John’s vision of a new heaven and a new earth is a promise of restoration.
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The Hebrew elders, scribes, and religious leaders of the 5th century and beyond who chose to begin the collection of the 150 psalms with this psalm as the first clearly saw the importance of connecting the blessings of life with living according to God’s law.
Here we are: a full year into ongoing unspeakable violence and death in retaliation for an unspeakable act of violence on Oct 7 in the Middle East, and deeply entrenched in anxiety and anger around a divisive presidential election with no bridge in sight here at home (or in the Middle East).
At a clergy conference, a pastor shared that his favorite Bible verse is “this too shall pass.” While it’s not a literal verse, I found it profound.
Do you know what’s hardest about an outburst of righteous anger? It’s the day after.
“When foreigners… come from a distant land” often carries an air of suspicion in our world. Who are they? Why are they here?
Have you ever heard the phrase “a thin place”? It’s not just a particular location but a moment or circumstance where the barrier between the divine and the earthly feels almost nonexistent.
I wrote this poem several years ago. Since we are such independent people who always want to do it ourselves, I hope it expresses the deep need we have for Jesus as seen here in Isaiah.
Do you remember school picture day? We looked forward to it because it meant class was cut short and we got to quietly goof off while we waited for everyone to have their picture taken. Of course, some of us always got caught, too.