I’ll Stand By You (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

"Nothing you confess 

 Could make me love you less.

 I’ll stand by you."

 

That lyric really grabbed me the very first time I heard Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders sing “I'll Stand By You.” The full lyrics speak to something deep within me. My soul responds to them. 

 

“I'll Stand By You” is about someone struggling with life’s most difficult challenges: experiencing deep sadness, suppressing anger, encountering the darkness of this world—and finding some of that darkness on the inside. That’s hard stuff, stuff most of us at least recognize, stuff we may even have experienced ourselves. If that were the whole song, it would be very sad, indeed. But there’s more. 

The lyrics pair each hard thing with a response. 

 

The song is sung by a person who loves the one facing all those problems. The singer’s responses? When you’re sad, don’t be ashamed to cry. Let me into your sadness with you. When you’re angry, don’t hold it all inside. Come talk to me about it: I get angry, too. And when that darkness falls on you? I’m not afraid to go into your darkest place. And, most important, I will stay in there with you. I will never desert you. 

 

Over and over, the singer declares: No matter what you suffer, no matter what you’ve done, “Nothing you confess could make me love you less. I’ll stand by you.” If that sounds like loving your neighbor the way Jesus taught, you’re getting to the heart of the matter.

 

This week's Exodus passage is, on one level, all about the Ten Commandments. But you can’t rightly divide those few verses from the entire story of God’s involvement with the Children of Israel. Until Jesus, God’s commandments were viewed as restrictions—a long, long list of “don'ts.” But when we view them through the lens of Jesus defining the greatest commandments, we see that all of them are, one way or the other, about love: loving God and loving our neighbors.

 

Kurt Kaiser, one of the cornerstones of modern Christian music, once told me: “You can live your entire life by a wonderful lyric.” Can the lyrics of “I’ll Stand By You” be that for me? Maybe. It seems to me that it comes down to whether I can love God, willingly receive love from God, and then love others with the love poured into me by God. That process will likely continue to be a challenge for me. But, while I’m growing in that direction, there is one thing I can do: 

 

If you need me, I’ll stand by you. 

 

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GRAPHIC: Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

 

Hear Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders sing “I’ll Stand By You” (video with lyrics):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SuWAGT9ZkYE&pp=ygUnaSdsbCBzdGFuZCBieSB5b3UgY2hyaXNzaWUgaHluZGUgbHlyaWNz&ra=m

 

 

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Friday morning is DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast! Join us at 8:00 for an amazing hour of scripture, fellowship, prayer, and food. We're still on Zoom* and in Waco at Our Breakfast Place. 

 

The food costs, but the laughter is free.

Blessings,

Steve

 

*Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard):

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK 

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=p&d=78

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper22.pdf

 

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Psalm 19

Isaiah 5:1-7

Psalm 80:7-15

Philippians 3:4b-14

Matthew 21:33-46

Proper 22 (27) (October 4, 2026)

Stranded! (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

At the summit, the temperature on Mount Everest never rises above freezing.  

 

Most ascents are in May to take advantage of relatively gentler conditions. Wind speeds then are 20-35 miles per hour, temps range from 0° to -2° Fahrenheit, and the precipitation at base camp is rain instead of the usual snow. 

 

David Breashears wanted to ascend Everest in May 1996 to make an IMAX film. But long before they assembled the team, long before the film crew was selected, long before the sherpas were hired, and long before they climbed to the top: 

 

David Breashears made a plan.

 

When the time came to climb the mountain, he had what Jim Collins (of Good to Great fame) calls a "SMaC recipe" (a plan that is Specific, Methodical, and Consistent). It’s purpose was to impose certainty on every aspect of the climb, to have assurance that every safety precaution was taken, to inspire confidence that they were going to make a great film about a great adventure, to ensure that absolutely nothing was left to chance. The plan was filled with very practical steps, but none of them were optional. So, in practice, they were rules. For example:

 

Step 3: Thread the camera with bare hands, no matter how cold, to ensure a perfect shot every time.

 

Step 8: Always bring backups for critical gear and supplies: extra oxygen, extra crampons, extra mittens, and extra supplies. Be prepared to stay longer than planned. 

 

The other steps were just as meaningful. Consider Step 7: In selecting teammates, choose people to get stranded with.

 

The SMaC steps were specific to the Everest climb and making the film. But Step 7 is also universal. It can be applied anywhere. We don’t have to be mountain climbers to appreciate the wisdom in carefully choosing our companions, no matter what adventures we share. 

