Clothe yourself with Love Col. 3:14

TUE EP Reflection 012621 (Is 48: 12-21; Mark 6:1-13) “ Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it forth to the end of the earth; say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!’ They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split open the rock and the water gushed out .” These verses in Isaiah are about the deliverance of God's people out of their captivity in Babylon. Somehow, I am personally drawn to these verses, because they remind me of a time in my life when I wondered if God was with me. When the situation got so bad, I questioned if God knew this or even cared [I guess I required too much expectation of God, less of myself]. I think I must have been in Babylon or Chaldea in my head according to these verses. This is a kind of place you do not want to be: a place of despair, like when you have no inkling that your doctor understands what is going on a...

  TUE Evening Prayer Reflection 011221 (Isaiah 40:25-31; Ephesians 1: 15-23) Do you have a calamity, call on God who is all powerful and all knowing! I feel this is a worthy introduction into our Old Testament reading of Isaiah 40. The prophet Isaiah deals the distress of God’s people suffering under the Assyrians. They were desperately looking for deliverance and they were unsure of what will happen next. It was a time of uncertainty, a time of enduring the hardships of exile. I am unsure if their attitudes were appropriate as I read the prophet’s text, it seems they had lost confidence and their hope: “ My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God ?” What was that about? God encouraged them: “ Lift up your eyes on high ” In other words: Don’t focus on your circumstances! Look up and marvel at what God has created. Look at the brilliance and wisdom behind the workings of his creation. Have confidence that God knows everything and even if your delivera...

TUE Evening Prayer Reflection 010521 (Joshua 1: 1-9) When we read the Old Testament, we often discover the character of God in his relationship with the nation of Israel. We discover that God had a soft spot for them. At times we come across people of high integrity whom God delighted in just like Joshua. Joshua was Moses’ young assistant; he went on to be part of the spies that went into the promised land and gave a positive report. That’s when his incredible talent as a leader, his faith and wisdom was observed. In this passage, Moses began to prepare him to lead Israel in the task of entering the promised land. Joshua was rather an example of wisdom, courage, faithfulness and piety. What’s fascinating to me is how Joshua was noticed by his community as well as God for his firm display of faith in YHWH the God of Israel. His spying report had shown a great deal of trust in the power of God to deliver the nation of Israel despite the presence of Giants in the land. When we bel...