by Janice MacLean | Aug 10, 2026 | Conversation Blog |
Hello all, This is a space where I’ll offer some articles, some videos, some quotes and some photos as we make our way through The New Testament. The Four Gospels We are now reading reflections for Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The verses may be more familiar to... 
by Janice MacLean | Aug 1, 2026 | The Long Conversation |
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” — John 3:16 Our first hint of incarnation comes in the creation story. God makes stuff out of darkness: First, there is a fire of... 
by Janice MacLean | Aug 1, 2026 | The Long Conversation |
“And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.” – Luke 5:19 NKJV Come, imagine with me! What would it feel like in a crowded... 
by Janice MacLean | Aug 1, 2026 | The Long Conversation |
“The disciples gathered around Jesus, and told him all they had done and taught.” – Mark 6:30 What a day. The disciples return from their mission of teaching and curing the sick. They gather around Jesus ‘telling him all they had done and taught.’ Jesus suggests they... 
by Janice MacLean | Aug 1, 2026 | The Long Conversation |
Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. — Matthew 13:34 Like an artist who doesn’t explain their work but shows it to you, Jesus tells parables and expects his hearers (and we are hearers more than listeners!) to... 
by Janice MacLean | Jul 1, 2026 | The Long Conversation |
“But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” – Malachi 4:2 The last book in the Hebrew Bible has God’s Messenger dealing with disappointment. The returned people... 
by Janice MacLean | Jul 1, 2026 | The Long Conversation |
Questions for God “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will... 
by Janice MacLean | Jul 1, 2026 | The Long Conversation |
Night Visions “In the night I saw a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen; and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. Then I said, “What are these, my lord?” The angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what... 
by Janice MacLean | Jul 1, 2026 | The Long Conversation |
“Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts.” – Haggai 2:4 “Only a demanding common task...