The presence of love brings healing. It is a component of Jesus’ healing ministry that we can bring to our relationships and to our world — the non-medical components of healing like love, compassion, concern, empathy, and hope are part of the healing process.
Verse 6 of today’s reading shows that the writing of Psalm 4 was during a time of trouble when many people were distressed: “There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’”
John Wesley simplified living the Christian life with what he called the General Rules
I will never read this story in the gospels without thinking of a young pastor I met at a conference several years ago.
Young David was a shepherd who was also a soldier. He was a harpist, whose music could tame the savage beast.
Here we have the words of Jesus to a would-be follower. Jesus’ words sound harsh, but they may not be as harsh as they sound, though certainly there is urgency in them.
One of my favorite places to visit is Fort Davis in the Davis Mountains of Texas. It is an area that has its own kind of beauty. There aren’t many trees larger than the small and scrubby little trees that have taken hold in that semi-arid land.
In Psalm 63, which is entitled “A Psalm of David, when he was in the Judean Desert,” the psalmist speaks of the soul’s hunger and thirst — and the rich feast that feeds the soul.
One day an expert in the law approached Jesus and asked a question to “test” him: “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
One of the central scripture readings in the season of Lent is the 51st Psalm. Part of that psalm reads, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”