Several times in scripture we find someone occupied with something for forty days-almost six weeks. It seems clear that 40 is a meaningful number, since it shows up as often as it does. It is sometimes suggested that 40 is the "probationary" number. It's a good fit in some cases, not as good in others. But whatever the overall meaning of the number is, have you ever wondered what those people were doing during those six weeks?

We've all read it, and read about it, and heard talks about it. Jesus says, "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man." And, "Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot...so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed." (Luke 17:26-30) Jesus says it on multiple occasions. Clearly it's something he thought about, and thought was important.

We see someone we know, and it's just about inevitable. One of us says, "Hi! How are you?" The other one replies, "Good! (Or "Fine!" or "Okay!") How about you?" Neither of us expects to give or to receive from the other one a catalog of physical ailments, family issues, spiritual struggles, financial problems, and so on. If we stop to think about it at all, we might feel a little guilty about basically lying about how we're actually doing. But we know they don't want the catalog.

This past weekend I attended an in-person gathering of people from all over, who came together for fellowship and Bible study. For me this was the first event of its kind post-pandemic. (Of course a case can be made that we aren't yet truly "post", but most everyone seems to be acting "post".)

This morning my wife and I were driving in our (small) downtown, in busy traffic, and from behind us a car came roaring up, weaving in and out, cutting off other cars left and right. As the driver cut us off my wife, who was driving, muttered, “People are so stupid.” It occurred to me that this statement was a very short—and entirely accurate—summary of the entirety of the human experience.

They were neighbors. They both saw the attraction of living near a stream, to have a reliable source of water close by. Both built the house of their dreams, and for years enjoyed the fine location, the excellent water, and their comfortable home.

We don't very often think about Jesus being angry. He exhibits compassion, patience, kindness-and we most often think of him in these terms. Rightly, I believe. But I came upon a passage this morning that says he got angry, and it got me to thinking. What makes Jesus mad?

Several times the apostle Paul makes visiting brothers and sisters a matter for prayer. This may seem to be a kind of obscure thing to pray for, considering all the things we urgently, or seriously, or desperately need to pray about. But to Paul it was clearly something important. Maybe it ought to be for us too?

With his final breath, Jesus "uttered a loud cry", according to Matthew and Mark. It's only Luke who tells us what he cried out: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." But even Luke doesn't let us know that Jesus, with his last breath, was quoting from a psalm. He had earlier quoted from Psalm 22.

In the middle of his discussion of the gifts of the Spirit, Paul drops in the familiar “love chapter”—1 Corinthians 13. It is a lovely, even lyrical, treatment of a beautiful subject. The ending is familiar to all: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

In Acts 11, starting at verse 19 we read about a new church, formed out of persecution—Antioch. There is perhaps a partial fulfillment here of Jesus’s pronouncement, “Blessed are you when men persecute you…” If it were not for the persecution, this church wouldn’t have existed, and a lot of good would not have come about.

It’s one of the most familiar Sunday School lessons, and the subject of countless Bible classes and talks. You can tell it yourself, without looking. A storm on the Galilee lake, and Jesus came walking on the water.

What do you make of these verses from Proverbs? It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. (Proverbs 21:9) It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman. (Proverbs 21:19)

Jesus used a lot of agricultural metaphors. Many of his parables are built around seeds being planted, plants growing or failing to, trees producing or failing to, harvest, keeping sheep. Which is interesting, because Jesus wasn't a farmer. He lived in town, worked in building trades. Of course it was a small town, and agriculture would have been going on all around, so there's no question he would have had a lot of exposure to farming and the care of farm animals.

Depending on the reading plan you follow (you do follow one, I hope!), you may be reading in the Revelation. The first chapter tells us who is writing: John, at the behest of Jesus, with the authority of the Almighty. And it tells us who he's writing to: the seven churches of Asia. But none of us thinks the audience is limited to those folks. It's clearly from Jesus, through John, to all believers, then and thereafter.

Who's the audience for the Proverbs? Easy answer, right in the opening verses. It's addressed to the simple, the youth, the wise, the understanding. For the purpose of improving them all.

When a meal is supposed to be hot, it’s not nearly as appetizing if it’s allowed to get cold. Our Lord gave some serious warnings about the time right before his return—some of them concerning his own followers. Persecution will cause many to fall away and betray one another (Matthew 24:9-10). False prophets will lead many astray (verse 11). And, I suggest every bit as serious: “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (verse 12).

All my life, there have been famines I’ve heard about. But never experienced. Food insecurity is something that can and does exist anywhere—and when we’re willing, we can and (sometimes) do find ways to help. But famine is something else, something beyond, hunger on a massive scale. So horrifying it staggers the imagination.

The longest public speeches of Jesus that we have on record have nicknames: The “Sermon on the Mount” is recorded in Matthew chapters 5 to 7. The “Sermon on the Plain” is in Luke 6:17-49. They are similar enough that on the surface they might seem to be different accounts of the same event.

As they’d agreed, they meet while it’s still dark. A few of them have brought what spices they’ve been able to locate. Quietly, they take the short walk out of the city to the cemetery. The moon is going down as the sunrise begins.