“I wait for your salvation, O Lord.” Genesis 49:18 If 2020 has been a year of anything, it has been a year of waiting. Waiting for a global pandemic to be over. Waiting for a vaccine for COVID-19. Waiting to see loved ones again. Waiting to gather once again in our churches and let our …
2020, Trauma, and Lament
Earlier this month I attended an online seminar on trauma and spiritual direction, sponsored by Grafted Life Ministries. The presenter, Dr. Genalin Niere Metcalf, noted that recently we have all experienced trauma caused by COVID-19 and the racial tensions brought to the forefront in the United States. We are all dealing with the effects of …
Keep Singing
“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!” Psalm 95:1 Singing has been a defining characteristic of Christian worship since the beginning. Christians did not start this in a vacuum; they inherited the rich singing tradition of Israel found in the book of …
Worship in a Foreign Land
“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” Psalm 137:4 Written in the context of the Babylonian exile, Psalm 137 reflects the lament of the Israelites in Babylon. The Babylonians torment the people, asking them to sing “songs of Zion,” to which the people ask about singing Lord’s song in a foreign land. …
Steadfast Love
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It …
Peace Be With You
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples …
Joshua Strickler 