Archive for July 2022

1 Chronicles 10-11, Psalm 128, Luke 8:16-25, Colossians 2:16-23 Psalm 128: Almost in answer to the question implicitly posed by the previous psalm (how can you be a person whose life is a house the Lord is building?), this psalm makes it clear where blessing comes from. “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his…

1 Chronicles 7-9, Psalm 127, Luke 8:1-15, Colossians 2:8-15 Psalm 127: The first part of the psalm focuses on work. All hard work leads to profit (Proverbs 14:23), but “unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (127:1). There is no ultimate profit, benefit, reward, or point to hard work unless you are…

1 Chronicles 5-6, Psalm 126, Luke 7:36-50, Colossians 2:1-7 Psalm 126: What is it that causes real joy? There are many different theories out there about what makes you happy. The wildly popular Yale psychology course on happiness is online. Any number of self-help books promise happiness through one technique or another. But what is it that does…

1 Chronicles 3-4, Psalm 125, Luke 7:18-35, Colossians 1:15-29   Psalm 125: Some people seem as if they could withstand anything. They have an inner calm and resilience that seems to belie any attacks against them and gives them a rugged true grit that is admirable. Christians are meant to be people who are loving and kind, but…

1 Chronicles 1-2, Psalm 123-124, Luke 7:11-17, Colossians 1:1-14 Psalm 123-124: What do you do when you are in trouble? The key is the eyes. “To you I lift up my eyes” (123:1). It is tempting, and natural enough, to look around at difficulties, to ponder them, and, as it were, focus all your attention upon the hassle…