surrender ⁽²³⁾

John 6:44–51; Acts 15:12–21; Romans 1:16–25 (read online ⧉) One of the hardest things for any believer is the understanding that a loved one may not be with them in Heaven. Whether one believes in Dante’s 7 circles of Hell, the Hell of endless torment,…

Deuteronomy 4:25–31; Jonah 2:1–10; Matthew 9:35–38 (read online ⧉) Moses is not all that optimistic about the future spiritual health of the people of Israel. He’s downright pessimistic about what paths they will follow away from God. There is something in today’s opening verse that…

Mark 8:27–33, Luke 4:1–13 Giving up others to God’s hands can be very hard. It’s interesting that Jesus explained (in basic terms) what was going to happen. It wasn’t could happen; it was would happen. Peter, emotional Peter, didn’t want to lose his friend. There…

Genesis 3:1–20, James 1:12–16, Hebrews 2:13–18 (read online ⧉) The reality is that humanity has a hard time trusting God. The story of Adam and Eve is a great allegory of humanity and trust. Adam, especially, should have trusted God wholeheartedly. Eve, too, should have…

Luke 2:21–39, Ephesians 2:11–14, Philippians 2:5–11 (read online ⧉) The “rush” of a newborn child and all the angst that went along this particular child’s birth should have settled down a little. The day of Jesus’ circumcision was a day of fulfilled law and ritual.