Author's note; This was written days before Russia invaded Ukraine. As we pray for our sisters and brothers in Ukraine, do we dare pray for Russia - the perpetrator - the enemy? Jesus told us to. May we pray that their hearts will be changed and they will see the evil in their actions and will strive instead for peaceful interactions. MJB “Forgive and you shall be forgiven.” Luke 6:37 I’ve been reading the book, What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey, and in it he talks about forgiveness which is one part of grace where God forgives our sins as a free gift. There is nothing we have to earn or show our best self for. He says that in comparing the world’s religions today, the one difference that stands out in Christianity is grace – the gift of salvation by no merit of our own. In response to this, in our Luke 6 passage we are told to love our enemies – to be merciful as God the Father has been merciful to us – to forgive and you will be forgiven. Psalms 37 tells us no...

  How is happiness defined in the Bible?  In the Old Testament, Jeremiah 17 tells us that “Blessed are those who trust the Lord.” He compares them to a tree planted by water not fearing the heat or drought since it will not cease to bear fruit. This is a simile of our lives when we trust the Lord through the hard and lean times knowing that God will provide and will pull us through. What does “producing fruit” mean? It tells that even when we go through rough times God can use them to bring spiritual growth in our lives. In Psalms 1, happiness is said to belong to those who delight in the law of the Lord and study it daily. For us modern believers we have more than the Law – the first books of the Old Testament, to study. We have the entire canon of scripture – Old and New Testaments to study and learn more about God’s faithfulness and love. We have the Gospels that tell how Jesus lived love. Christ in his Beatitudes in Luke 6 calls blessed people we don’t generally associ...

  In Isaiah 6 and in Luke 5, we have the accounts of two men who feel very unworthy of divine attention. Isaiah when he sees the Lord sitting on high in all his glory says, “I am a man of unclean lips,” who am I to see the glory of God. His sin is forgiven by putting a live coal on his tongue. He is told that his guilt is now gone, and his sin blotted out. What is his response? When the Lord asks, “Who shall I send?” –   who will be my ambassador, Isaiah promptly answers, “Here am I. Send me.” In our Gospel reading, we have fishermen who after working all night don’t catch any fish. Jesus then asks Simon to try again, putting their nets deeper. Simon protests that it hasn’t worked before but since Jesus says so, we’ll do it. By following Christ’s direction – a miracle occurs – so many fish are caught that they need others to help bring in the nets and they fill two boats. Simon, later to be called Peter, is just as awed by this miracle as Isaiah was seeing God’s glory. He to...

  Valentine’s Day is coming. Its major theme being of love – mainly couple love, yet children exchange valentines to friends. But when it comes to love in the Bible it is covered from the greatest commandment: loving the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself to Paul breaking down what love looks like in I Corinthians 13. As we learned last week, love is behind all our gifts to one another. Speaking without love is said to be a noisy gong. If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries, or if I have faith that can move mountains but don’t have love – I am said to gain nothing. I Corinthians 12 told us about gifts, but here the gifts of tongues, knowledge, and prophecy are said to come to an end. The three gifts that still abide are faith, hope, and love – but the greatest of these is love. Biblical love is more than just cards, chocolate, and flowers. So, what does love look like? It is patient – long suffering – it endures. It is kind, not rude, and doesn’t...

  As we age, we begin to appreciate parts of our body more. We miss them more when they don’t function properly. Cataract surgery helps us appreciate our eyes. Carpel tunnel – our hands, knee replacement – our knees, hearing aids – our ears, arthritis – our joints. Paul in I Corinthians 12 compares the church to a body that depends on each part to work smoothly and harmoniously. Everyone in the church community has a part to play. We all think of pastors and teachers. Here we have some pretty magnificent gifts of prophecy, healing, and miracles. Paul, however, does a complete turnabout. Those who have weaker gifts to offer are said to be indispensable and those we think less honorable, we clothe with greater honor, so they’ll be no divisions within. In our Luke passage, Jesus declared his mission of reaching out to the weaker of society and caring for them by bringing good news to the poor, releasing the captives, giving sight to the blind, and freeing the oppressed. We are t...

We talked last week about God’s name for you. In this weeks Isaiah 62 passage it talks about giving Israel a new name. Comparing Israel to an unmarried woman who feels forsaken, he gives the name “My Delight Is In Her.” No longer is she desolate but he tells how they will become a crown of beauty and a royal diadem. The land of Israel will be like a woman married, and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride – so shall God rejoice over them. God not only takes the rejected, forsaken, and desolate but also the ordinary to become royal princesses of God. In the story of Jesus first miracle, Jesus takes something quite ordinary – water, but turns it into wine – not just Two Buck Chuck, but as the steward says here – the best wine. This got me thinking about how God can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. Think about rocks turning into gems, and an oyster’s irritant turning into pearls. God makes grapes to grow by providing sun and rainwater and gives wisdom to the winemakers...

My Pastor, James Dollins told us about a woman named Larinda whose husband called her Lily with each letter standing for Larinda I Love You. In Isaiah 43 God says, “You are mine. I have called you by name. It got me thinking about the special name God might have for us. If I go with the M of my first name and add the “ily” for I love you, I’d end up with Mily. Well, God does in fact love us. It says in this passage, “you are precious in my sight and I love you. I love the song by Kathy Sherman who puts these words into modern ones that apply to us. We are told to not fear when we find ourselves walking in the deep waters of life because God will never let us drown. When we are overwhelmed with troubles and pain, God promises to be with us and to save us. Why? Because of the refrain of the song, “You are mine. I have called you by name. You are precious and cherished in my eyes and I love you. Isaiah is speaking God’s word to the Jewish people who have been dispersed to differen...