Matthew 13:33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through all the dough.” Reflection: Over the past few months in quarantine, I have started making cinnamon rolls on the weekends. There’s something about this season when everything is cancelled and there is nowhere to go on Saturday mornings that calls for elaborate breakfasts. And because of the time it takes to make them, there is nothing that says “special occasion breakfast” more than cinnamon rolls. [...]

Isaiah 30:19-26 (NRSV) 19 Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. 20 Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. 21 And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk [...]

John 4:10-26 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to [...]

1 Samuel 8:6-21 6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what [...]

Matthew 4:13-17; 23-25 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, [...]

Mark 1:15 The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the good news. Reflection: I have used personal computers for decades now. I know pretty well how to make Windows operating systems work (as opposed to knowing how they work behind the screen.) But my children and my wife all chose to purchase Apple computers. What were they thinking? I have no idea how to make them work. Everything is different. They have a different operating system – different techniques to make them run, and more importantly, different structures operating [...]

Romans 8: 24-28 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance [...]

Philippians 4:4-9 NIV 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such [...]

Isaiah 52:12b ...for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Reflection: We live and experience life in a series of ups and downs that fall on a timeline, and each of us has times in our lives that make us wonder: “God, where are you?” God’s there. I promise, God’s there with you in those moments where God couldn’t seem farther away. As people who view time as a linear series of events, it’s difficult to imagine a God who works in those moments but is not bound by them. [...]