Luke 7:28 Jesus said, “I tell you—among those born of a woman, no-one is greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Nobody really knows exactly what Jesus meant here, but most people think he was acknowledging John the Baptist as the last and greatest of the Hebrew prophets. He was also trying to look into the future, into a whole new era in which everyone would be a prophet in some way, everyone would be walking with God in the way John had. We aren’t there yet, but we see glimpses of that Kingdom and we long to live there. Maranatha—Come Lord Jesus.

Colossians 2:12 When you were buried with him in Baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God.

Those of us who baptize in just a little water lose sight of the possibility of drowning during our baptism! In a river or an ocean we might be more mindful of going down with Christ into the darkness of death and coming back out into the light with him. The early Christians never forgot that as they were being born again the old self was dying, right there in the water.

Wisdom 5:5 Why have they been numbered among the children of God? And why is their lot among the saints?

These are the incredulous questions that the unrighteous will be asking after the resurrection, when they see the righteous poor there with God. The ones that everybody else looked down are among the saints!! Wisdom says, all will be revealed sooner or later!

Psalm 45:6 Your throne, O God, endures for ever and ever.

Up until now, the psalmist has been talking to King David—describing his palaces and princesses and power. Then right in the middle he addresses God, the one who never dies and will reign forever. Even with all the trappings of royalty King David is a man, here for a short while only. Not so the living God.

Luke 6:5 Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath—the day of rest for all believers. When the religious authorities took offence, Jesus tried to model for them the priorities of his Father in heaven. Always, the priority is to heal, to serve, to love. He is the Lord of every day—the day of work and the day of rest and the day of worship.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on God, because he cares for you.

The apostle Peter is writing here to all believers, not just a select few from one church or one town. He understands what we sometimes forget—that God cares for each and every child of his vast creation. Why should we spend valuable time and energy worrying, when the creator and redeemer of the universe knows our situation, and cares about it? And about us.

3John 4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Every parent and grandparent says AMEN to that. In this case, the evangelist John wasn’t talking about his own children, but about his children in the faith—those who had come to Christ through his ministry. When we preach and teach, we only hope that those words of life take root, and grow into lives of truth.