Category Archives: Scripture

Psalm a Day to Read the Bible

There are five months left in this unique and crazy year. That is 153 days. What a better way to end this year than with a new Bible reading plan. Over the next five months, my plan is to read eight chapters a day: five Old Testament, one Psalm, and two New Testament. As there are 150 Psalms, my plan is based on reading one Psalm a day, creating a 150 day plan. The last three days of the year will be a buffer.

All Things in Common

If you are like me and grew up in the church, this can become one of those churchy concepts. It is something we hear all the time: they shared everything in common and we should too. So we give to the poor and come together once a week to hear a sermon.

But if we actually understood this phrase, and its possible connotations to the Greeks, would we take it so lightly? Or would we learn to apply it?

Be a Rekabite

When I was a kid, there was a general rule in the house for when my brother and I were misbehaving, like putting our feet on the coffee table or leaving clothes on the ground, and that rule was: would you do that in front of your grandma?

The answer, of course, was no. This was my mom’s subtle way of telling us to stop the action or fix the behavior.

….Whether we are telling quirky stories about why our grandparents fell in love or we are acting in a certain manner to revere a beloved matriarch, humans tend to respect the rules, lives, and hearts of their forebearers. But do we put the same amount of reference into our relationship with God?

When Life Returns to Normal

In Ezra 3, the rebuilding of the Temple begins. After the foundation is laid, long before the walls and roof are finished, there is a dedication to the Lord and “with praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: He is good; His love toward Israel endures forever” (Ezra 3:11).

I imagine this is what we will experience, when the foundation of life post-Covid-19 begins. When the doors are opened, and small gatherings can take place again.

One Another

Did you know the New Testament has a number of one another commands, not just to “love one another”? In John 13, Jesus commands us to “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” because “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (vs. 34-35). This is probably the most important one another because without practicing this we cannot easily practice the others for they all stem from love. But what are they?

Polycarp, Link in the Apostolic Chain

After his vision, Polycarp departed for another place to hide. Since the men seeking him did not find him, they seized two young servant boys, and torturing one, got him to confess to Polycarp’s location. Finally, Polycarp’s pursuers found him. He was lying face down in an upper room, refusing to escape to another place, saying, “The will of God be done.”

To Be Called by Any Other Name

For many of us, we allow our identity to exist somewhere other than where Christ calls us. We try to live in him, being rooted and built up in him, but we allow ourselves to become captive through hollow and deceptive thoughts. We allow our family, culture, and society to name us. But a pitcher is a pitcher. Calling it a bucket changes what it is and its purpose. But calling it a pitcher identifies it as a vessel to pour water for drinking.

The Worth of Knowing Christ

Putting off the Old for the New: Through out Church History, many people – some known but most lost to time – have taken Paul’s challenge seriously, considering their gains as loss of the sake of knowing Christ. One such person, Saint Almachius, found himself so far in Christ, that he changed the new year forever.

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