ashes ⁽⁸⁾

Psalm 115; Ezra 9:5–15; John 16:16–24 Collective guilt has been on the top of many lists in the last year. Regardless of your political, philosophical, or religious perspective of the collective guilt issues, it does allow us to better understand the pressure that Ezra felt…somewhat.

Psalm 22:25–31; Amos 8:1–7; Acts 8:1b–8 For many people, singing in worship of God is a significant part of their life of faith. They love the joy-filled worship of God. The image provided in Amos takes those joy-filled songs and turns them into songs of…

Psalm 19; Exodus 19:16–25; Mark 9:2–8 Heaven is declaring God’s glory; the sky is proclaiming his handiwork. One day gushes the news to the next, and one night informs another what needs to be known. Of course, there’s no speech, no words— their voices can’t…

Isaiah 58:1–12; Psalm 51:1–17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10; Matthew 6:1–6, Matthew 6:16–21 Today is Ash Wednesday. This ancient church tradition goes beyond Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox. It a time of self-reflection. Many call it a time of self-mortification. This is why it is often a…

Daniel 9:3-10, Psalm 25:1-10, 1 John 1:5-10 The ashes that many had on their foreheads yesterday are gone, either rubbed or washed off. As we read yesterday, ashes are a sign of repentance. Daniel sought God through prayer, supplication, fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Daniel uses…