[Psalms 6-10, Proverbs 2]A musical devotion for your Saturday, from Anthony Spain -- thank you Anthony!Song writer and arranger Michael W. Smith in his recent “Message of Hope” was reminded by his pastor of some of the important things that have come out of times of crisis. For example, when bombs were raining down on the inhabitants in the city of London in WWII, C.S. Lewis began a series of radi...  Read More

[Psalms 1-5, Proverbs 1, Revelation 21-22]I read the endings of books.Not always – but very often. It has a pragmatic reason. If I’m not really finding myself very interested in the book, I scan the end to see if it will be worth it. I’ve found that if I wasn’t interested in the first third of the book the ending really doesn’t make any difference.And then there are the books I am really, really i...  Read More

[Psalms 146-150, Proverbs 30, Romans 5:1-6]For a few years before coming to West Side, I taught the Christian Scriptures course at Seattle Pacific University. The midterm exam every quarter ended with an essay question –The Creation stories describe a world that is ordered by God to be “very good”, and also ordered for intimacy and life. The story moves forward after the tragic loss of this order,...  Read More

[Today's readings: Psalms 141-145, Proverbs 29, Romans 3:22-24]Do not bring your servant into judgment,for no one living is righteous before you.Psalm 143:2Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukeswill suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.Proverbs 29:1For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,and all are justified freely by his gracethrough the redemption that came by Christ Jes...  Read More

[Psalms 136-140, Proverbs 28, Colossians 1:9-13]It can be a humbling, frustrating or scary experience to need a rescue.I was swimming once in the Columbia river. It was a trip with college friends, and a sorority sister and I had been floating and talking in the water when we realized the current had carried us out and we needed to get back. We both headed back, but I was not as strong a swimmer a...  Read More

[Today's readings: Psalms 131-135, Proverbs 27]The heavens are telling the glory of God;and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.Psalm 19:1On Sunday, I spoke about salvation with an upper case S, and how it takes practice and attention to read the Bible to hear God’s salvation story from beginning to end – then to discern how the story we are living now is part of that greater story. So this week...  Read More

If you are following this practice of 5 Psalms and 1 Proverb a day, then today you ran right into Psalm 119 – the marathon reflection on God’s law (word). True confession – most months I leap frog over 119 and figure I’ll come back to it. I feel guilty admitting it. At 176 verses it is 10x as long as Psalm 120. And it is repetitive. And I weary of the repeated “I keep your commandments therefore …...  Read More

[Psalms 111-115, Proverbs 23] But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,my Lord has forgotten me.”Can a woman forget her nursing child,or show no compassion for the child of her womb?Even these may forget,yet I will not forget you.See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;your walls are continually before me.—Isaiah 49:14-16 Anna, (my goddaughter), was 4, maybe 5 but I’m pretty sure 4, and...  Read More

[Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 13; Psalms 106-110; Proverbs 22]And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2I’m listening to all of the anger and blame and unrest in our nation right now about this virus (who knew? What did they know? When did they know? Wh...  Read More

Protective masks may be part of life into the future for many of us.  Though homemade masks are not fully virus protective, they do offer a measure of barrier against airborne particles. In countries such as China and Japan, masks have been part of the wardrobe during flu seasons for a long time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, now masks are seen worldwide. Perhaps this fashion trend will take hold ...  Read More

‘At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses t...  Read More

Luke 24:13-35; Psalms 96-100; Proverbs 20Easter in a pandemic season is the invitation to practice resurrection. Which is tricky.Because nothing prepares a person for resurrection.I imagine that Jesus’ resurrection forced his earliest followers to relearn everything they knew about God – to know God again through [and only through] the story of humiliation, death and resurrection. Everything famil...  Read More