 

This week's Philippians passage goes hand-in-glove with Step 7. The apostle Paul writes that he wants believers to be a community, to agree with each other, to put each other first, to truly love each other. Then he ratchets up the stakes with this example: Jesus choosing to give up his place in heaven so He could put us first. 

 

Paul wants us to be willing to let everything go—if that’s what it takes—to help each other, to be selfless, obedient, and sacrificial. Paul's encouragements underscore why we should carefully choose our spiritual journey teammates. Are they people we’re willing to be stranded with? Because until Jesus returns, that’s exactly where we are: stranded. 

 

So, yes, activate Step 7 on your spiritual journey. It’s important to choose people you want to be stranded with. But, equally important, be the teammate they want to be stranded with. 

 

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PHOTO from the Official website of the IMAX film Everest:

https://everestfilm.com/

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We have a great time Friday mornings at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast! Join us at 8:00 on Zoom** and in Waco at Our Breakfast Place for an hour like no other. We read scripture, discuss, laugh.

We will finish breakfast before climbing up to base camp. 

Blessings,

Steve

 

*Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard):

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK 

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=p&d=77

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper21.pdf

 

Exodus 17:1-7

Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32

Psalm 25:1-9

Philippians 2:1-13

Matthew 21:23-32

Proper 21 (26) (September 27, 2026)

 

 

Don’t Make Me Go! (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

I love a good time-travel story. In most of them, characters use technology or some kind of power to intentionally travel through time. 

My favorites are the unintentional time travelers, the reluctant ones. They have no control over when they vanish from their present life, none over where and when they travel, none over how long they are gone, and none over when (or if) they ever return to their original time. Also, and this is key: They don’t want to go. 

Maybe you know some of my fictional friends: Claire Randall in Outlander, Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse-Five, Henry DeTamble in The Time Traveler’s Wife.

 

And then there’s journalist Dan Vasser in the short-lived (but much praised and much missed) TV show Journeyman. Dan might be sitting at his desk, or even at home with his toddler when, with almost no warning, he is swept into the past. Plus, upon his return to the present—also beyond his control—he cannot provide a credible excuse for his absence. His relationships suffer. The disorientation, alone, would be reason enough to not want the experience. No matter what, he has to go. He has no option. 

The main way we differ from Dan? We almost always have a choice. We can say “No.” 

 

You might think the prophet Jonah was more like Dan Vasser than us, but that would be wrong. Jonah had free will. In this week’s scriptures, we read the final part of Jonah’s story. You may recall he had been told to go and preach in Nineveh, a very wicked mega-city similar to Babylon. Jonah resisted. God insisted. Jonah strongly objected to what God instructed him to do—so strongly, he actually went in the opposite direction!

 

You know the story. When Jonah fled aboard a ship, God prepared a "great fish" to swallow him. Eventually, he prayed and (somewhat) repented. Upon his release from the fish, he went to Nineveh and preached what God had instructed him to preach in the first place—but he was not happy about it. In this week’s passage, God attempts to reason with Jonah, to help him understand why he was sent to Nineveh.

 

Jonah’s tale is not really about Nineveh, nor about the sailors on the ship, and certainly not about the fish. 

It’s about Jonah's relationship with God. 

Don't think for a minute God had to send Jonah to Nineveh. God could have sent anyone. God chose Jonah for a reason. Jonah needed some lessons: about obedience, about God's priorities, about grace, about second chances.

 

And a lesson about God's sovereignty. 

 

Our reluctant time-travelers have no choice: They must go. Jonah had—and exercised—free will. He had a choice, and he chose to disobey God. Why? Because he didn't agree with God's willingness to redeem some wicked people. Like the vineyard owner in this week’s Matthew passage, God could have asked Jonah: “Are you envious because I am generous?”

 

God is sovereign. He can do as He wants. And what God wants is to be generous, to forgive people their sins. If we're saying “No” to that, what are we choosing instead?

 

 

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IMAGE (Hanging Gardens of . . . Nineveh?”): 

https://www.reddit.com/r/assyrian/comments/15csr9r/hanging_gardens_of_nineveh/?share_id=UyTBKw7gM3k5Z8_GmpNe_&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

 

More about Nineveh:

https://thegardenhistory.blog/2021/01/09/the-hanging-gardens-of-nineveh/

 

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DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast meets Friday mornings at 8:00am. Please join us for scripture, discussion, prayer—and laughter. We gather on Zoom* and in Waco at Our Breakfast Place.

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

*Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard):

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=p&d=76

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper20.pdf

 

Exodus 16:2-15

Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45

Jonah 3:10-4:11

Psalm 145:1-8

Philippians 1:21-30

Matthew 20:1-16

Proper 20 (25) (September 20, 2026)

 

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