Monday, May 15 Ezekiel 33:30-32 “They have no intention of doing what I tell them” Ezekiel’s prophetic message appears to have a kind of popularity among the people to whom he is speaking, and he has become the subject of conversations in the cities and doorways. To use a contemporary analogy, he is the… Read more about Wisdom: Hearing and Doing
I Never Knew You
Monday, May 8 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “. . . but have not love . . .” Paul argues for the absolute necessity of love. In every religious controversy it is love that leaves first. This was certainly true in Corinth where they were fighting over the gift of tongues. Paul tells them that to… Read more about I Never Knew You
Ask . . . Seek . . . Knock
Monday, May 1 Matthew 21:18-22 “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for” The appearance of leaves on a fig tree was a promise of the sweet early fig. But this tree is unproductive, with no figs at all, and becomes an object lesson for Jesus to use to indicate Israel’s spiritual… Read more about Ask . . . Seek . . . Knock
Seeing Ourselves Clearly
Monday, April 24 Romans 2:1-4 “You who pass judgment on someone else” Paul is speaking to an anonymous person representing the Jewish people who were appalled by the idolatry of the Gentiles and all the ways in which they sinned against God. While rejecting the philosophy and lifestyle of non-Jews, they regarded themselves as… Read more about Seeing Ourselves Clearly
Seek First God’s Kingdom
Monday, April 17 Exodus 16:1-36 “I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you” The Israelites have left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and are in the desert on their way to the Promised Land. The desert is a difficult time for the Israelites. It is easy to condemn them as faithless, but… Read more about Seek First God’s Kingdom
When you give . . . pray . . . fast
Monday, April 10 Matthew 6:1-4 “When you give to the needy” Jesus showed that right things can be done with wrong motives. He used three basic examples to make his point and in doing so selected the three most important demonstrations of religious devotion in Judaism: almsgiving, prayer (in verses 5-8), and fasting (in… Read more about When you give . . . pray . . . fast
Easter Sunday
Monday, April 3 Matthew 26:1-30 “She did it for my burial” Jesus was at the house of Simon the leper, a man he had healed, when a woman came with a vial of very expensive perfume and poured it on his head. Speaking out of their materialism, and probably stirred by Judas’ murmuring, the… Read more about Easter Sunday
Palm Sunday
Monday, March 27 Matthew 19:16-30 “He went away sad for he had many possessions” The rich young man’s wealth prevented him from entering the kingdom of heaven. From this we learn that one should be careful of the lure of wealth (see Matthew 13:22). This passage does not suggest that wealth is wrong, but… Read more about Palm Sunday