Joy ⁽⁸⁰⁾

Luke 4:14–30; John 7:1–9; Romans 13:8–10 Love is a powerful force. Jealousy, envy, and fear are also powerful forces. Over time, love does win over jealousy and envy, but it often takes a lot of time, and the hurt and pain can take a long…

Daniel 3:8–30; Matthew 7:15–20; Revelation 20:11–15 Thinking about fire is often not comfortable. Homes burn. Forests burn. On the other hand, metal is purified through fire. Through that fire, many beautiful and amazing things are made. Just like in our own lives, fire serves different…

Matthew 25:14–30; Luke 19:12–27 (read online ⧉) If you’re like most people in the US, you have a retirement account. If you’ve retired, the stock market swings may not affect you very much, except for secondary investments. If you are not retired or have other…

Mark 7:1–8; Mark 12:38–40; Luke 14:7–14 (read online ⧉) To some degree, we all have a desire to be needed, acknowledged, valued, and heard. Often these are decried as pride. Yet, research (and life) consistently show that a child who is acknowledged, valued, and heard…

Ecclesiastes 3:16–4:3; Job 3:1–26 (read online ⧉) Let’s be honest, Ecclesiastes is not the most uplifting book of the bible. In many respects, it can be a bigger downer than the story of Job. Both books are generally put under (along with Proverbs) the category…