Wednesday, March 17Job 1-2Today’s reading leaves us with a stark image of Job stripped bare, afflicted, sitting among the ashes. His wife says to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” I imagine Job slowly raising his head to meet his wife’s pain-stricken face as he responds, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”Like Job’s wife, I find it hard not to get hu...  Read More

Tuesday, March 16Exodus 39-40As you read this passage in Exodus, it might seem tempting to skip over the details. Don’t do it. I’d encourage you to take time to pay attention to all that is being described.These aren’t complex features designed to annoy the reader. Instead, there are holy reasons written into each twist and turn of gold and colorful yarn, divine depths singing from every piece of ...  Read More

Monday, March 15Exodus 37-38Exodus 37-38 gives fairly detailed notes on how the ark, table, lampstand, altars, basin for washing and courtyard were built. The Biblical description involves a lot of gold, acacia and bronze. Since there were no Ikea manuals at this time, the instructions for assembling each of these items had been given to Moses on the mount earlier in Exodus.While the Editor-In-Chi...  Read More

Sunday, March 14The thing about Lent is that as much as it is an important season spiritually it also mimics the change of seasons in the natural world. We put ashes on our heads and meditate on our mortality while it is very much still winter. We celebrate new life and resurrection when spring has taken over outside. Here in the midwest we can’t always rely on the weather to reflect this (I belie...  Read More

Saturday, March 13Exodus 35-36"Then all the congregation of the Israelites withdrew from the presence of Moses. And they came, everyone whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and brought the Lord’s offering to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the sacred vestments. All the Israelite men and women whose hearts made them willing to bring anyth...  Read More

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing.” In case you don’t recognize it, it’s a line from Shawshank Redemption. It is one of those movies that anytime I see it on tv, I have to stop and just watch. I recently introduced it to George, my youngest. I’ve seen it 100 times, but he had never heard of it. The line above is one that Andy shares with his friend Red. They are both in prison, probably ...  Read More