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Psalm 133; John 20:19; Acts 4:32-35
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard,running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. Psalm 133 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” John 20:19 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared…
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Hope: Hebrews 6:19-20 & 10:19-22
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having…
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Easter Week
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared…when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the…
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Barabbas
Today is Good Friday, a dark day in history when Jesus was condemned and crucified. So why is it called “Good”? If we look at that day from the perspective of Barabbas, it was indeed a good day, an unexpectedly good day. Barabbas was a criminal condemned to die, a terrorist or some other sort of violent criminal. Roman prisons were harsh places, and death sentences were carried out cruelly. Barabbas could have been dragged from his prison cell at any time to be flogged to the point of being horribly flayed, after which he would be crucified—an especially slow and torturous form of execution. He probably wasn’t having any…
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Palm Sunday
In this week between Palm Sunday and Easter, we remember Jesus’ suffering for us, from the time he entered Jerusalem, through his crucifixion and burial. As we walk through this week, we’ll look at prophetic verses from Isaiah, written nearly 700 years before the crucifixion, as well as some of Jesus’ words recorded in the gospels. Let’s ponder these passages deeply, thinking about how they speak to us and our faith or lack thereof, and allow them to fill us with gratitude for all that Jesus has done for us. Monday: As [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had…
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Psalm 51
We’re nearing the end of Lent, so I thought this week would be a good time to meditate on and pray with Psalm 51, a prayer of confession and repentance. It is easy to go through our days asking God for what we need or want, thanking him for what he’s given us, and even praising him for the beauty of creation and for his greatness, without stopping to look at ourselves and how we have offended God. Lent is a time for examining our hearts and souls and seeking reconciliation with God, as we recognize and turn from our sin. That might seem a gloomy thought, but when we…
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Sketching as Prayer
God made me an artist, and when I neglect my art, I neglect one of the primary ways God designed me to worship him and be in communion with him. I find that when I sketch, more than when I focus on a finished painting or drawing, I tend to unconsciously move into an awareness of God’s presence and into a sense of wonder. Sketching is, for me, a way of simply being with God. God made me an artist. I need to do my art in some way or another, or I feel as though my soul is drying up. Sketching is a way I do that without being…
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Praying with Trees
I become fidgety when I have to sit still in meetings, even in meetings I generally enjoy, even in prayer meetings. So, even though I very much appreciated the privilege of gathering with other believers in prayer, I found myself becoming distracted and antsy when everyone else was quietly focused and sitting still. I just couldn’t sit so still for long, and that caused my mind to wander to my walk with my dog in the sunshine that afternoon, the interesting bird at my feeder, a phone call with a friend, my next meal, and so on… One rainy November day I was walking in the woods with a friend…
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Psalm 1
I like to start my days by reading and praying with the psalms and Psalm 1 is a favorite starting point for me. The book of Psalms, which was the prayer book of the Israelites and the prayer book Jesus prayed, doesn’t start with praise or prayer. It starts in Psalm 1 with preparation and posture…the posture of our heart. Here is how Eugene Peterson said it, “Psalm 1 is not a prayer, exactly, but the preface to a prayer. We do not begin by praying but by coming to attention. Psalm 1 is the biblical preparation for a life of prayer. Step by step it detaches us from activities…
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Visio Divina
Viso Divina is similar to Lectio Divina, but instead of reading and meditating on Scripture, one observes and meditates on something visual, perhaps an image or something in nature. (For those new to the term lectio divina, it is a form of Scripture reading in which we slowly read, meditate or reflect on, pray, and then contemplate a Bible passage or story so that we hear in it what God wants us to hear and then take that forward into our own life, rather than interpreting it with our own agenda. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lectio_Divina) Step 1: Gazing and seeing deeply Ask God to open your mind and heart to his presence with…