Lent ⁽⁹⁷⁾

Psalm 84; Ezra 6:1–16; Mark 11:15–19 If you are unaccustomed to the lectionary (again, what is being used this year for the passages), it can seem odd, annoying, and definitely repetitious to see the same Psalm for multiple days. As I, too, am reading it…

Psalm 84; 2 Chronicles 29:1–11, 16–19; Hebrews 9:23–28 A few days ago, we read about Jesus cleansing the Temple. As noted, then, prophets doing “over-the-top” things weren't totally unexpected. Generally, it was uncomfortable, but God’s true prophets weren’t known to bring comfort without discomfort. Sometimes…

Exodus 20:1–17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18–25; John 2:13–24 Jesus’ “cleaning” of the Temple is often focused on how the Jews “corrupted” the House of God. There is truth in it. The scary part is that it often seems to be a, “look at them”…

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…

Psalm 19; Exodus 19:9b–15; Acts 7:30–40 “What Holy ground,” isn’t a rhetorical question. It’s a real one. What is Holy ground? The land surrounding the “burning bush” was Holy…for a time. Notice that it wasn’t important to God or Moses what happened after that encounter.