response ⁽¹⁴⁹⁾

Matthew 9:9–13; Luke 10:25–37; James 2:5–13 “For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,   the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”      — Hosea 6:6 (CSB) It’s interesting that the same translation, the CSB, translates Hosea 6:6 with faithful love, while in Matthew 9:13 it’s…

Psalm 30; Hosea 13:4–14 Yesterday was the birthday of my stepfather. He passed away years ago. For whatever reason, this year his birthday hit me kind of hard. He and I had our good moments. We had our bad moments. Just like any parent-child relationship.

Luke 10:17–24; Revelation 19:6–10 One of the greatest joys a parent can have is the success of their children. This isn’t necessarily financial nor even survival. The best times are watching them succeed when they do not think they are capable. That’s Jesus’ joy when…

Numbers 3:44–48; Numbers 18:20; Deuteronomy 10:8–9; 1 Peter 2:3–10 Inheritance wars have long been a genre of popular fiction. Whether the fights were over business or titles of nobility or who will take over the family criminal enterprise. Sometimes, battles are fought over who gets…

Job 1:9–22; Ecclesiastes 3:1–11; Ezekiel 18:5–18 You are probably familiar with Pete Seeger’s Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season). Written in the late 50s, it was commercially via The Byrds in 1965. It takes Ecclesiastes verses 3:1–8 and puts them to music.