DAILY READING Luke 9:24 FIELD NOTES The Christian faith is full of paradoxes. The least will be the greatest? That doesn’t seem to make sense in the rest of the world. An elderly, barren couple will become the progenitor of a great nation? Abraham and Sarah’s story would seem to defy science and sense! A…

DAILY READING Ephesians 5:1-2 FIELD NOTES My song is love unknown, my Savior’s love to me; love to the loveless shown, that they might lovely be. O who am I, that for my sake, my Lord should take frail flesh and die? He came from His blest throne salvation to bestow; but man made strange, and none the longed-for Christ would know. But oh,…

DAILY READING John 15:13 FIELD NOTES A story is told of the famous artist Albrecht Durer. Albrecht and his brother Albert both had dreams of being artists, but growing up poor in the 16th century meant that the Durer family had very little means to support the education and training needed for both boys.  The story goes…

DAILY READING Romans 12:1-8 FIELD NOTES We have each been given a measure of faith.  Measurements are important to mind. In the kitchen, if you are cooking, your final product will be the results of your careful measurement. The amount of baking powder you add to your recipe determines if you will have a cake…

DAILY READING Psalm 89:1-4 John 7:40-52 FIELD NOTES Today we focus on Psalm 89:1-4. We’ve read it for three days in a row, and its beautiful words of praise are beginning to be inscribed in our hearts. Through the Psalm, we learn that God’s love is steadfast and lasts forever; his faithfulness is unchanging; he…

DAILY READING Psalm 89:1-4 Hebrews 1:5-14 FIELD NOTES During the Christmas season, angels are everywhere. We see their gilded images printed on Christmas cards, fashioned in twinkling lights on roofs and treetops, appliquéd on tree ornaments and Christmas stockings. We hear the lilting refrain of “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”…

DAILY READING Psalm 89:1-4 Hebrews 1:1-4 FIELD NOTES When I was in college, I had a professor whose office displayed beautiful artwork framed in simple wooden frames. When I had occasion to visit her I often admired the tall, gold-leaf designs which I later found out were rubbings from brass monuments on gravestones.  The intriguing…

DAILY READING Psalm 125 Malachi 3:16-4:4 FIELD NOTES Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament and bridges the Old Testament and the New Testament with its announcement of the coming “Day of the Lord” and the arrival of the prophet Elijah before that day arrives. (Malachi 4:5). Many believe that John the Baptist…

DAILY READING Psalm 125 2 Kings 2:9-22 FIELD NOTES Have you ever heard the saying that someone was “picking up the mantle” from someone else — meaning they were assuming that person’s role and responsibilities? Today’s reading gives us the origin of that common English idiom in the story of Elijah, and his apprentice, Elisha.…