Scripture: Psalm 88:1-6 O Lord, God of my salvation, when, at night, I cry out in your presence, let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I am like those who have no help, like those forsaken among the
Scripture: 1st Peter 4:10 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Thought for the Day: What exactly does it mean to serve God? Does our service need to gush with proper religious language, the rhetoric of a good old-fashion evangelist? Recently, I came across the following thoughts from Jon Foreman, the lead singer of
Scripture: Psalm 111:1-2 Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Thought for the Day: Yesterday and again today, I am spending time at the Lanier Theological Library. As a side note, I appreciate Mark Lanier creating this magnificent
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 3:4-7 For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God
Scripture: Acts 13:15 After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.” Thought for the Day: Within the Christian faith, leaders and preachers ask rhetorical questions as a tool by which they bring everyone into their way of thinking. The only problem is when you
Scripture: Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me Thought for the Day: This might be the best known verse in all of scripture. People have offered these words in the hospital room, at the grave side, and in many other dark periods of life. The first three verses
Scripture: Psalm 23:3 (the Message) True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Thought for the Day: Many people will read those words and say, “That doesn’t sound very familiar.” It is how Eugene Peterson (the translator of the Message) renders the Hebrew words that we better know from the King James Version as, “He restoreth my soul: he
Scripture: Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Thought for the Day: Yes, this is the same scripture as yesterday. In that devotional, I focused entirely on the notion of the shepherd, and the relationship between the shepherd and the flock. This is, in the minds of most people, the central idea of the passage, yet notice the interesting connection between the declaration of
Scripture: Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Thought for the Day: A sheep is a very vulnerable creature, especially when there is no shepherd. Sheep have no defense against predators except for the flock, yet their instinctive flight response causes the potential strength of the flock to be scattered and lost. Clearly, the scripture is speaking about the faith community being scattered and
Scripture: Genesis 23:1-6 Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven years; this was the length of Sarah’s life. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. Abraham rose up from beside his dead, and said to the Hittites, “I am a stranger and an alien residing among you; give me property among