Scripture:Isaiah 43:19–21 (NRSV)19I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my pr...  Read More

Isaiah 43:16–18 (NRSV)16Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.Reflection:God rehearses the miracle of the Red Sea—one of Israel’s most defining moments—and then s...  Read More

Scripture:Isaiah 43:14–15 (NRSV)14Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I will send to Babylon and break down all the bars, and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentation. 15I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.Reflection:Before God speaks about what God is going to do, God reminds the people of who God is. Redeemer. Hol...  Read More

Scripture:  Luke 2:22-24(NIV) - When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons...  Read More

Scripture: Luke 2:22–23 (NIV)When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”),ReflectionForty days after His birth, Jesus is carried into the Temple. Every day, families came to the Temple to do exactly this. ...  Read More

Scripture: Luke 2:21 (NIV)“On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.”ReflectionEight days after His birth, Jesus is circumcised and named—not in a palace, not before a crowd, but in the quiet obedience of a faithful family. This is insignificant status by the world’s standards. Nothing about this momen...  Read More