Revelation 21:10; 21:22-22:5 John 5:1-9 One of my favorite places in the world is a pool in Austin Texas called Barton Springs. Barton Springs is a natural limestone pool that is fed by an underground stream – the Edwards Aquifer. The water is constantly bubbling up into the pool from what they call the mother spring, which is located under the diving board. The constant flow keeps the water a cool 68 degrees year-round. No matter how hot it gets, and it gets really hot, a dip in Barton Springs is refreshing. There are people who can be found at Barton Springs every day. They go to swim laps in the 900-foot-long pool, or just to sit on a rock and chat with friends. There are people for whom this is church. There is something about these waters that seem to bring healing to the body, mind and soul. […]
Continue readingMore TagMonth: May 2022
Inestimable Grace
Revelation 21:1-6 Acts 11:1-18 I don’t think I have ever read a book that, on page 263 had a red arrow in the margin and the words: here is the climax of the story, right here! Or asterisks that say: take note: this is important! Writers don’t tell you that stuff – not in that way, at least. But there are other ways of discerning what is really important. One way we understand that something significant is happening is when time slows down. Better than using flashing arrows and lights, the act of slowing the narrative down can communicate in an organic way that this is very important business going on right now. The story about Peter and the Gentiles is given a solid chapter and a half – 66 verses. This is an episode we should sit up and pay attention to, because something big is happening here. […]
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Acts 9:36-43 Her name was Tabitha. Or maybe it was Dorcas, depending on the language we are speaking, but in both Aramaic and in Greek her name meant gazelle. A beautiful name, gazelle, an animal that is known to be swift and small, graceful in its movements. Her name may have been chosen for these reasons. Perhaps her parents hoped for her to be lovely and gentle, and bring more beauty to the world. We know that in her heart and soul she was truly lovely; we know that through her care for others she brought beauty to the world; we know that she was deeply loved by many. Tabitha was quick to serve anyone around her who was in need. She took especially good care of the widows in her community. It might be easy for us to forget, but in that time a widow was an especially vulnerable […]
Continue readingMore TagGrace in Abundance
John 21:1-19 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the greeting Paul liked to use in his letters he sent to churches. In these weeks since Easter Sunday I have been thinking about the kinds of feelings the disciples of Jesus might have experienced after his resurrection. And, as I said last week, it is possible that fear was one of those feelings. They may have been afraid for a number of reasons. Among other things, they had their own personal guilt to deal with, because they had failed Jesus spectacularly. They let him die. Not that they could have prevented it, of course. Even though they had tried a few times to stop him from going down the path. He would not be stopped. There wasn’t anything much they could do, other than die with him, and how would that […]
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