Scripture: 1st Peter 4:8 Above all, show sincere love to each other, because love brings about the forgiveness of many sins. Thought for the Day: I’m preaching on 1st Peter 4 this morning. I was curious in regard to the phrase, “sincere love,” as I don’t believe there is insincere love. If it is insincere, it is not love. Period! It might pretend to be, but it’s not.
Scripture: Proverbs 18:13 Those who answer before they listen are foolish and disgraceful. Thought for the Day: I would agree with the author of the Proverb, though I would add that it is not just foolish and disgraceful, but unhelpful and potentially hurtful. I slipped away to Camp Allen (Episcopal Retreat Center) for two nights of study and prayer. The first thing I did was reread Anne Lamott’s
Scripture: 1st Peter 2:5 You yourselves are being built like living stones into a spiritual temple. You are being made into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Thought for the Day: The image of a stone was used in the previous verse in reference to Jesus, but here we are described as being built like living stones. The
Scripture: Matthew 6:2-4 Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that you may give to the poor
Scripture: Psalm 34:19 The righteous have many problems, but the LORD delivers them from every one. Thought for the Day: Let me confess up front – I just recently saw this quote in a post from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations. He referenced holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl and his famous book, Man’s Search for Meaning. The Forward of the book was written by Rabbi Harold Kushner, best
Scripture: Matthew 22:19 Jesus responded, “You are wrong because you don’t know either the scriptures or God’s power…” Thought for the Day: Rachel Held Evan, a Christian author, wrote the following: With Scripture, we’ve been entrusted with some of the most powerful stories ever told. How we harness that power, whether for good or evil, oppression or liberation, changes everything. I love Evan’s use of the word harness.
Prayer for the Week: What world do I live in? Where are my loyalties? To whom do I bow and give authority over my life? These are the questions I bring before you, O Spirit of Heaven and Earth. I ask these questions with some trepidation, for there is a part of me that does not wish to confront what should be confronted within my life. I like
Scripture: Isaiah 43:18-19 Don’t remember the prior things; don’t ponder ancient history. Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? I’m making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness. Thought for the Day: Now I don’t believe Isaiah was suggesting the people completely forget their past. There were wonderful and powerful stories that rooted Isaiah’s community in the mercy and
Scripture: 2nd Corinthians 5:17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! Thought for the Day: Too often we think of following Jesus in terms of escapism, or what some might refer to as departure theology. It is all about surviving or enduring this world so that at some
Scripture: Galatians 6:15 Being circumcised or not being circumcised doesn’t mean anything. What matters is a new creation. Thought for the Day: A new creation? Are we sitting around looking for God to make the world around us different or is something new to happen within us? I believe Paul was suggesting the new creation is not about an outward change (like circumcision), but an inward transformation that