If you’ve been around church for very long, you’ve probably heard the story in today’s Bible reading* of Jesus’ walking on the water. (Matthew 14:22-33) Simon Peter asks Jesus to command him to walk on the water which Jesus does. As he approaches Jesus, Peter looks around, and seeing the waves, he is frightened and…
Jesus tells a series of parables in today’s Bible reading*. Each is different, yet all have a common theme: judgment. Judgment isn’t something we like to talk about. It isn’t very kind, is it? It isn’t very nice. It’s kind of … well, judgey and we aren’t supposed to judge, right? (Matthew 7:1) But these…
In today’s Bible reading* we’re told several stories of faith. The words “faith” (noun) and “believe” (verb) are the same Greek word. They are used three times in the passage. Not all of the stories include the words faith/believe. But faith/believe is implied in the story. For instance, in the first paragraph, Matthew tells us…
One thing that I’ve been reminded of in this strange new world we live in: The simplicity of the Gospel. In today’s Bible reading*, we read of John the Baptizer. He’s out in a deserted region, baptizing people in the Jordan River. They come from near and far with one purpose: They want to be…
I’m glad the Navigators (the organization that designed this year’s Daily Bible Reading Plan) placed the readings from James to follow Galatians. Some — even the Reformer Martin Luther — don’t like James. But this is a good way to show the balance between faith and good deeds. In today’s Bible reading*, James concludes the…
My dad grew up on a farm in eastern North Carolina. Each year my grandfather and his sons would prepare the fields for harvest by planting whatever they felt they needed to grow that year. They had to be careful not to grow the same thing in the same field year after year; instead, they…
