Today’s readings: Micah 7:11-20; 1 Peter 4:7-19; Matthew 20:29-34 Two blind men were given their sight by Jesus. Matthew wrote that they heard Jesus was going by and, despite the crowds’ admonitions to be quiet, they shouted for his attention. There seemed to have been a vision on their part about Jesus, that he could and might help

Sunday of the Week of Advent I Lift up your heads, O Gates; lift them high O everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. “Who is this King of glory?” “The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle.” Lift up your heads, O gates; lift them high, O everlasting doors;

Today’s readings: Isaiah 24:14-23; 1 Peter 3:13–4:6; Matthew 20:17-28 It is a bold request that the mother of the sons of Zebedee made of Jesus: asking for places of honor for her sons within the kingdom of God. Amazingly, Jesus did not rebuke her or her sons. Instead, Jesus put forth his own question: “Are you able to

Today’s readings: Zephaniah 3:1-13; 1 Peter 2:11-25; Matthew 20:1-16 Wait for the Lord; he will accomplish the day’s goal. Entrust yourself to him, not to your own industry and diligence. Consider the parable in today’s gospel reading. Early in the day, laborers were hired to work the whole day for one small, silver coin. Midday,

Obadiah 15-21; 1 Peter 2:1-10; Matthew 19:23-30 I have sometimes been accused of using Jesus as a crutch. I admit I have definitely learned to lean on him. He is the rock on which I depend for my life and for my salvation. I also admit that I slip off of that rock more than I should.

Today’s readings: Nahum 1:1-13; 1 Peter 1:13-25; Matthew 19:13-22 We find very little in Scripture about little children. Most biblical stories speak about the adults in God’s plan of salvation. In some cases, like in the story of the feeding of the five thousand, Matthew writes: “And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and

Today’s readings: Joel 3:1-2, 9-17; 1 Peter 1:1-12; Matthew 19:1-12 In the past several years, much has been said about marriage. Many folks argue who should be allowed to marry and who has the right to define marriage. For the record, Jesus, who is God incarnate, defines marriage when he goes back to Genesis and discusses the creation of

Today’s readings: Isaiah 19:19-25; Romans 15:5-13; Luke 19:11-27 I remember working years ago at a lumber company for a rather disagreeable boss. He was very demanding and expected a lot out of me and certain other employees. I watched as others did less work but received the same pay. One day I asked about his management style and