“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Matthew 23: 27-28. Jesus overturing tables in the temple Todays FMF word prompt is Polite. There are some potential problems with always being polite. For instance, the Pharisees may have had

“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all… If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus… purifies us from all sin.” John 1:5-7 hand in darkess, with light shining on it Part of being human is a tendency to hide. We bury things we don’t want others to see or even things we don’t want to face ourselves in order to avoid pain. We fear that we can’t tolerate the emotional pain of what we might experience sho

“‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ Numbers 6 24-26 When my daughter was younger, in her days of choir, she sang this benediction and it was included on a CD for parents to keep. I remember many car trips with the calming music settling peacefully into otherwise busy stressful days. It is such a beautiful benediction, and on days when the sun co

image by John Royle-Unsplash "As the deer pants for water, so my soul longs for you, my God” Psalm 42 :1 There are moments when we feel an ache deep within, a sense that something is missing. It may be related to lack of sense of purpose or meaning. Or it may be relational a kind of loneliness, or a desire for companionship. It can be a quiet, persistent longing, the kind that makes us pause and wonder if we are searching for something or someone who doesn’t quite exist in