This week we’ve been learning about lament. Here is a lament psalm, sometimes called a poem. Or just a really honest prayer.

The key to an honest lament is twofold: it means looking reality square in the face, and it means still holding on to hope.

Some of the Psalms have subtitles. It gives you a sense of the context for the prayer you are about to read. Here is one of the clearest subtitles:

Almost the entire book of Job is a lament. For dozens of chapters, Job laments his ruined life. And strangely, by complaining to God that God has wrecked Job’s hope, Job is actually putting hope in God. Because Job is still speaking to God. Job is still praying.

Our guest preacher, Rev. Riana Shaw Robinson, led off the sermon with the words, “I love lament.”

Today is another simple exercise in giving thanks - as a pathway to contentment

By gratitude we own God’s benefits.

Talk about holding tension - wow, the passage today is a zinger!

John the Baptist showed up with refreshing honesty and simplicity. He didn’t overpromise and he didn’t sell a gimmicky spirituality. He told it like it is, including how messy the world is, how messy our souls are, and how we could do better at caring for both the world and our souls.

The title of this devotional is a ruse, I’m afraid.

What word or phrase or image stands out to you today and why? Sit with that in prayer for a few moments.

This devotional is especially for those of us who have some measure of privilege.

Today we look at a classic Old Testament text: the three Israelites in the fiery furnace.

Some church traditions emphasize (overemphasize?) the victory we experience in Christ. Because he rose from the dead, it is often argued, we also get to overcome every challenge and come out as ‘winners.’

Gaslighting is not a new thing. It’s a human thing.

Today we pray with Teresa of Ávila

The great psychiatrist, teacher, and spiritual leader Carl Jung once said, “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls.” Can’t you relate to that?

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart… - Hebrews 10:21

Today we’re having an extended reading about finding sacredness outside of Sunday worship.

Yesterday we talked about how, in Christ, God invites us all into the Most Holy Place. While that image was used by the author of Hebrews to evoke the awe and intimacy of the central space in the temple in Jerusalem, in Christ we get to expand beyond just a physical place.