Given the importance of sheep in the ancient Near East, it’s not surprising that “shepherd kings” are found in Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian traditions, too.

nd like many Indigenous prayers, Psalm 84 described the right relationship with God’s dwelling place. “How lovely is your dwelling place” also translates as “How beloved is your dwelling place.”

We could ask that question of our wealthy, modern nation. Why are such persons often consigned to live on the streets or pushed outside city limits? 

Perhaps John’s admonishment was only against statues of gold or silver. But the first Christians were people like us, so he might have been warning them about our kinds of idols, too.

Sometimes dismissed by Christian scholars as a praise song to the law or a pedantic teaching tool (each stanza begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet), Psalm 119 can be profoundly comforting and empowering in our time.

To be sure, God’s presence can be known through the words of Psalm 139. But for the people trying to find their way through an ever more dangerous and deadly place, that Presence needs to known in the flesh—their flesh and our flesh.

I’ve always had trouble with the third Beatitude. The other blessings from Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount are worthy goals: hungering for righteousness, showing mercy, striving for peace. But being “meek”—as the King James Bible, the Revised Standard Version, and the NRSV translate Matthew 5:5—has always been personally unattainable.

"A Good Friday Credo" - A UCC Daily Devotional by Rev. Talitha Arnold

Sometimes the prayer for daily bread took on other tangible forms. I prayed for daily sunrises, daily walks, or a daily check-in with a coll

Breaking the silence, asking for help, giving thanks, remembering the covenant and God’s past deliverance from fear and falling. Maybe that’

The day after the inauguration, Psalm 145 reminds us that—no matter who occupies the White House or walks the halls of Congress—when we pray

We’re getting ready for the birth of Jesus. Why this story about the death of Elijah? What do a chariot and horses of fire have to do with t

Lord, when our faith is used to justify violence and hatred, help us remember Francis of Assisi—how he sought to follow you with love for Br

"What Have You to Do with Us?" A UCC Daily Devotional by Rev. Talitha Arnold.

Let me be a seal upon your heart, like the seal upon your arm, for love is fierce as death, passion is mighty as Sheol. - Song of Songs...

Holy Manna All Around, A UCC Daily Devotional By Rev. Talitha Arnold of the United Church of Santa Fe.

A UCC Daily Devotional by Rev. Talitha Arnold.

"I Love Your Law" - A UCC Daily Devotional by Rev. Talitha Arnold, Senior Minister at the United Church of Santa Fe.

Fire in Their Bones- UCC Daily Devotional by Rev. Talitha Arnold.