"Have mercy on me, O God, according to you unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." -- Psalm 51:1-2

Need a new start?  How incredible it is to have a God who is one of grace.  None of us deserve to be forgiven for the sins we commit, but God has a justice that transcends that of our human nature.  When you are hobbled with guilt and shame for what you've done, when you truly are sorry... cry out this psalm.  It is one God has heard for thousands of years.   Guilt is something born of the past that paralyzes the present and muddies the future.  God wants us to live now.  Cry out to God, and feel his mercy and grace wash over you, and in Christ, be new again. 

Readings: Numbers 10:1-11:23; Mark 14:1-21; Psalm 51:1-19; Proverbs 10:31-32

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come." -- Mark 13:32-33

I love it when I come to these texts that speak of the end of the world.  Given that it's 2012 and so many have predicted this to be the year it all ends, it's nice to hear Jesus reminding us that nobody knows when the day or hour will come.  I suspect he could have added the word "year" in that list as well.  While we don't know when human life ends, it all ends for each of us one day.  Whether that's through a human-extinction-causing event, or individually dying of old age or disease or random accident... death comes to all.  Some try to cheat it, and some even plan to succeed, but it is the awareness of limited time that moves us to make the time we have count.  Good news-- you woke up this morning!  What will you do to make the most of this day?  Live!

Readings:  Numbers 8:1-9:23; Mark 13:14-37; Psalm 50:1-23; Proverbs 10:29-30

"The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing." -- Proverbs 10:28

There are riches to be had by living a simple and good life.  They may or may not be riches in the form of material wealth, but this life leads to an abundance of joy through relationships and trust found in them.  What are the drawbacks of living a good and righteous life?  Please tell me.

Readings: Numbers 6:1-7:89; Mark 12:38-13:13; Psalm 49:1-20; Proverbs 10:27-28

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." -- Mark 12:29-31

This is the verse that Jesus' whole teaching rests on.  You cannot comprehend the New Testament without it.  You cannot understand what the Good News is without it.  To love God and neighbor comprises Jesus' "yoke"-- the rabbi's set of interpretations of the Law.  It is one law in two parts: love God; love each other.  Unlike the yokes of other rabbis, which entail legal expertise on 613 laws found in the Old Testament, this yoke is "easy" and this "burden is light" (see Matt. 11:28).   Easy?  Track your days and see how well you follow this two-part law.  It takes a great deal of work and practice.  Master these, and all the others take care of themselves.

Readings:  Numbers 4:1-5:31; Mark 12:18-37; Psalm 48:1-14; Proverbs 10:26

"Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy." -- Psalm 47:1-9

In 2012, March 4th falls on a Sunday, and I write this as I prepare to join others in worship.  This Psalm is one written thousands of years ago and speaks to people lifting praises to their God-- the same God we worship even today.  Think of all of the millions-- even billions-- of voices that have lifted songs and prayers to God over the last several thousand years.  Millions will be doing it today alone.  The reading from Numbers shows the tribalism that was inherent in early Jewish culture.  As I consider those who will worship today across the world, I realize that we (the whole worshiping world) will be doing so in tribes of sorts.  We call them congregations, but we really are quite tribal still.  So who's your "tribe"?  I pray you worship well with them, as we continue the ancient tradition of worship that is alive and well even in techno-rich modernity.  So clap your hands all you tribes, all you congregations, all you nations!

Readings:  Numbers 2:1-3:51; Mark 11:27-12:17; Psalm 47:1-9; Proverbs 10:24-25

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." -- Psalm 46:1-3

Isn't it comforting to know that in times of crisis, trouble, and uncertainty, God is present through it all? Events come to all of us when it feels like the very foundation of life is shaking.  That could be when we experience a death of a loved one, a dissolving of a marriage, a prognosis of health that isn't good, or when we are in the midst of war.  The earth around us can shake.  Our knees can buckle beneath us, and we might be falling, but even in that moment and time of trial, God is there.  Never are we alone.  Never are we abandoned.  Take comfort knowing that God is an ever-present help in trouble.

Readings:  Leviticus 27:14- Numbers 1:54; Mark 11:1-25; Psalm 46:1-11; Proverbs 10:23

"You don't know what you are asking, " Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" -- Mark 10:38

In this verse, Jesus is responding to James and John  who are plotting on how to sit one on the left side and the other on the right of Jesus when he sits on the throne of the kingdom.  They are seeking positions of power and authority.  They would like to be at the front of the line.  They wanted to say, "I am second."  But here, to say they are second would be really like saying they are first.  It's a popular thing these days to say, "I am second"... to Jesus.  Does that mean we're first among the non-messiahs?   While that's just a playful spin on words, it is here Jesus says to James and John and the others that "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.   "Second" seems to high.

Readings:  Leviticus 25:47-27:13; Mark 10:32-52; Psalm 45:1-17; Proverbs 10:22