Devotions For The Reconciled Life

'One person dies in prosperity, completely comfortable and secure, the picture of good health, vigorous and fit. Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life. But both are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same maggots.' Job 21:23-26 One of my favorite music groups of all time is a little-known group, House of Heroes .  I had them in for a fundraising concert several years ago.  Early in the show, they performed one of my favorite songs;  The Comfort Trap .  Here are just a few words from that song: I'm gonna get nice things and get my way Even if it means there's hell to pay I'm gonna have my cake and eat it too And what I don't eat I'm gonna force feed you I'm not looking for consolation Maybe I can settle for compensation Have my cake and eat it too And if it's all a lie, I'm gonna say it's all true It seems to be a universal state of our world that if what we think is a l...

Mark 11:27-33 ; 12:1-44 Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24, 2010. Law & Order was the longest-running crime drama on American primetime television. Its record of 20 seasons ranks as the longest-running hour-long primetime TV series.  The show makes courtroom discourse seem exciting when in reality it is not.  As anyone that has been on a jury can tell you, the courtroom can be very tedious.  Jesus spent much of the Tuesday before His death and resurrection debating in the Temple. Jesus answered the Pharisees, the Herodians, the Sadducees, and the scribes (lawyers) as each tried to trap Him in a debate of Scripture.  Throughout His ministry, they had each wanted to catch Him with their arguments.  This final week they all gathered in one day.  He answered them all and destroyed their traps.  The Word used the Scripture to destroy their arguments ( 2 ...

One week.  Only one week.  That is all that remains to complete the work.  There is so much to teach.  So much for the apostles to grasp; to remember as they lead the Church.  After about three years it all comes down to one week.  The last week. Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday.  The day of the triumphant entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.  Today is known as Holy Monday of Easter week.  The Gospels tell us of some of the events that occurred on this day of the Passion week.  Some of the most recognizable of these are the cursing of the fig tree  ( Matthew 21:18-22 ,  Mark 11:20-26 ),  the questioning of Jesus' authority  ( Matthew 21:23-27 ) , the c leansing of the Temple  ( Mark 11:15-18 )  and the teaching of some parables ( Matthew 21:28-46 ) .  Quite a bit for one day, and those are just the highlights! Giuseppe Passeri [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons We see in the ...