Reading: Psalm 66: 8-20 Verse 10: “For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver”. The opening stanza in today’s Psalm feels a lot like life: times when I feel assured of God’s presence and times when I feel like I am being tested. In verse nine God preserves life and keeps feet from slipping and in verse ten we read, “For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver”. In verse eleven and the first half of twelve there is prison and burdens and hardship; in the s

Reading: 1st Peter 2: 2-3 Verse 2: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation”. Today’s short passage is a powerful metaphor that is packed with meaning. On the surface level our faith must be fed if we are to grow in our faith. We must nourish our faith with practices such as worship, prayer, meditation, and study. Investing in our relationship with God leads us to “grow up into our salvation”. There are two roles in toda

Readings: Acts 7: 55-60 and 1st Peter 2: 4-5 and 9-10 Verse 9: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood… that you may declare the praises of him who called you into his wonderful light”. In the first passage for today we see Stephen dying for his faith in Jesus Christ. Being filled with the Holy Spirit he declares that he sees Jesus in heaven. This leads to his stoning. It is a willing gift to God, to declare this and then to go to be with the one he saw in heaven. While

Reading: 1st Peter 2: 4-10 Verse 5: “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house, to be a royal priesthood”. Peter establishes a connection in today’s passage between THE living stone and the followers of Jesus. He opens with these words: “as you come to him”. Our process of becoming like the living stone begins by establishing a relationship with Jesus Christ. We must take the first step towards Jesus. As we choose to walk with the one who was precio

Reading: Luke 24: 28-35 Verse 32: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us”? On the road to Emmaus Jesus meets and walks with two of his disciples. He meets them where they are at emotionally and spiritually and he makes himself known – first through the scriptures and then in person. Often this is the way that Jesus continues to work in our world. For me, Jesus was first known intellectually. I learned the