Shepherd of the Hills

Isaiah 55:10-13: Like Rain and Snow

To live in the ancient Promised Land required faith.  Oh, its description as a place of milk and sweet honey rang true, for its country fed livestock, sheltered bees, and produced bountiful crops.  Nevertheless, without rain, soon, the soil hardened and cracked into a shriveled and depleted landscape.  Other places didn’t demand… [more]

God May Not Be Like We Think

Frustrated, Jeremiah cries to heaven, “You enticed and deceived me, prevailing over me.”  Earlier, God told him this, “I am making you into an iron pillar.”  To be God’s prophet will require him to stand “against Judah’s kings, its princes, priests, and commoners” (1:18).  No, God didn’t mislead Jeremiah but spoke the truth, instead. … [more]

Getting Back to Normality Despite COVID, or at Least, Trying

A couple of weeks ago, a member of our congregation approached me.  In short, she shared with me her assessment of our COVID-19 prevention practices.  Well, I quipped back, “Yeah, coming to church is safer than grocery shopping.”  To this, she agreed.  Next, she said I should send out a message, so others in our congregation… [more]

The Red Sea miracle through the “water like a wall on their right and on their left” (Exodus 14:29) brought a frightened and fleeing people through the drowning waters.  A hymn of thanks soon rises from their lips (Exodus 15:1-21), celebrating the God who came to free them.  In short order, they will find themselves at the foot of Mt.… [more]

Matthew 28:16-20: The Holy Trinity

The Scripture begins by unveiling God, revealing who He is by how He operates.  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” meaning God made everything.  The word for God here is Elohim, a masculine plural, referring to a singular God.  Ah, the divine mystery starts in Scripture’s first sentence. Next, the moving… [more]