mercy ⁽⁷⁷⁾

Isaiah 26:1–6, Psalm 18:1–9, Nehemiah 6:15–16 (read online ⧉) What is hope? Hope is knowing deeper than deep that God has got your back. The struggle for us is that having our back doesn’t always mean avoiding pain or consequences. Isaiah’s vision of Jersualem is…

Exodus 25:16–22, Isaiah 33:17–22, Psalm 118 (read online ⧉) So much of the Levitical law was about the dos and don’ts. Israelites and (later) Christians became overly concerned about the blood being shed, and all the sins committed requiring it. Yet, God set out an…

Colossians 3:12–17 οἰκτιρμοῦ (oiktirmou) :: mercy and concern with sensitivity and compassion χρηστότητα (chrēstotēta) :: giving to or providing for a person as an act of kindness ταπεινοφροσύνην (tapeinophrosynē) :: humble attitude and without arrogance πραΰτητα (prautēta) :: gentleness of attitude and behavior / not…

Acts 6:1–7, James 2:14–26 In his book, With Unveiled Faces, Kieth Drury writes, “Serious Christians get into lifesaving boats and go to sea to rescue people in need, refusing to sit in our warm lighthouses waiting for the shipwrecked to wash up on shore.” As…

Ezekiel 12:21–28, Jeremiah 32:17–23, Matthew 16:1–4 In the Post-Enlightenment or Scientific Age (depending on how you want to define either or both), evidence has been crucial. It’s not as if we are all that different than the Israelites. Ezekiel’s words come at a time when…