"In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead?'"-- Luke 24:5

Expecting to see Jesus in the tomb, the women are stunned to find the tomb empty.  And the question put to them was profound: why do you look for the living among the dead?  We can ask the same question in a different way to so many:  why do you look for life in death?  Why give your life over to addiction and dangerous behavior?  Why destroy every relationship you have, thinking that by leaving this one too, you'll find a better life out there?  Patterns repeat themselves.  Patterns of following a path that leads to nowhere.  When you're looking for life, don't look in the places where fear, hate, and death reside.  Find it instead in the places where faith, hope, and love reside.   Where are you going to experience life?

Readings:  Judges 8:18-9:21; Luke 23:44-24:12; Psalms 99:1-9; Proverbs 14:9-10

"Stay away from a foolish man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips. The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception." -- Proverbs 14:7-8

When I was in high school, the smart, intelligent kids were known as "nerds"and "geeks".  Today, these very same are the most successful from our class.  In our culture, there still seems to be this discounting of intelligence.  In religious circles, some feel very uncomfortable when raising questions about the Bible, or about the faith.  And yet, God gave us minds with which to think.  And he gave us questions to ask, and thoughts to share.  So ask away.  Challenge, question, and seek understanding with everything you have.  Turn from anyone who won't tolerate that sort of questioning.  Fill your circle with wise people-- not foolish ones.  Grow in mind, body, and spirit.

Readings: Judges 7:1-8:17; Luke 23:13-43; Psalm 97:1-98:9; Proverbs 14:7-8

"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy..." -- Psalms 96:11-12

As our land becomes more covered by concrete road and parking lot, let's not lose sight that this is God's creation.  The earth breathes and it gives us air to breath.  It drinks, and gives us water to drink.  The earth is alive and we are its caretakers.  If someone came and poured gasoline on your yard, I trust you'd be a bit upset. If someone came and tore out your flowers and shrubs, the same.  If someone cut your shade trees down, you'd probably sue.  We do this all the time without guilt because we don't see it as vandalism.  But we forget that the earth is the Lord's and all that is in it.

Readings: Judges 6:1-40; Luke 22:544-23:12; Psalms 95:1-96:13; Proverbs 14:5-6

"Then Jesus asked them (his disciples), 'When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?' 'Nothing,' they answered. He said to them, 'But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.'" -- Luke 22:35-36

Jesus is referring to an earlier mission he sent the disciples on where he instructed them to take nothing with them, but to depend on others to host them and care for their needs.  Now the tide has changed.  It's time for them to care for themselves.  It's a fine line we walk as Christians when trying to follow Jesus' instruction for living.  "Don't worry about tomorrow..." He tells us.  But here we find instruction to be prepared.  Is that a contradiction?  I would say no, it's not.  You can prepare without worrying.  You can save money and still live for today.  You can have peace in understanding your own mortality and taste the sweetness of life while you have it.  While we are to be interdependent with one another, we aren't called to be completely dependent on others.  You will have weaknesses, and you will draw upon the strength of others.  At the same time, it's important to build your own strength in order that others can draw from you.  You do not live this life alone.  You are connected whether you like it or not.  It's better that way anyway.  Live life prepared.

Readings:  Judges 4:1-5:31; Luke 22:35-53; Psalms 94:1-23; Proverbs 14:3-4

"After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel." -- Judges 2:10

This will become a bit of a recurring theme in the Old Testament-- later generations of Israel forgetting who they are and whose they are.  When things go bad for them, the writers reflect and say it's because they drifted away.  The prophets will speak doom, the people won't listen, and destruction and captivity will follow.  There are tough times ahead.  What we must remember is that we can't do better than God.  When we think we can, when we begin to doubt God, when we begin to even question God's existence, we need to get back to basics and remember who and what God is.  Then there will be no question.  Then we will remember.  Then we will be aligned again.  From generation to generation, we must teach well so that our children and their children's children will know who and whose they are.

Readings:  Judges 2:10-3:31; Luke 22:14-34; Psalms 92:1-93:5; Proverbs 14:1-2

"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." -- Luke 21:32-33

Second and third generation Christians had trouble with this teaching because they thought that Jesus was talking about the end of physical creation.  Some felt in awkward positions because many first century Christians believed and taught that the end was coming.  Today, the debates continue to rage.  There are some opportunists who say they can predict when the world will end.  Some Christians take no comfort in the Bible because someone told them the world will end because the Mayan calendar ends in 2012 and they choose to believe it.  When will the second coming occur?  No one knows.  In fact, many Bible scholars believe that the second coming is not something to watch for, as it will not be a return from the resurrection, but that the second coming was the resurrection itself (Jesus came to earth when he was born.  Taught while he was living that he would come again.  Died on a cross.  Then came again when he was resurrected.)  Point is, people are all over the map when speaking of the end of reality as we know it. The truth is, we don't know.  Not one of us.  What we do know is that life is filled with beginnings and ends.  Every end for us is a new beginning and what we think we know now is nothing compared to what we'll know in another age.  Paul said it well in 1 Corinthians 13:  "Now I see in a mirror dimly, then I will see face to face."  Your life, as you know it, will come to an end.  Live in the way God intends while you have this life.

Readings:  Judges 1:1-2:9; Luke 21:29-22:13; Psalms 90:91:16; Proverbs 13:24-25

"He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." -- Proverbs 13:20

Remember the saying, "you are what you eat"?  Well that's not true.  Look, I can prove it:  if you like apples and an apple withers in your pantry, you might be disappointed that you didn't get to enjoy the apple, but there is no lasting sting over the apple going bad.  However, when you lose someone who is close to you, someone you love and care about, you feel like you have lost a part of yourself.  We are not what we eat.  We are, however, a compilation of the people we know and love-- our parents, our siblings, our friends, our teachers, our children, our community, our leaders... when we lose any of these in our lives, the sting of loss lasts forever.  So if we are a makeup of the people in our life, doesn't it follow then that we must be very selective of who we choose as our influencers?  If you want to be wise, place wise people in your life.  Whoever you want to be, find others like this and do life with them.

Readings: Joshua 24:1-33; Luke 21:1-28; Psalm 89:38-52;