Mar2020
A little karma
[Jesus’] disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him’. (verses 2,3) Read John 9:1-41 The Buddhist concept of karma describes a spiritual cycle of… Read more
Mar2020
Twenty-three
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul (verses l-3a ESV) Read Psalm 23 Psalm 23 is a favourite for many people. It has been memorised in Sunday schools, quoted in movies and prayed by countless… Read more
Mar2020
Ready for action
So then, have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant. Instead, be holy… Read more
Mar2020
Christ removed sin once and for all
For Christ did not go into a Holy Place made by human hands, which was a copy of the real one. He went into heaven itself, where he now appears on our behalf in the presence of God. The Jewish high priest goes into the Most Holy Place every year with the blood of an… Read more
Mar2020
Amish County Pennsylvania
While we wait for the blessed hope (verse 13a). Read Titus 2:11-15 Today’s reading comes from deep within the core understandings of the Amish people of Pennsylvania. One has to admire the literalist mentality that aims to restrict behaviour and maintain a straight and right plan of living. Monastic living is another alternative to this… Read more
Mar2020
Live to serve, not to be served
‘This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of the others — like the Son of Man, who did not come to… Read more
Mar2020
When God doesn’t take no for an answer
God answered, ‘I will be with you, and when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will worship me on this mountain. That will be the proof that I have sent you.’ But Moses replied, ‘When I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors sent me to you,”… Read more
Mar2020
Lay down the load
Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. (verse 29) Read John 4:5-42 On a hot, dusty Samaritan road, a weary, worn-out traveller encounters Jesus. After meeting him, she leaves her water jar at his feet. What did that water jar represent? It represented a need didn’t it? If there… Read more
Mar2020
Praise, kneel and listen
Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! … We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. (verse 6) Read Psalm 95 Worship begins with a rousing shout of recognition and celebration. ‘The Lord is King; ‘The Lord is risen.’ Worship is not a now and then thing but an… Read more
Mar2020
Where is the Lord?
The Lord himself saved them… But they rebelled against him and made his Holy Spirit sad. So the Lord became their enemy and fought against them. (verse 10) Read Isaiah 63:7-14 Isaiah’s portrayal of the relationship of God and Israel is intensely personal and almost shockingly human. It’s a story of love betrayed by unfaithfulness…. Read more
