enemy ⁽⁴²⁾

Psalm 3, Genesis 14:17–24, Exodus 23:20–33, John 16:1–11 Enemies are a thing. Sometimes the enemies are more in our head than outside in the world. Sometimes enemies are those that do us harm when they are supposed to be striving for our good. Other times,…

Matthew 5:43–48, 2 Corinthians 12:1–10 Perfection. There are many well-meaning people that say perfection is the enemy of progress, profit, completion, excellence, or that perfection is the disease of a nation or a disguise of insecurity. Generally, however, it is not perfection that is the…

Genesis 2:4–19, Isaiah 2:11–22, Proverbs 3:1–18 “…Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust…”—Book of Common Prayer, Burial Liturgy The Circle of Life was (and remains) a powerful song. Just the title itself reminds us that life is a circle. Adam (i.e., mankind) came from dust. That…

Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17:5-10, 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 Has someone ever said to you, “I don’t trust anyone?” First, imagine living life like that. Someone who lives such a paranoid life could never be happy. You cannot love if you cannot trust. Second, anyone who says…

2 Chronicles 6:32–42; Jeremiah 31:7–14 Solomon was ceremoniously blessing the newly constructed Temple. There is a lot of political pomp and circumstance that is part of the ceremony. It would have been expected, and much of the political speech dressed up in religious language had…