The House You're Building

  Introduction   The Israelites have seen God move in dramatic ways.  They have just been rescued from Pharaoh for a second time.  This left them on a spiritual high as they responded in worship.  Yet after seeing the plagues and God’s deliverance, days without new miracles leave them despondent.  Many of the stories in this installment of Exodus show a people with short memories.  They begin to grumble as God’s provision doesn’t come in their timing.  They need water in the desert and complain to the One who had just commanded the Red Sea to destroy their enemies.  In biblical settings, the desert is a place where people wander, need guidance, and mutter against Yahweh [1] .  Is it so different in our days? In symbolic fashion we describe seasons of life where there is dryness and scarcity as being “in the desert.” Are we patient with God and remember what He has just done for us when His timing i...

  During advent season, many pastors retell the Christmas story to their congregants.  It is a blessing to hear afresh the narrative of how our Lord came to earth, answering the long-awaited hopes of His people.  After 400 years of silence, the angels sang praise of His immanent arrival to shepherds.  One my favorite decorations I set up is the nativity.  I’ve collected pieces over the years that visually express how the story unfolds in the synoptic gospels.   This year, I’m reflecting on a more distant part of the Christmas story, the one that started in Genesis 3, where our ancestors ate of a tree in disobedience and sin entered the world.  The curse was upon the earth and humanity has suffered in sin ever since.  Genesis 3:15 predicts the enmity between humankind and its oppressor to end when the Offspring will come who will crush his head, rendering the snake, one symbol of Satan found in scripture, ineffective....

        Orient  John 7:1-52 After the Passover and the feeding of the 5,000, time passes and another Jewish festival is held, the Feast of Booths.  Jesus initially goes privately then openly teaches in the temple.  Escalating conflict with the Jewish leaders arises, especially after He declares, during the water drawing ceremony, that He is the living water.  The Pharisees finally take steps to arrest Him but the offers tasked with this mission fail to do so, as they are amazed by His words.  As we’ve come to expect in this greater section within the book of John, his words are often misunderstood and the miracles He performs are debated among the people as proof of his identity as Messiah.     Introduction Between high school and college, I did some traveling through Europe.  Growing up in a small town, I was amazed to be at places I’d only read about in books like the Colosseum, the Eifel Tower, ...

    Orient  John 4:1-42 Today’s reading is another encounter story.  This time, instead of interacting with a Jewish male who is a respected teacher and leader, Jesus witnesses to Nicodemus’s polar opposite-- a Samaritan woman, who is living in sin. Yet the conversation has the same focus; everyone needs eternal life.  This vignette shows Jesus wants all to be saved no matter their ethnicity, gender or place in society.  At the end of the encounter with the woman, Jesus gets a chance to teach his disciples about salvation through symbolism of the harvest and how satisfying it is to do God’s will.  Ending the section, the transformation and testimony of the women, like the harvest Jesus speaks of, multiples into more believing He is the Messiah.  Interestingly, this section is the only place in John where Jesus clearly reveals himself as the Messiah before His trial before Pilate.    Introduction How do you avoid ...