Matthew 5:5 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.  “Nice guys finish last”, said Leo Durocher, the baseball manager. “Do Unto Others, Then Split”, read a t-shirt I wore to elementary school once. This Beatitude of Jesus sounds so countercultural today but it would have sounded strange to his audience on the mount too. Most of…

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. I have good news and bad news….

 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” Be…

              Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered;        give ear, all you far countries;                    strap on your armor and be shattered;        strap on your armor and be shattered.              10       Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;        speak a word, but it will not stand,        for God is with us.  It was relatively early in the…

When Israel went out from Egypt,        the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,              2       Judah became his sanctuary,        Israel his dominion.                3       The sea looked and fled;        Jordan turned back.              4       The mountains skipped like rams,        the hills like lambs.                5       What ails…

These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today. “Let’s let this thing play out.” This can be an…