January 2009 – Page 3 – 300 words a day

Testing God

[Matthew 4:5-7] Don’t test God. That’s what Jesus says to the devil. The devil said to jump off the temple wall. He said that God had promised to send angels to catch people who were falling. Jesus says, “It is also written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Want to go […]

by Jon Swanson

Risky business

[Matthew 4:5-6] The devil says to jump. That’s what Matthew tells us in his description of the testing of Jesus. You know the thing mothers are supposed to have said? When you say that everyone is doing something, they are supposed to say, “If everyone was jumping off a cliff would you jump?” We know […]

by Jon Swanson

learned means usable

Many people have memorized the Bible. Most people who watch sporting events have memorized John 3:16, for example. But that doesn’t mean they know what it means. Some people have memorized parts of the Bible. From phrases to sentences to paragraphs to pages to whole books, people have memorized the Bible. But that doesn’t mean […]

by Jon Swanson

up and down

[Matthew 3:17-4:2] The heavens parted. We use that phrase jokingly when someone is about to make some dramatic pronouncement. In the situation that Matthew talks about, there was a dramatic pronouncement. Though not a joke, it feels pretty friendly. The Father says of the Son, “I’m proud of him.” And then, while there is still […]

by Jon Swanson

together

Last week was a funeral. The son of a pastor was killed the day he (the son) became a father. Today I had lunch with the executive pastor (Rocky) who works with that pastor. We ate with the executive pastors and administrators from a more than a dozen other churches. Rocky talked about the pain […]