Tracy's Blog

This past Sunday there was a lot of talk about sheep and shepherd in the lectionary readings. In John 10:27-28, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” And in Rev. 7:16-17, there is a glimpse of what the eternal life that Jesus gives is like: “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” It is no surprise then, that the Psalm to be read was Psalm 23. Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with ...

"The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love."   Psalm 145:8 This verse caught my attention this week and I wanted to ask you to consider it in two ways. 1) This is God's stance towards you:               gracious               compassionate               slow to anger               rich in love 2) This is God's stance towards others:               gracious               compassionate               slow to anger               ...

After enjoying a celebratory church service, a delicious feast (made by my mother-in-law) and a relaxing afternoon, I was quickly reading my Bible on Easter Sunday evening when a phrase caught my eye in Luke 24: “The Lord has risen indeed...” (24:34 ESV) “Hey!” I thought, “That's what we have been saying all day, in church and then as we greeted people - Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!” Why haven't I ever noticed it in the Bible? And why the “indeed” part in our response? Well, to answer the first question, it is probably because of the Bible translations I've been reading the last few years. Here are a few translations of this phrase in Luke 24:34. NIV “It is true! The Lord has risen...” NLT: “The Lord has really risen!” NASB: “The Lord has really risen....” The Message: “It's really happened! The Master has been raised up...” None of them have the exact wording of the KJV “The Lord is risen indeed” but the ESV which I read this past w...