Author: Sweet Tea and Front Porch Storyteller
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A Religion to Defend or a Jesus to Follow?
Today I read about Francis Makemie in A Year with American Saints. Makemie was a Presbyterian minister who came to America from Northern Ireland in the seventeenth century. He became an important leader among early American Presbyterians and is often called the Father of American Presbyterianism. But something about his story caught my attention. Makemie…
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The Shepherd Knows the Way to the Water
Daily Office Readings for Today, Saturday, September 5, 2026: Psalm 30, 32, 42, 43; Job 22:1-4, 21-23:7; Acts 13:26-43, John 10:1-8. “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God.” — Psalm 42:1–2 Some days we dance. Some days we mourn. Some…
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Who Am I to Judge?
Today I was reading A Year in the Life of American Saints, and the saint for the day was Bayard Rustin. I recently watched the movie Rustin, so his story was still fresh in my mind. What a remarkable man. Rustin endured rejection, prejudice, imprisonment, and condemnation, yet he devoted much of his life to…
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Did God Do That—or Did It Just Happen?
This evening I was reading a few more pages from The Pilgrim Continues His Way. I came to the chapter called “The Pilgrim’s Account of the Fifth Meeting,” and something in the story caused me to stop. The Pilgrim travels to Bila Tserkva, where he meets another traveler, a merchant. Together they stay in the…
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But This I Know
Reflections on Psalm 31 & 35; Job 19:1–7, 14–27; Acts 13:13–25; and John 9:18–41 If the Psalms are the Jewish hymnbook, I think David could have made a pretty good country-and-western singer. Many of his Psalms have all the ingredients of an old country song—trouble, enemies, loneliness, regret, sorrow, and more than a few tears.…
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How Will We Respond to Grace?
Daily Office Readings for Thursday, September 3, 2026: Psalm 37, Job 16:16-22, 17:1,13-16. Acts 13: 1-12, John 9:1-17. There is an old hymn that says: “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.” That kept coming to my mind as I read today’s Daily Office readings. They take us from David, to Job,…
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Are We Still Listening?
Daily Office Reflection — Wednesday, September 2, 2026Psalm 38; Psalm 119:25–48; Job 12:1, 14:1–22; Acts 12:18–25; John 8:47–59 Sometimes when I read the Daily Office, the readings seem unrelated at first. One passage speaks of suffering. Another speaks about God’s commandments. Job is lamenting the frailty of human life. Herod is sitting on his throne…
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Maybe We Find Freedom When We Stop Talking and Start Listening
Daily Office Reflection — John 8:33–47 Jesus says some harsh words in today’s Gospel reading. He is continuing a conversation with people who question who he is and where he comes from. They appeal to their heritage: “We are descendants of Abraham.” Jesus doesn’t deny their ancestry. He knows they are descendants of Abraham. But…
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When We Don’t Understand
Daily Office Reflection — Acts 12:1–17 Sometimes Sacred Writings leave me with an answer. Sometimes they leave me with a question. Acts 12 leaves me with a very big question. King Herod begins persecuting believers in the church. He has James, the brother of John and one of the Sons of Thunder, killed with the…
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Ask the Animals, and They Will Teach You
Daily Office Reflection — Job 12:1–6, 13–25 Sometimes a few words in Sacred Writings stop me, and I know I need to stay with them awhile. That happened today while reading Job. Job is responding to Zophar and the other friends who have been trying to explain his suffering. They have answers. They believe they…
