Scripture: Jeremiah 1:9-10 Then the LORD stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and said to me, “I’m putting my words in your mouth. This very day I appoint you over nations and empires, to dig up and pull down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant.” Thought for the Day: If you heard the sermon yesterday, you know that Jeremiah was not initially enthusiastic about God’s
Scripture: 1st King 12:20-24 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed the house of David, except the tribe of Judah alone. When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen troops to fight
Scripture: Jeremiah 1:1 These are the words of Jeremiah, Hilkiah’s son, who was one of the priests from Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. Thought for the Day: Tomorrow we begin a three week look at some key passages from the prophet Jeremiah. If you turn just past the halfway mark of your Bibles, you will find yourself in Isaiah, Jeremiah or Ezekiel. These are considered three of
Scripture: Ephesians 6:18 Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time. Stay alert by hanging in there and praying for all believers. Thought for the Day: Last night was the sixth and final Congregational Conversation. Actually, that was the last of the Bruce-led conversations for now, but I pray that the conversations are just beginning. It was my intention to lay out a number of ideas,
Scripture: Galatians 6:9 Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up. Thought for the Day: Bill Bradley said, “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” I don’t know if ambition is the right word for people of faith, but maybe yearning or hunger is the path to success. But Bradley was
Scripture: Deuteronomy 5:12-14 Keep the Sabbath day and treat it as holy, exactly as the LORD your God commanded: Six days you may work and do all your tasks, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. Don’t do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your oxen or donkeys or any of your animals, or the
Scripture: Proverbs 15:21 Folly is joy to those who lack sense, but those with understanding walk straight ahead. Thought for the Day: Today is the second day of school for the children and youth around Spring, Texas. The second day brings with it a new set of challenges. Yesterday, most everyone was on their best behavior. Today, teachers will begin seeing the unique character of each child…and
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant… Thought for the Day: While reading more of CS Lewis the other night (I referenced him in my devotional yesterday), I came across these words: Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained. To simply
Scripture: Acts 12:5 While Peter was held in prison, the church offered earnest prayer to God for him. Thought for the Day: Pray! I don’t know if it was original to CS Lewis, but he said: I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God- it
Scripture: Luke 9:20 Jesus asked the disciples, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ sent from God.” Thought for the Day: For the next few days, I am going to be guiding the congregation through multiple hour-long gatherings called Congregational Conversations. These are not intended to be an hour of conversation that concludes when the sixty minutes is up. My