I grew up in a worship culture that emphasizes the solemnity of coming before the Almighty, including in our prayer and singing. This culture was shaped over centuries by the traditions of Catholicism, and then the traditions of Calvinist Protestantism, further polished in the British culture, and transported to North America where I am.

You may be familiar with the book “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. The concepts in the book have been a great help to many couples. The basic idea is that each of us has one or maybe two primary ways of expressing love—but if the person we’re expressing love to has a different primary “language”, they may not understand that we’re saying “I love you”. Misunderstandings arise and relationships are hurt when people actually love each other, but are speaking different “languages”.

The great collection of wisdom that we call the Book of Proverbs has a LOT to say about what we do with our mouths. This book isn't alone, of course-James, for example, talks about it extensively in his letter. Really, we find teaching all over the Bible, about what we say and how we say it. It's especially prominent in the Proverbs, though. Just to touch on a small fraction of what we find there, some things we might want to take to heart:

Where I live, today is designated as the first day of a new year. Lots of talk about closing out one year and having a fresh start in a new one. People talking about resolving to make life changes. But you know, it's just an arbitrary designation. There's no cosmic or seasonal rationale for the day. Some cultures put the beginning of a new year in the springtime, which arguably makes much more sense.

Yes sir! Captain Julius, Third Company, Augustan Regiment, reporting for debriefing as ordered sir. As you have heard, sir, the events of my recent assignment are most unusual.

The second letter of Paul to Timothy is his final letter, at least the last one preserved for us. Paul is in prison in Rome for the second time, and this time he knows he will be convicted and executed. (2 Timothy 1:12, 2:9, 4:6-8) He has been abandoned by most of his helpers, and even actively opposed by some who ought to have been supporting him. (1:15, 4:10-16) The only one left lending him support is Luke.

The title, as you may have recognized, comes from Romans 11:22. Many versions read, "Note then the goodness and severity of God..." Other versions have "kindness and severity", or "kindness and harshness", or words to the same effect.

In the gospels, we frequently come across references to “publicans”, if we read the King James Version. Many in North America may miss something that’s obvious to those in Britain. What is a publican? It’s the owner/operator of a public house, a pub.

It’s a nice day today, where I am. It’s one of those days that brings to mind Psalm 118:24 – “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

She opens her eyes to an intensity of light, which in spite of its brightness seems just delightful. At first she doesn't know if she is standing or lying down. A feeling of weightlessness resolves into concrete reality. She looks around herself, and out of the brightness other figures are resolving. They are people, and like her they are looking around in wonder. There are so many!

What does it mean to “blaspheme”? Probably all of us have a rough idea in our own minds. It seems to be a concept that only arises in a religious context. It seems important, and it definitely seems bad. Might be a good idea to try to gain a better understanding of it.

None of the four accounts of Jesus's last 24 hours gives us the complete picture. We have to do some assembly, and even then we find there are some gaps and some details that take a bit of work to reconcile. Why make it hard? Well, maybe to make us think through, think beyond.

In Luke 18:1-8 we read Jesus’s parable of the unjust judge, or some call it the parable of the persistent widow.  The judge, we’re told, has no regard for either God or human beings.  The widow keeps coming to him with her claim and demand for justice, so much so that she eventually wears down the judge, who doesn’t really care and would rather not be bothered.

What does this mean? "Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light. But when it's evil, your body is full of darkness." (Luke 11:34 ISV) It isn't immediately clear what Jesus's point is. We'll leave the "body full of light" part for some other time. Right now let's just think about the "evil eye".

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.