A Beautiful Gesture

Psalm 22:1 (NRSVue) - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?Psalm 22 is a plea for deliverance from hostility and suffering.Just before His death on the cross, Christ used these words.Matthew 27:46 (NRSVue) - And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”The question arises: “Why would God forsake Jesus at this critical moment?”To forsake means to “turn away from.”So, why did God turn away from Jesus?The simple answer: because it was...

Continued Love and Mercy

Psalm 118:18 (NRSVue) - The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.Psalm 118 is known as a ‘Song of Victory’.In verse 18, the psalmist acknowledges God’s mercy.The Lord corrected him, but the Lord did not hand down a sentence of death.Christ also showed mercy.He not only healed a man, but He also healed him on the Sabbath.John 5:5,8-9 (NRSVue) - One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.This was not the only time Jesus healed...

To the End of the Age

Psalm 102:26 (NRSVue) - They will perish, but you endure; they will all wear out like a garment. You change them like clothing, and they pass away,Psalm 102 is a prayer.It is a prayer from one in crisis and in need of help.It is a prayer to the eternal and unchanging God.Matthew 28 begins with the resurrection of Jesus.It ends with the commissioning of the disciples.Jesus concludes this commission with a reminder; a reminder that He is ever present.Matthew 28:20 (NRSVue) - and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.Our...