calling on God in good times and bad
lection reflection for 13 August 2019 / reading the bible daily with the church
Today's 'lection reflection' isn't from today's daily lectionary reading but from the devotional guide my wife and I use each morning, To Live With Christ by Bo Giertz. This morning's reading was from Jeremiah 2. The following passage from this chapter struck me:
I remember the loyalty of your youth, . . .
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on detours and not getting what you hoped for
lection reflection for 30 July 2019 / reading the bible daily with the church
Today's New Testament reading is from Acts 16. Buried in the midst of this chapter is a divine detour:
They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not . . .
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on rocky ground, thorns, and good soil
lection reflection for 22 July 2019 / reading the bible daily with the church
Today's Gospel reading comes from the 4th chapter of Mark, the familiar Parable of the Sower. In fact, for many of us, this parable is so familiar that it is hard for us to read it attentively and afresh because we have heard it so many times! As I have written and taught elsewhere, we are so familiar with this parable and so aware . . .
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praying for our leaders
lection reflection for 18 June 2019 / reading the bible daily with the church
Today's New Testament reading (1 Tim 1.18-2.8) made me chuckle a bit in light of the recent clamor about Franklin Graham's call for a day of prayer for President Trump. Given his outspoken support of Republican presidents and consistent criticism of Democratic presidents, it's easy to see Graham's call as . . .
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a lectionary trifecta!
lection reflection for 13 June 2019 / reading the bible daily with the church
Wow. Today's three readings are all amazing! Each of them stands on its own as one worthy of plumbing its depths and meditating upon. Which to choose?
Our passage from 2 Tim 3.1-17 reminds of the wickedness that surrounds us in our culture that is hostile to Christianity and the inevitability of persecution and suffering . . .
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the God who wants to be found
lection reflection for 12 June 2019 / reading the bible daily with the church
In contrast to yesterday's Old Testament reading, today's (Isaiah 65.1-12) shows us another facet of God's character--his desire to be sought and found. Yesterday, we read about God's hiddenness, especially as a result of sin. Our encouragement in times like those, from Martin Luther, was to seek God and pursue him. . . .
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a God who hides himself
lection reflection for 11 June 2019 / reading the bible daily with the church
Today's Old Testament reading (Isaiah 63.15-64.9) speaks of God in an interesting and (perhaps) unusual way. In response to Israel's turning away from God, Isaiah cries out:
You have hidden your face from us.
You have let us be ruined by our sins.
--Isaiah 64.7 GW
We don't often think . . .
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