Happy Monday! I hope you had a good weekend and are ready to get on with a new week. Let's get this party started!


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Sun, Mar 29: How does Psalm 36 describe “the sinfulness of the wicked”?
Psalm 36:1-4 There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. 3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. 4 Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.

And here's the question of the day:
Mon, Mar 30 What must we do if we are to be heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ and share in his glory? (Rom 8)


And here's the reflection of the day:
Today's reflection is going to be short and sweet. (In case you haven't noticed it, pastors sometimes have the bad habit of making that which is blessedly simple terribly difficult. I'll try to avoid that, at least for now.)

Some pieces of Scripture are distracting. But they're distracting in a good way. I began my reading and didn't make it past Deuteronomy 31:6 where Moses commends the Israelites, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

If I could pick a passage of Scripture to have seared into my brain, this would make my top 5 list of possibilities. I'm afraid instead of words of God's assurance being uppermost in my mind, that spot is generally occupied by something else--things I am worried about or afraid of, I'm ashamed to say.

Now, Moses had a specific "them" in mind as he was talking to the Israelites, and you can read about that as the chapter goes on. But we can take a little liberty with this passage. Fill in whatever is your worst fear for "them."

Do not be afraid or terrified of "them"--FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD GOES WITH YOU. HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU. These are the words I wish were tattooed in my brain. These are the words that I hope you will keep hidden deep in your hearts.

I hope now that I've had time to think on it and meditate on it, I hope-hope-hope these words will come to mind in my time of need. (Which actually will be at 9:00am, so if you read this before then, PLEASE pray for me!)

And I hope-hope-hope the next time God calls you to face a fear, these words spring into your mind.

Allison