John 9:3b   "....said Jesus, “ but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him . " It is so difficult to understand hardship, especially for "good church people" and those we feel exude Christ's image. Why do they go through hardship? Why do bad things happen to good people? The eternal, unanswered question. Ah, but it has been answered, by Jesus Himself. "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." In this case it was a man who'd been born blind but it could be any difficulty, injustice, pain, etc. While this isn't the answer that people want - it isn't satisfying, is it? - it is the answer. We suffer for any number of reasons but in all of them the most appropriate answer is so "that the works of God might be displayed". I am not dealing with any particular difficulties, other than being unemployed, so this answer is easy for me. Some would say that I haven't had anything...

I learned something this week that I wanted to share. I meet with some people regularly.  We discuss our prayer concerns, our activities and where we've failed God.  We have a script of sorts that we follow or try to follow.  We share moments of triumph and weakness, times when we met Christ and when we've missed an opportunity to do good.  We share insights when we learn something in our devotional readings or scripture.  We talk through things that are hard to understand or difficult to accept. One of the first lines of the script/format is: prayer, study, action.  We report how we've done in the last week on all of these areas.  This is where I've learned something new, or rather had my eyes opened to a new way of looking at things.  One person shared that her action was ......(without being specific)....letting someone do for her.  Now isn't that interesting? Every action requires an equal and opposite reaction. (I think that's some r...

I know. There have been loads of sermons, books, devotions, etc on this passage but ....that's proof that the Bible is a living document.  Each time you read it, you can learn something new, or see something from a new perspective.  So, with that in mind, I'm going to look at Mary and Martha again.  Luke is the only gospel to record this story.  We don't get another perspective based on the storyteller. These five verses are all we have. Additionally, we don't get the benefit of actually hearing the speaker's tone of voice.  We don't know if Martha was complaining, or poking fun. Martha says, " Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me! "  Try to say that using a playful voice.  Sounds completely different than when you say it with a harsh complaining tone, doesn't it?  Maybe there was an on-going joke about Mary always showing up late when any work was to be done.  Maybe Martha was givi...

See Joshua 13:14   and 18:7 , for the Levites, Priestly Service was their inheritance.  According to Joshua 18:7, " The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the LORD is their inheritance . "   I wonder if the Levites felt short-changed.  All the other tribes from the sons of Jacob were given LAND, lots of land, as their inheritance of the Promised Land.  God promised and delivered.  But did the tribe of Levi feel mistreated?  Did they whine about their inheritance, or lack thereof?  Did the people from other tribes try to keep their daughters from marrying a Levite because there was no land inheritance?  OR was serving God in the temple and representing the people to and for God such an honor that land was immaterial?  Because land ownership was only temporary, I think that maybe the Levites had a more stable life than the ones who owned property.  But when you think of tasks invo...