DAILY READING 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 REFLECTION   Clean Fresh-from-Heaven By Pam Mann Paul opens 1 Corinthians 2 with a clear statement of purpose: I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.   The crucified Christ. This is Paul’s focus. Like us, Paul was not an eyewitness to the death of Jesus. Like us, however, he has met the crucified and resurrected Christ. Growing in connection with the crucified Christ has changed everything for Paul. It shifted...

DAILY READING Isaiah 19:16-25 REFLECTION   In That Day By Pam Mann “In that day.” Isaiah hits us with this phrase six times in this passage. Each time he tells us what Egypt can expect and, in verses 23-25, what Assyria can expect. So, we ask: what day is “that day”? Then we ask what’s up with Egypt and Assyria at the time when Isaiah prophesies? The phrase, “in that day,” occurs hundreds of times in the Old Testament. In the prophetic books, like Isaiah, “that day” is the Day of the Lord,...

DAILY READING Micah 5:2-5a REFLECTION   God’s Plan for the Little Guy By Pam Mann What a prophecy Micah has for small-town Bethlehem! Don’t our hearts rejoice at how God uses the little guy to do great things? Don’t we all root for the underdog in fiction and in sports? Here is little Bethlehem, always overshadowed by mighty Jerusalem on the heights. Now at last, Bethlehem is called into the game. God loves using the little guy to lead in the unexpected moment of grace intervention. When life...