“To live in Christ instead of death”

Morning: Psalms 95, 22; Jeremiah 29:1, 4-13; Romans 11:13-24

Evening: Psalms 141, 143:1-11; John 11:1-27

Jeremiah says God’s plan for exiles – isn’t this everyone in some way? – is to restore their fortunes.  Exile is being cut off from life and from what once sustained you.  It is like being a branch cut off from its tree, it is a kind of death.  Jesus, though, says he is the resurrection and the life – the one who brings home exiles, restores branches cut off from their source, and calls us from death into life. William Stringfellow says a Christian is one who responds to Jesus’ call and chooses “to live in Christ instead of death.”

Graham

Don’t expect praise when you speak the truth.

Morning: Psalm 131, 132; Jeremiah 26:1-16; Romans 11:1-12

Evening: Psalm 140, 142; John 10:19-42

Priests and prophets threatened to kill Jeremiah when he warned them to mend their ways.  600 years later others wanted to stone Jesus because he claimed to be “God’s Son.”  Some people listened to Jeremiah and Jesus, some didn’t.  Usually, a small and faithful group hears the truth, believes it and acts on it.  It’s a safe bet that our efforts to speak truth are not likely to be rewarded with praise either!  Truth is hard to hear, hard to believe.

Graham

I don’t want to be a sheep, but …

Morning: Psalm 119:145-176; Jeremiah 25:30-38; Romans 10:14-21

Evening: Psalm 128, 129, 130; John 10:1-18

I don’t want to be a sheep. For related reasons, I don’t want to be a shepherd either, nor do I want a ‘flock’ of cute but dumb followers! Could that be why the Bible uses sheep-shepherd images … people ignore their leaders and get themselves into trouble, like sheep?  On the other hand, Jesus is the ‘good shepherd’ who lays down his life for the sheep, so they know how much he loves them.  Of course … There’s the connection!  People and sheep are more alike than I realized.  People need love more than anything else; just like sheep.

Graham

Sight comes with faith, not the other way around

Morning: Psalms 121, 122, 123; Jeremiah 25:8-17; Romans 10:1-13

Evening: Psalms 124, 125, 126; John 9:18-41

Because the nations disobeyed God, Jeremiah said they would have to drink from the “cup of God’s wrath.” It doesn’t sound good, does it?!  St. Paul made faith more inviting. He taught the Romans that the answer to their struggle to live well was written on their hearts.  Obedience to external laws inevitably leads us to fail, or to misinterpret the spirit of the law.  Insight (inner sight) into the spirit of the law comes with faith.  When your heart is no longer blind, you can see the Way and follow in it … because you want to.

Graham

God’s unconditional high regard for us all

Morning: Psalm 31; Jeremiah 24:1-10; Romans 9:19-33

Evening: Psalms 35; John 9:1-17

It is unwise, for any reason, ever to assume that God regards you more highly than other people. Such proud assumptions are usually undone by the discovery that God looks with unconditional high regard on everyone you may have thought was inferior to you!  The mistake of pride lies in trusting yourself and your own judgements about what is important more than you trust God.  But God chooses to regard every one of us with Love and Mercy without reference to anything we have done, or failed to do.

Graham

Finding life by losing it

Morning: Psalms 118; Jeremiah 23:16-32; I Corinthians 9:19-27

Evening: Psalms 145; Mark 8:31-9:1

If you claim to speak for God, exercise extreme caution; maybe it’s just you talking!?  Take very special care if you say, “all will be well” when it may not be.  When Jesus told them that he would die and rise again, his followers said ‘no!’ and argued with him.  Yet Jesus was sure that his death on a cross (harsh though it was) would, in the end, become the path to life.  Following Jesus means expecting that you may have to give up life as you know it in order to discover life as it really is.

Graham

What to do with betrayal?

Morning: Psalms 107:33-43; 108:1-6; Jeremiah 23:9-15; Romans 9:1-18

Evening: Psalm 33; John 6:60-71

Most of us have experienced betrayal of some kind. Betrayal happens when we face unresolvable conflicts of loyalties. In Bruce Almighty, Jim Carrey is God for a week; predictably, he is unable to resolve the conflicts people bring to him. This is a big problem for us humans. The Biblical writers even suggest that God may be causing our betrayals! While we may be mistaken to blame our betrayals and hardness of heart on God, it’s not a bad idea to take our confusion about these things to God. After all, can’t God bring good, even out of our betrayals?

Graham