Author: trob

And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.”18:7 Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 18:8 Then he took curds and milk and the…

This morning, during our weekly Bible Study, as we read Matthew’s account of the Crucifixion [Matthew 27:27-50], I shared a powerful, parable-like offering from C.S. Lewis regarding the level of God’s love. God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. He creates the universe,…

And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of…

For the past 35 years, I have utilized the Revised Common Lectionary as the centerpiece of my weekly devotional life. For the several of you who may not be familiar with “the Lectionary”—in recent weeks, two of you have made direct inquiry to me about it recently—the “RCL” is a three-year cycle of weekly “lections”…

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go…

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem [Luke 9:51]. To show you just how far the world has come since the mid-1950s, when I was a young lad growing up with my three brothers in rural southern Gaston County (NC), our family had…

The LORD created me at the outset of His way, the very first of His works of old. In remote eons I was shaped, at the start of the first things of earth…. And I was by Him, an intimate, I was His delight day after day, playing before Him at all times. Hebrews 8:22-23,…

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” [John 14:8, NIV]. Generally, on Pentecost Sunday, one is drawn to the traditional first lesson offered by the Lectionary committee: Acts 2:1-21. After all, a significant portion of the contemporary church marks the Day of Pentecost as the moment of the…

The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." [Acts 16:29-31, NRSV]. In The Acts of the…

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you [John 14:26]. You might think it a bit odd, but sometimes when I read a pericope of Holy Scripture, my mind jumps back to a situation…