Posts by jhumphries

DAILY READING Matthew 15:1-9Psalm 119:1-8 FIELD NOTES We can do everything right.  We can go through the motions perfectly.  We can obey every rule or ethic code, or whatever it may be.  Yet if our heart isn’t in it, if we aren’t sincere in our convictions, then what we do is shallow at best and…

DAILY READING 1 John 2:7-17Psalm 119:1-8 FIELD NOTES Look, we can all admit that relationships are hard.  People mistreat you.  They gossip about you. They attack your character.  Perhaps even worst of all, they completely ignore you.  And yet, we see in the text that if we hate, we are still “in the darkness.”  Do…

DAILY READING James 1:12-16Psalm 119:1-8 FIELD NOTES “It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.” The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis God didn’t make us do it.  Neither did the devil.  It was us all along.  We let our own…

DAILY READING John 8:12-30Psalm 119:105-112 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 heart of Israel…

DAILY READING 2 Corinthians 4:1-12Psalm 119:105-112 FIELD NOTES Is there anything worse than the feeling of hopelessness?  I am hard-pressed to think of a worse feeling.  And yet, unfortunately, all of us will eventually be in that space.  Eventually, we all find ourselves in a moment where the odds seem stacked against us.  Maybe our…

DAILY READING Romans 11:2-10Psalm 119:105-112 FIELD NOTES This sobering passage reminds us of this simple truth: we are not special.   Sometimes our desires for ourselves cloud our view of those around us.  We let jealousy, and really, our own sense of superiority dim us to the light of those we deem unworthy. Henri Nouwen…

DAILY READING Ephesians 4:1-7 FIELD NOTES Our devotions all week have revolved around how we can measure a person’s faith.  What are the marks of a disciple of Christ?  How do you measure spiritual growth?  I struggle with perfectionism.  Instead of seeing how God is using me or how I am growing in my faith,…

DAILY READING 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 FIELD NOTES Sometimes when we use words and phrases like “Love like Jesus” or “motivated by love,” it is difficult to tangibly understand what we mean.  What does “love like Jesus” look like in the reality of the refugee crisis in Myannmar in 2017?  What does it mean to love…

DAILY READING 1 John 4:16 FIELD NOTES “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.”  This week, Davis asked us in his sermon, “How might you measure a person’s faith?”  To measure a person’s height, you would use a yardstick or tape measure.  To measure a mile,…