Archive for July 2021

July 21, 2021 DAILY READING Matthew 13:10-17 Psalm 142 FIELD NOTES Scholar N.T. Wright says about Jesus in his book, John for Everyone: “He and his father are giving evidence that he is the Messiah; but if this is so, he is bringing the light that they cannot escape.  As he has come to realize, at the…

July 20, 2021 DAILY READING Ephesians 4:17-5:2 Psalm 142 FIELD NOTES A few years back, just before I attended seminary, I found myself in the mountains of Guatemala, working with a local pastor, helping to build a hurricane shelter.  The man was amazing.  While he lived and pastored a church 4 hours away in Guatemala City, he…

July 19, 2021 DAILY READING 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 Psalm 142 FIELD NOTES One thing my mother always would remind me of as I left the house during my high school years was this: Behave like we taught you to behave. Paul tells the Thessalonians the same thing.  “You know the instructions we gave you in Jesus…

July 17, 2021 DAILY READING Psalm 119:105-112; Isaiah 2:1-4; John 12:44-50 FIELD NOTES This passage from Isaiah is one of my favorite Scriptures.  It is a vision of God’s Kingdom: “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war anymore.”  In…

July 16, 2021 DAILY READING Psalm 119:105-112; Deuteronomy 32:1-10; Romans 15:14-21 OR Psalm 65:9-13; Isaiah 48:6-11; Romans 15:14-21 FIELD NOTES I may be a pastor, but I often find it challenging to share my faith with others, especially people I think will be skeptical of my beliefs.  I don’t want my evangelism to be a turnoff to…

July 15, 2021 DAILY READING Psalm 119:105-112; Exodus 3:1-6; Romans 2:12-16 FIELD NOTES How many times I have wished that God would send me a burning bush!  We face so many decisions, big and small, in life.  Should I change jobs?  Move closer to an ailing parent? Adopt a child?  It seems it would make life much easier if God would…

July 14, 2021 DAILY READING Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Genesis 29:31-35; John 13:1-17 FIELD NOTES John is a gospel full of symbolism.  In today’s passage in John, Jesus is not only literally washing the feet of the disciples, but he speaks of how he washes us clean spiritually.  How beautiful it is to know that no matter what…

July 13, 2021 DAILY READING Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Genesis 29:1-14; Romans 3:1-8 OR Psalm 131; Jeremiah 28:10-17; Romans 3:1-8 FIELD NOTES In this larger section of Romans, Paul fleshes out a theology of sin and what it means to be sinful.  He tries to get at what it means to be righteous by exploring what it means…

July 12, 2021 DAILY READING Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Genesis 27:30-46; Romans 1:18-25 OR Psalm 131; Jeremiah 27:1-11, 16-22; Romans 1:18-25 FIELD NOTES I have to admit, I really struggle with passages that are full of God’s wrath and judgment like the passage from Romans today.  I like to think of God as loving and gracious, not angry…