I observed this week two conditions in which I or others feel negative feelings--E.g. anxiety, sadness, loneliness, anger, fear--or express negativity--E.g. sinful or pessimistic attitudes, actions, speech.

Psalm 23 contains the word “and” three times. Once, in v. 6, it means, “and then.” But twice it means “these two things together.” “Your rod and your staff… goodness and mercy…” One pair is an image, a picture of something else, something concrete; the second pair is that actual thing.

Comfort is not Deliverance
Many times when we say, “Lord, comfort me!” We mean, “Lord! Get me out of this!” We say comfort but mean deliverance. But this is not what the Lord offers.

"Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Luk 14:34-35)

We can call it righteous anger, or sadness, or frustration. But we're afraid. And we're supposed to be! "News" is code for "bad news." "News" is a shorthand way to refer to "bad things that have happened recently, which we think will interest you."

PRACTICAL BITS FOR NEW YEAR BIBLE-READING
Around this time last year I encouraged us to consider an intentional Bible-reading course for the year:
BIBLE-READING BIBLE CHURCH.
It's a good word for this moment in our year. It also contains a link to the Bible-Reading "plan" that I follow.

When Jesus invites us to "seek first God's Kingdom," He has two groups in mind. Perhaps you fall into one of these groups; perhaps you feel present in both.

Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. -Jesus, Matthew 6:33

Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (Psa 27:14)
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD! (Psa 31:24)

Sometimes when I hear Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33 to “seek first the Kingdom,” it discourages me. For, of course, though I want to live that way—Kingdom first, start to finish—I don’t. It’s my heart, but it’s not my life. And who doesn’t get discouraged when confronted with the gap between our holy aspirations and our actual decisions? It can be debilitating: “Why even try!? Why even bother!? If I can’t be a success, I’m not even going to start.”

Happy Thanksgiving, dear ones. I am so very thankful for you!
May you have a nice couple of days here, eating and drinking and reconnecting with what is good, with joy.

All of us must come to the Lord. I hope you will, for a little bit, today. (Hey! I hope I will too!) I won't say don't be afraid. Fear is part of it. But there's something much better beyond, isn't there?

Ever visited a country where you don't speak the language? You've never been there before? You wake up and you feel very fragile--where do I get food? How can I find things out? You're not in Kansas anymore, Toto. Sometimes we come to our senses (Luk 15:17) and realize that we're not where we want to be.

The relationship of Christians to politics in America is, by its nature, somewhat complicated. After all, we're not vassals of a distant Empire, or uprooted exiles--we're citizens of a country premised on the concept of us all having some measure of ability to influence the government.

"BUT SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE ADDED TO YOU." -Jesus Christ (Mat 6:33)

Assyria was a unique superpower of the ancient world. It was one of the first, really, to attempt to bring the whole known world under one (taxable) roof. It set out to accomplish this by using military might and brutality. It says something of your tactics when the Babylonians, the Persians, and Rome (with its practice of crucifixion) looked on you as barbaric.

How do we get healthier? Harder to beat? Quicker to recover?
One of the first answers to that question has to be: get stronger.
Thankfully this is a subject Scripture has much to say about. Here are a few of my favorite passages on this topic, in which we'll find much help..

How significant is Sabbath to spiritual health?
Let's observe a few points, along with a counterpoint, from Scripture.

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mar 1:35 ESV)

Great verses to reflect on... which I may do later. For now, simply read, consider, and enjoy.