Archive for September 2019

September 21, 2019 DAILY READINGS Psalm 79:1-9Jeremiah 8:14-17; 9:2-11Mark 12:41-44This weekend’s scripture:Proverbs 17:19-22 FIELD NOTES I spent time this summer in a peaceful mountain setting where Jeremiah was the name we gave the bullfrog who resides in our cattle guard. Reading from the Book of Jeremiah all week sets the scene for re-entry back into…

September 20, 2019 DAILY READINGS Psalm 79:1-9Jeremiah 8:1-13Romans 8:31-39This weekend’s scripture:Proverbs 17:19-22 FIELD NOTES Jeremiah saves the strongest rebuke for the leaders: they are all “greedy for gain”; they practice deceit; they have no shame—“they do not even know how to blush” (Jer 8:10, 12). The prophet’s concern is for God’s wounded people. The leaders…

September 19, 2019 DAILY READINGS Psalm 79:1-9Jeremiah 12:14—13:11Romans 3:1-8This weekend’s scripture:Proverbs 17:19-22 FIELD NOTES Some of us grew up learning the catechism, likely one based on teachings of Luther or Calvin. Both have several questions in common. The one I remember asks, “What is the chief end of every human being?” Here “end” means purpose;…

September 18, 2019 DAILY READINGS Psalm 94Jeremiah 14:1-10, 17-22Luke 22:31-33, 54-62This weekend’s scripture:Proverbs 17:19-22 FIELD NOTES A favorite Peanuts cartoon shows Charlie Brown grumbling about the unfairness of having a baseball game rained out, only to be instructed by Linus, who says: “Charlie Brown, you need to study theology. The Bible says, ‘The rain falls…

September 17, 2019 DAILY READINGS Psalm 94Jeremiah 5:18-312 Peter 3:8-13This weekend’s scripture:Proverbs 17:19-22 FIELD NOTES Jeremiah continues his lament directed at the rich and powerful: “They do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor. . . . A horrible and…

September 16, 2019 DAILY READINGS Psalm 94Jeremiah 5:1-171 Timothy 1:18-20This weekend’s scripture:Proverbs 17:19-22 FIELD NOTES Many of us are coming down from a summer “mountaintop experience.” Good vacations give us a chance to read and think, have deep conversations with people we love, and enjoy some of God’s beautiful creation. Out in the countryside, we…

DAILY READING Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45Exodus 16:22-30Matthew 19:23-30This weekend’s reading:  Proverbs 15:1-7 FIELD NOTES William Barclay writes regarding these verses in Matthew, “Riches have three main effects on a [person’s] outlook: Riches encourage a false independence. Riches shackle a [person] to this earth. Riches tend to make a [person] selfish. … It is not that riches…

DAILY READING Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45Exodus 16:1-212 Corinthians 13:5-10This weekend’s reading:  Proverbs 15:1-7 FIELD NOTES In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul encourages the church to examine themselves to see if they truly are living according to faith in Christ. The church at Corinth had begun to doubt Paul’s authority as Christ’s apostle, causing a…

DAILY READING Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45Exodus 15:22-272 Corinthians 13:1-4This weekend’s reading:  Proverbs 15:1-7 FIELD NOTES As anyone with survival skills will tell you, one of the most important things to find when lost in the wilderness is drinkable water. You won’t last long without it! When God brought his people out of slavery in Egypt, their…