July 1st, 2024
Read 1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. I really love words! So when I read a couple of different translations of this verse I was struck at the varying translations of the word “bears.” The ESV uses “bears,” the NLT uses “never gives up,” […]
June 29th, 2024
Read: Ezekiel 36:26-27 NRSV A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you […]
June 28th, 2024
Read: Galatians 5:22-23 NRSV By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. What does it mean to be a virtuous person? The pagan cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance could provide, at best, a sense of […]
June 27th, 2024
Read: Proverbs 22:24 NRSV Make no friends with those given to anger, and do not associate with hotheads, or you may learn their ways and entangle yourself in a snare. In some ways we are like children walking past a giant mud puddle. We know that we should steer clear of it and walk on […]
June 26th, 2024
Read: Romans 12:2 NRSV Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. Paul acknowledges the disparities that may exist between the believers to whom he writes, but believes that it […]
June 25th, 2024
Read: Ephesians 4:26 NRSV Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, So, knowing that even Jesus was capable of anger makes us feel better about our own emotions, but Paul gives us more guidance on what to do with our anger. In the heat of the […]
June 24th, 2024
Read: Proverbs 19:11 NRSV Those with good sense are slow to anger, and it is their glory to overlook an offence. What do you do when you feel disrespected? Belittled? Mocked? Nobody would blame you if you rose up with righteous anger and spoke up for yourself, maybe giving the offender a piece of your […]
June 23rd, 2024
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NRSV Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful You’ve probably heard this passage read at every wedding you’ve attended. It works well as a benediction to a relationship, […]
June 22nd, 2024
Read 1 Corinthians 13:4b-5 NLT Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. “…and it keeps no record of being wronged.” Some friends of ours have a tradition that we have adopted. Each […]
June 21st, 2024
Read 1 Corinthians 13:4b-5 NLT Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. “It is not irritable” There is a small sign that has hung in my house for the last 20ish years with […]
