“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit." ~ Matthew 7:15-17 How do you know if a leader - spiritual, political, or business, is a leader who tells the truth? Who is honest? Who cares? Who will be someone you can follow? And how do you know if a lea

Soon afterward he went on through one town and village after another, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out...~ Luke 8:1-2 Today is the feast day of Mary Magdalene (of Mary of Magdala as she is sometimes referred). In the gospels, Luke is the only one who mentions her in a context other than reg

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. ~ Galatians 5:1 In my previous congregation, their fellowship hall was filled with the farming tools from the building when it had been a barn. Some would joke that it looked like a bunch of torture instruments (not everyone loved having those tools of labor on the walls). Yesterday, the prophet Nahum told the Jewish people they would be free from being yoked to their oppr

Thus says the Lord: Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut off and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more. And now I will break off his yoke from you and snap the bonds that bind you. ~ Nahum 12-13 Have you ever been yoked? Through yoking, partners can succeed together in ways that they can't alone. But sometimes the yoking isn't an act that brings success. Empires and other systems can yoke the people they oppress

A gorgeous bluesy gospel version of Psalm 103.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. ~ Psalm 103:1 Do you have a favorite childhood memory? Or perhaps a recurring one that gives you great pleasure to return to over and over again? A memory maybe of someone who isn't with you any longer, but when they were, helped you find joy? For me, that memory is of my Grandma Lindstrom. My mother's mother. As a child, I have vivid memories of her reciting the opening lines to Psalm 103

Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” ~ Matthew 21:21-22 These two verses come at the end of one of the most difficult stories about Jesus. He has just cursed a fig tree because it wouldn't bear fruit. It withered and died, an

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. ~ Romans 13:8-10 One of the truisms I've learned over time is that faith is, like life, "Simpl

Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. All the crowds were amazed and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons, that this fellow casts out the demons.” He knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against its

Let my prayer rise up like incense before you!

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ~ Ephesian 5:1-2 I'm not going to lie. I've never been a big fan of Jesus as "sacrifice" language. It made sense perhaps for the Jewish population of first century Jerusalem. But for 21st century Christians? I think it can cause us all kinds of complications and isn't really something I think we can easily wrap our min

Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you. Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I

Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands— O prosper the work of our hands! ~ Psalm 90:12-17 I'm

God is the potter, we are the clay.

When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. ~ Genesis 25:27 Jacob is one of the most interesting characters in the Old Testament for me. There certainly is a wealth of story to choose from with him: Jacob tricking Esau out of his birthright. Jacob trying to win Rachel's hand from Laban. Jacob's ladder. Jacob's favoritism of Joseph leading to tragic consequences for the family. It's what makes Jacob

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. ~ Jeremiah 18:1-4 When my daughter was in elementary school, she came home one day with a piece of pottery that she made in art class. After studyin

I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” ~ Genesis 22:17-18 God's creation had begun in a garden, and with sin spread "east" of Eden. With further sin, God pulled the reins in and brought creation back to a

[Jesus said] Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.” ~ John 21:18-19 Today is the feast day of the Apostles Peter and Paul. How does that old sayin

What actually is God's love like?