Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Thought for the Day: We are invited to be imitators of God, yet how exactly are we to imitate the Exalted One? This is where Jesus comes in handy as his life is a bit more
Scripture: Romans 12:19-21 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Scripture: John 13:34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. Thought for the Day: We show love when it is not easy or comfortable because the very character of love is sacrificial. Love is not easy, though our culture pretends it is. We picture it as romance where a couple dances through
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-3 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Thought for the Day: The day before
Scripture: Job 27:8-10 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts them off, when God takes away their lives? Will God hear their cry when trouble comes upon them? Will they take delight in the Almighty? Thought for the Day: The book of Job expresses the hopelessness felt by those who have been overcome by tragedy. Hopelessness makes a person feel cut off from God,
Scripture: Psalm 7:17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High. Thought for the Day: In Sunday’s sermon, I talked about the tendency to split the world into two distinct groups – the righteous and unrighteous. And of course, we like to think that we would automatically fit among the righteous. We
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? Thought for the Day: I offer these words as a way of reflecting on yesterday’s sermon. In the message, I spoke about our need to respect one another as an important part of learning to love one another. This is a challenge, especially when the person we are
Scripture: Ephesians 4:31-32 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Thought for the Day: Though Paul usually writes in broad terms, he does not think about people as statistics or categories. You are not tenderhearted to a statistic; you
Scripture: Ephesians 6:18-20 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare
Scripture: Matthew 7:12 In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. Thought for the Day: As you might guess, I read a lot of Christian bloggers and religious sociologists and still others who are sitting on the fringes/frontiers of spirituality. There are plenty of folks who I find intriguing, folks who push my thinking. There