Loss of direction Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; Therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. Isaiah 30:18 Read Isaiah 30:19—26 Haven’t I been there? Where the people of Zion were? Haven’t I known what they knew? That loss of direction? The not knowing. Which way? What next?…
For freedom Christ has set us free The Lord is my strength and my might; And he has become my salvation. Exodus 15:2 Read Exodus 14:21—31 This is Israel’s big one, its grand miracle, the story of deliverance, the release from the burden of slavery and oppression under a foreign power, its liberty. It’s…
A talking donkey O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you made them all. Psalm 104:24 Read Numbers 22:21—35 Once the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth to speak it could have said something far more devastating than it did: ‘How come I can see what you can’t? I see an angel. You…
The desperate cry They did not keep in mind his power, Or the day when he redeemed them from the foe. Psalm 78:42 Read Matthew 8:23—27 I’ll listen in tonight to the disciples of Jesus, tossed around like Jonah and the crew of his ship. ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ We are. There…
About Israel I will gather others to them Besides those already gathered. Isaiah 56:8 Read Romans 11:13—22 Paul was a Jew who went to the Gentiles. Here he asks the Gentiles to go to the Jews. When I read my Bible I am reading mostly of the men and women of Israel: Abraham, Sarah,…
Petulance Ephraim has become like a dove, Silly and without sense. Hosea 7:11 Read Jonah 4 This petulant man, Jonah, and his comic situation — where does he connect with me? I suppose he exposes the real weirdness you arrive at if you structure your life around a self-centred vision, a self-centred ethic. It…
My Jonah story If I settle at the farthest limits of the sea, Even there your hand shall lead me. Psalm 139:9—10 Read Jonah 1 I’ve done it. I’m pretty sure I have. I’ve run from the Lord. Yes, I have. Jonah is treated with far more respect by the heathen than he could…
In Spirit and truth ’Tis the loving Father calls the wanderer home, Whosoever will may come. Philip Bliss Read John 4:20—26 ‘You worship what you do not know.’ A telling sentence. I can picture people worshipping what they do not know. I can picture passionate worship misdirected, worship that enslaves the worshipper. I can…
The word of the Lord spread Let the peoples praise you, O God; Let all the peoples praise you. Psalm 67:3 Read Acts 13:44—52 No doubt today, for one reason or another, has been less than perfect. In tonight’s reading I can see that God used the rejection of Israel’s Messiah to bring about…
Unto the age of all ages We thank you for every condition, for you have covered us, helped us, guarded us, Accepted us, spared us, and brought us to this hour. Coptic liturgy, St Basil Read Isaiah 19:19—25 As soon as I responded to God in Jesus’ name I came out of my isolation.…