Today's Scripture Reading (April 21, 2026): Isaiah 1
We need God; we can't be good enough on our
own. God's promise to his people has always been that He will make us
clean. If we rely on just what we can do, we will keep coming up short. What we
need is God; Isaiah understood that dependence. He preached it to those around
him. When the Assyrians attacked, he told the king to rely on God, and God
would take care of the enemy.
We need God. The only way that we can be all
that we are designed to be is with God's presence in our lives. Anything else
is not enough. We need God's action to make us clean.
Holy Humor
Sunday was a couple of weeks ago (April 12, 2026). It is usually the first Sunday
after Easter, and it is always a
day to tell good jokes. I know I am late, but let me leave you with a couple of
humorous stories.
Attending a wedding for the very
first time, a little girl watched the service, fascinated by everything
happening around her. At one point in the service, she whispered to her mother,
"Why is the bride dressed in white?"
Her mother smiled and
replied, 'Because white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest
day of her life.'
The child thought about this
for a moment, then turned her attention back to the events at the front of the
church. But soon, a puzzled look came over her face, and she turned once more
to her mother with a follow-up question. "So why is the groom wearing
black?"
Or maybe this one;
A little
girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not
to be late for Sunday School. As she ran, she prayed, 'Dear Lord, please don't
let me be late! Dear Lord, please don't let me be late!'
She
continued to run and pray, but in her haste, she tripped on a curb and fell, skinning
her knee, tearing her dress, and getting her clothes streaked with mud. But the
little girl got up, brushed herself off, and started running again toward the
church and her looming class.
As she ran,
she began to pray again, 'Dear Lord, please don't let me be late…But please don't
shove me either!'
One more?
A Sunday
school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six-year-old
students. She was trying to explain to the eager ears around her the intention
of the fifth commandment; 'Honor thy father and thy mother.' After discussing
the various ways we can honor our parents, this teacher asked, 'Is there a
commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?'
Without
missing a beat, one little boy answered, 'Thou shalt not kill.'
Holy Humor Sunday arose out
of the idea that Easter is God's joke on the devil. Just when Satan thought he
had won, God raised Jesus from the dead. But the continuing practical joke on the
devil is us. Regardless of the lies we have been fed, God resurrects his church
by raising us from all that should have killed us. And every time that Satan
feels that he has a leg up on the people of God, God raises us once again,
making us into a Righteous People, through whom God's Justice reigns in all the
places that he sends us. In the presence of Satan, he continues to make us
white as snow.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 2
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