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Strengthen Your Core
I’ve always assumed exercising my core meant doing sit-ups in pursuit of six-pack perfection. But a Read More
Lynne M. Baab | Read Psalm 48:1-14
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Sign Up TodayThe moods of Psalm 48 are like a sandwich. The opening and closing verses resound with joy and exultation, while verses 4-7 describe astonishment, panic, and trembling. The source of these varied emotions is God’s powerful presence in Jerusalem, referred to as the city of God and Mount Zion in...
Loving God, help me to see you clearly in everyday events and places. Give me moments of exuberant joy in who you are and what you do. Amen.
The readings from the Hebrew scriptures this week celebrate the city of Jerusalem. This was the capital of the great King David, who united the ancient Israelites and built up the city. The psalmist praises Jerusalem using the image of Zion. Zion is a name used for earthly Jerusalem, but it is also a gesture toward a future day when God’s people will abide in a heavenly city. In Second Corinthians, Paul explains that even though he is an apostle, he still struggles like everyone else. Wild speculation surrounds the “thorn” that plagued Paul, but his point is that when he is weakest, God is strongest. In Mark we see God’s power working through Jesus, who sent out others to expand God’s healing work.
• Read 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10. The king of Israel exhibited the qualities of a shepherd. How do those qualities square with your experience with those in power?
• Read Psalm 48. Bring to mind a place where you experience God’s presence. Do you find yourself drawn there? Why?
• Read 2 Corinthians 12:2-10. When have you experienced a weakness becoming a source of power?
• Read Mark 6:1-13. When have you limited God’s power through your disbelief?
Respond by posting a prayer.
"Many of us are used to the idea that we might speak to God or to Jesus. Maybe at times it feels like shouting into the darkness or whatnot, but it’s not hard to do—at least as an imaginative exercise. What’s harder—even imaginatively—is to try to hear Jesus speaking to us. Are we just making things up? Are we just using Jesus as a puppet to say whatever we want to hear?" READ MORE
