October 9, 2019 DAILY READINGS Psalm 137Lamentations 5:1-22Mark 11:12-14, 20-24This weekend’s scripture:Proverbs 29:17 FIELD NOTES Lamentations is a tough book to read.  It is so emotionally raw, the grief is so transparent, the pain so honest, that it sometimes feels too voyeuristic and inappropriate to keep reading.  Typically, we Americans are not used to reading…

October 8, 2019 DAILY READINGS Psalm 137Lamentations 2:13-221 John 5:1-5, 13-21This weekend’s scripture:Proverbs 29:17 FIELD NOTES A co-worker was sharing about her friend who used to check in with her by asking: who are you in scripture right now?  Lost like Hagar in the desert? Successful like David over Goliath?  Frustrated like Elijah after Mt…

October 7, 2019 DAILY READINGS Psalm 137Lamentations 1:16-22James 1:2-11This weekend’s scripture: Proverbs 29:17 FIELD NOTES My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature…

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…