Lent ⁽⁹⁷⁾

Jeremiah 31:31–34; Psalm 51:1–12; Psalm 119:9–16; Hebrews 5:5–10; John 12:20–33 In Christian circles and theology, we talk about the New Covenant. When we read about the New Covenant from Jeremiah, the honest person might question which New Covenant Jeremiah was talking about. “They will no longer need to…

Psalm 51:1–12; Habakkuk 3:2–13; John 12:1–11 That household is a problem. That’s pretty much the description for the household of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. One dies, is buried for 3 days, and then lives again (and will die again). Another takes some really expensive stuff…

Psalm 51:1–12; Exodus 30:1–10; Hebrews 4:14–5:4 Even if every single Israelite behaved completely within the bounds of Law, and thus no sin offerings were offered for an entire year…still Aaron would have to perform the ritual of reconciliation. No matter how perfect every Israelite was,…

Psalm 51:1–12; Isaiah 30:15–18; Hebrews 4:1–13 This passage from Isaiah was written for me. It sounds like my life. “Lord, help me figure this out.” “Wait.” “Argh! It’s too much! I’ve got to do something!” “Wait.” “I can’t wait! It’s too much!” [time passes] “Well,…

Psalm 107:1–16; Isaiah 60:15–22; John 8:12–20 In the US, Christians as a whole (versus individually), are disliked (if not hated), forbidden (i.e., closed-minded, intolerant, bigoted, prejudiced, etc.), and culturally abandoned (granted, much of that is based upon Christians running for the “holy” hills and their…