choose to become. But in our Scripture text today, there is a reminder to remember, an advice to prize,…
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We do not take our health for granted. During the holidays, some of us ate more and exercised less. Perhaps now we’re trying to reverse that. But there is another area of our life that we should even be more concerned about.
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Read: Proverbs 2:1-9 We often assume we need to be wise to, well, live wisely and successfully. But what is a wise person? Let me suggest the definition found in verse 9: a wise person is one who understands “what is right and just and fair–every good path.” And how do we get there from wherever we are now…
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Read: Luke 6:27-36 The second day of 2012 is like coming down from a mountain-top experience. There’s the messy kitchen to clean up and laundry to do. Or, worse for some, going back to a job they hate and working with people they don’t like very much. But such is life. However, instead of just living…
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Read Luke 2:15-21 ________________ Amazing One of CNN’s Top 10 Newsfeed the other day had this warning for a headline: Don’t Get Caught Using These Banned Words in 20121 Guess what word tops the list. “Amazing”! Amazing is one of the abused and overused words that people want banned. And someone blames Martha Stewart…
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Read: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 Believe it or not, I don’t get paid for this and a lot of other things I am doing. So why do I do them? Everything I do is a response to the love of God: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only (or only begotten)…
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Read: Acts 20:22-32 22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race…
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Read: Isaiah 53 The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. —Isaiah 7:14 “Yeah, right!” If Christopher Hitchens were still alive today, that’s probably how he would respond to Isaiah 7:14. But to us who believe, the revelation that Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us,” makes our hearts rejoice and moves us…
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Read: Romans 12:9-21 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine…
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