truth ⁽¹⁵⁷⁾

Matthew 15:10–20, Luke 6:39–42, Ephesians 6:12–18 In our current political and cultural climate, there are plenty of sharp barbs being thrown out. If we wanted to, we could say flaming arrows, which is metaphorically accurate. It’s pretty nuts, and certainly unloving, unpeaceful, impatient (i.e, doesn’t…

Psalm 20, Isaiah 50:7–11, John 3:16–21 “May he give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.” Psalm 20:4 What does your heart desire? What is your WHOLE purpose? Those are two questions that humanity has wrestled with since the eyes/hearts/minds of Adam…

Psalm 105:1–4, Deuteronomy 24:17–22, Acts 6:1–7 —John Wesley “…no holiness, but social holiness…” has been misused over the years, being equated with social justice. John Wesley was specifically speaking about what would now call private versus public faith. For John Wesley—and the church as a…

John 17:20–23, Philippians 1:27–28 E Pluribus Unum. If you look at US currency, most (if not all) will have this saying. In Latin, it means "Out of many, one." While the US might be the gathering place of people of many nations, it is the…

Jeremiah 28:1–9, Luke 12:49–56, John 14:27–31 There is something quite jarring in Jeremiah’s response to Hananiah. Did you catch it? Only when peace actually comes true will a prophet who prophesied peace be considered a true prophet. If you prophesy war, famine, pestilence, death, it’s…