Archives for Author: rishabh

December Reading from The Message

December 2, 2021

It is inevitable. You will hear Luke 2 recited in church this month. For good reason, it concisely and clearly details the birth of Jesus. And who is it we relate to most? Mary or Joseph? Rich wise men? Or is it the shepherds? Everyday people who are brought in to witness the miraculous and […]

November Reading from The Message

November 1, 2021

We are God’s destination. He is active and moving – he comes. The Christian life is lived between his arrivals. In light of that, how should we live? Paul provides essential and practical guidance in the last chapter of 1 Thessalonians… And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard […]

October Reading from The Message

October 2, 2021

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul is emphatic about the free life we can live because of Christ. It is not the cheap freedom that is often celebrated by the world. But a freedom that allows you to serve others without being burdened by the compulsions of selfishness. A freedom that will slowly bear […]

September Reading from The Message

September 16, 2021

Habakkuk has just cried out to God, pouring out his sorrow and indignation at the injustice all around him. He asks “where are you God!?” But then, at the start of chapter 2, Habakkuk stops… and recognizes that the Lord will answer and he needs to be ready for God’s response to his complaints… and […]

August Reading from The Message

August 18, 2021

The story of creation is one of the infinite becoming tangible, the limitless becoming defined. When God placed man in the garden it was not a wilderness. It had boundaries and intention. It was local. The work God is looking to do in us and through us will not be in an ethereal utopia. It […]

July Reading from The Message

July 16, 2021

Here in Matthew 23, Jesus has just outwitted the Sadducees and Pharisees when they tried to rhetorically trap him. He famously says “give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his,” and clarifies the golden rule. Thoroughly stumped, the religious leaders quit asking him questions, then Jesus delivers an epic diatribe on hypocrisy… […]

June Reading from The Message

June 10, 2021

The people of Israel did not head straight to the promised land. After being miraculously brought out of Egypt they were doubting God and squabbling internally within days. In order to get them prepared for true community in the promised land God had some reminders. We pick up the story in Deuteronomy 8… Keep and […]

May Reading from The Message

May 12, 2021

Here in Psalm 27 David is crying out and asking God for one thing. Not a revolving prayer list of wants, but one big ask that he is desperate for God to agree to. Light, space, zest— that’s God! So, with him on my side I’m fearless, afraid of no one and nothing. 2 When vandal hordes […]

April Reading from The Message

April 9, 2021

Paul wrote letters to many believers, but it’s clear he had a special place in his heart for Timothy. Here, at the beginning of 2 Timothy, Paul is encouraging his younger brother in Christ to be bold in using his gifts. Paul recognizes his potential and shares why Timothy can overcome his timidity to serve […]

March Reading from The Message

March 4, 2021

In Matthew 21 Jesus has his triumphal entry; palm leaves are waved, tables are kicked over, it’s an exciting and well-known series of events. But at the end of the chapter, Jesus tells two convicting stories directed at religious leaders and us… THE STORY OF THE TWO SONS 28-30 “Tell me what you think of this […]