A Journey



Daily reading: Matthew 2:1-12
Monday January 4, 2016

Focus passage: They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?  We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.” Matthew 2:2

The Magi, while they are on a journey are not really sure of the end location.  They travel to Jerusalem which is only about 6 miles from Bethlehem, so it is understandable that they stop there first and see if the new born king is in Jerusalem, where the king resides.

But they find that he isn’t and so their journey continues.  How often do we assume to know where God is leading us only to find that it is in a different direction than we imagined? Rather than finding a new born king in a palace, they find a child living in a modest dwelling.

Prayer: God of epiphanies and a-ha moments, open my eyes to your presence today.  Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scripture as a guide and not a weapon

Daily reading: Acts 15:1-19 Monday May 15, 2017
As the body of believers is growing and the Spirit is out ahead of the physical movement of followers, infusing communities and surprising both believers and non-believers, word has spread to Paul and Barnabas out in the Gentile community that those in Judea believe that salvation only comes to those who are circumcised.  The church in Antioch sends Paul, and Barnabas and several others to Jerusalem so they can present a different view point.
When they arrived, they give a full report of the Gentile conversions and the work of the Spirit in the communities they had visited.  It is at this meeting that some of the scholars of the law stand up and say, “The Gentiles must be circumcised.  They must be required to keep the Law from Moses.” And thus a debate ensues.
While we have a tendency to use scripture as a weapon to prove we are right, be it on a number of issues throughout time as a means to end the discussion, that is not what the Jerusale…
Keep reading

Relationship

Daily reading: Job 1:1-22 Saturday July 9, 2016
Focus passage:  Job arose, tore his clothes, shaved his head, fell to the ground, and worshiped. In all this, Job didn’t sin or blame God Job 1:21-22
There is unimaginable suffering that happens in our world.  We have heard of others like Job that have lost everything in the blink of an eye.  For those of us who are worriers, when we hear about similar stories in the news it send us into a state of panic and anxiety. 
So the more beneficial question is how do we respond to undeserved suffering?
Job responds by praying to God and blessing God’s name.
If the book ended here, it would be a much simpler parable.  We still would have to deal with a God figure that allowed undeserved suffering for the sake of proving a point, but it wraps itself up quite nicely.  Job is faithful when he is wealthy and happy beyond measure and is still faithful when all has been taken away and he has suffered unimaginable lose.

Prayer:  God you are Holy and worthy t…
Keep reading

Faithfulness

Daily reading: Job 42:1-6 Sunday August 7, 2016
Focus passage: My ears had heard about you, but now my eyes have seen you.  Therefore, I relent and find comfort on dust and ashes.  Job 42:5-6
While on vacation, I had the pleasure of finally meeting one of my neighbors.  My kids and husband had met him probably about a year ago, but I was always away from the house when they had their conversations over the fence that our yards share.
He asked what I do for a living and our conversation blossomed.  What was intended to be a quick question at our front door ended up with a conversation around our dinner table.  He really wanted to hear what I thought about the life of the church in this era of what seems like a mass exodus from faith communities.  I won’t go into the details of our conversation, but will highlight a common theme.  Laced throughout the conversation was the theme of why faith and faithfulness is important and how we live our faith is vital not only for ourselves but for our c…
Keep reading