God’s presence
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Faithfulness In a Time of Uncertainty
“For even if the fig tree doesn’t blossom, and no fruit is on the vines, even if the olive tree fails to produce, and the fields yield no food at all, even if the sheep vanish from the sheep pen,… Continue reading
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Make It Stop!
We are currently reading the Book of Amos, and the only thing I can think of is, “Make it stop!” How many passages must we experience to understand the depth of God’s hurt? I know the Holy One is in… Continue reading
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God Speaks Even in Our Exile
We finished the Book of Daniel yesterday, and something hit me over the head for the first time. This is not my first time reading the text, yet the message revealed to me is quite clear. Why have I missed… Continue reading
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One and Done Refuted
“The righteous cannot live by virtue of (his former righteousness), once he starts sinning. So if, after I tell the righteous person that he will surely live, he begins trusting in his own (former) righteousness and starts committing crimes; then… Continue reading
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From Bad to Worse
This week we finished reading Jeremiah and began the Book of Ezekiel. I thought the former reading grew horribly depressing, but the prophet Ezekiel takes God’s wrath to a whole new level. I never imagined that I would yearn for… Continue reading
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A New Covenant
Devastation and heartbreak surrounded Jerusalem. Disaster followed the Hebrew people. God officially claimed that due to the constant disobedience of the favored nation, the covenant broke. And for the first time in the nation’s history, Divine favor did not exist.… Continue reading
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Jeremiah and Our Worst Nightmare!
Poor Jeremiah. His words are harsh and very painful to hear, much less speak. Many times in the narrative, Jeremiah pleads with God to find another prophet; the words are too terrible to speak. How could he, a prophet of… Continue reading
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Isaiah, Accountability, and Hope
Today marks the last reading from the Book of Isaiah. God restores the promise after sharing with Isaiah the many ways that the people of Israel chipped away at the covenant until the commitment made between them snapped. God’s wrath… Continue reading
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Two Questions Answered
Last week we finished the Book of Ecclesiastes. After reading, I think that the author stressed important ideas regarding humanity and its relationship to the Divine. The first is the idea that “To everything, there is a season and I… Continue reading
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Wisdom Was in the Beginning
We are currently in the Book of Proverbs, and immediately, there is a power I find when reading complete chapters. My experience with Proverbs remained limited to cherry picking a verse here, or a verse there. Experiencing the power and… Continue reading
From a Pastor's Point of View 