Scripture: Luke 6:21 Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Thought for the Day: I don’t want to suggest that the Kingdom of God is a place where people’s hurts are ignored or minimized, but my image of God’s Gracious Reign includes a lot of laughter. Maybe it’s my desire to occasionally brush
Scripture: Proverbs 2:20 Therefore walk in the way of the good, and keep to the paths of the just. Thought for the Day: The Good News Translation of the Bible has this verse referencing those who follow the example of good people. There are some people who can survey the landscape of life, determine the pitfalls and dangerous curves, and then carefully navigate the path. …and then there
Scripture: James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Thought for the Day: Frederick Buechner is one of my favorite authors, in part, for the way he takes heady theological ideas and brings them down to my level. Some of his writings have what appear to be a pithy quality to them, yet they are neither simple nor shallow. On this All Saint’s Day,
HAPPY ALL HALLOW’S EVE or ALL SAINTS’ EVE Scripture: Matthew 17:5-7 While Peter was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up
Scripture: Acts 26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. Thought for the Day: Paul recognized his brutal treatment of the early Jesus followers. It had to have been painful for Paul to speak
Scripture: Hebrews 6:19-20 We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Thought for the Day: The author of Hebrews, prior to this interesting image of hope, strongly encourages his readers to seize the
Scripture: Ephesians 1:8b-10 With all wisdom and insight God has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. Thought for the Day: God has a plan. I like the idea that God has a
Scripture: Mark 6:12 So the disciples went out and proclaimed that all should repent. Thought for the Day: It was Leo Tolstoy who suggested that people will often think and dream of changing the world, but rarely will any of these people consider changing themselves. Can I make a confession? There are a number of things about myself that I am not entirely thrilled about, yet attempting to
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 12:12-14 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but