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.…
Thoughts about my church And in you all the families of the earth Shall be blessed. Genesis 12:3 Read Matthew 8:5—13 Thoughts about my own church come crowding around me like the congregation itself when I read this about Jesus and a Gentile military man and a healing. Wouldn’t it be great to be…
The city of the great king I believe in the holy catholic church, The communion of saints. Apostles’ Creed Read Hebrews 12:18—24 To simplify: I have come to Jesus. And with him I have come to what the whole of the Bible promises, now fulfilled, the stories told through to their proper end, their…
God speaking For in him every one of God’s promises Is a ‘yes.’ 2 Corinthians 1:20 Read Deuteronomy 32:45—47; 33:1—4 All the words of God to me, any word of God to me, even one word of God to me, is a rich treasure. It is no trifling matter — what a phrase! It…