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July 24, 2021 DAILY READING Matthew 7:15-20 Psalm 139:1-12 FIELD NOTES Do you remember that old VBS song: The fruit of the Spirit’s not a banana! Oh the fruit of the Spirit’s not a banana! If you wanna be a banana, you might as well hear it— You can’t be a fruit of the Spirit!…

July 23, 2021 DAILY READING Hebrews 6:13-20 Psalm 139:1-12 FIELD NOTES It all comes down to Jesus. But what does that mean?   Adam Hamilton speaks in his modern classic, Making Sense of the Bible, that when we encounter things that seem contrary to the teachings of Jesus, those things should fall away. Jesus is like a colander, and…

July 22, 2021 DAILY READING Hebrews 2:1-9 Psalm 139:1-12 FIELD NOTES Again this week, we are reminded to remember what we already know in Christ.  So many times, God has sent his truth to us through so many different messengers.   Are we listening?  Are we paying attention to the world around us and what it wants us to do?  …

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…