Jan 12, 2025 | comfort, discipleship
Deborah, a prophetess, used to sit under a palm in the hill country of Ephraim. She summoned Barak and said to him, “The God of Israel commands you, ‘Go, take position at Mount Tabor; I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you with his chariots...
Nov 24, 2024 | comfort, prayer
Let it count in our favor, O God, that it’s been a rough year. Let it be to our credit, O God, that we can still find a prayer— or at least a swear in your direction, which should also count. Put a “plus” in our column, O God, for all the strikes...
Nov 7, 2024 | comfort, courage, discipleship
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for God gives sleep to those who are...
Mar 12, 2024 | comfort, faith, relationships, theodicy
The widow of one of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and now creditors come to take my two children as slaves.” Elisha said to her, “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Nothing except a jar of oil.” (2 Kings 4:1-2,...
Nov 26, 2023 | comfort, faith
You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples. You visit the earth … and water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty. –...
Sep 29, 2023 | comfort, theodicy
The Israelites came into the wilderness of Zin. Now there was no water for the [people], so they quarreled with Moses and said, “Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? Why have you brought us up out of...
