Scripture: Psalm 25:5 Lead me in your truth—teach it to me— because you are the God who saves me. I put my hope in you all day long. Thought for the Day: Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Those words speak to me on so many different levels, yet today I
Scripture: Psalm 48:1-3 In the city belonging to our God, the LORD is great and so worthy of praise! His holy mountain is a beautiful summit, the joy of the whole world. Mount Zion, in the far north, is the city of the great king. God is in its fortifications, revealing himself as a place of safety. Thought for the Day: Do you have a place that is
Scripture: Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. Thought for the Day: The words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. challenge me to rethink how I approach the Christian concept of forgiveness. King wrote, “Forgiveness is not an occasional act;
Scripture: Luke 14:28-30 [Jesus said,] “If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it? Otherwise, when you have laid the foundation but couldn’t finish the tower, all who see it will begin to belittle you. They will say, ‘Here’s the person who began construction and couldn’t complete it!’” Thought
Scripture: Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to hide something and the glory of kings to discover something. Thought for the Day: Almost 25 years ago, I took a summer class on the writings of ethicist and theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr. So much of what he wrote made me feel uncomfortable in that good kind of discomfort. Where I had been a bit naive, Niebuhr called me
Voices of hate; The chanting of division; They shout about pride, but there is no pride in rancor and malice. You created us, O Holy One of Life, with such an amazing capacity for love, Yet it has been usurped by fear masquerading as brotherhood. It has been lost
Scripture: Proverbs 14:29 Patience leads to abundant understanding, but impatience leads to stupid mistakes. Thought for the Day: The CEO of AT&T, Randall Stephenson, caught the attention of many earlier this year when he urged his company to engage in tough conversations and move beyond mere tolerance. “Tolerance is for cowards,” he said. “Being tolerant requires nothing from you but to be quiet and to not make waves,
Scripture: 2nd Corinthians 9:8 God has the power to provide you with more than enough of every kind of grace. That way, you will have everything you need always and in everything to provide more than enough for every kind of good work. Thought for the Day: According to Paul, God has provided more than enough so that we have enough to provide more than enough for the
Scripture: 2nd Thessalonians 3:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Thought for the Day: This is my eleventh and final devotional on 2nd Thessalonians, and though these are familiar words to find at the end of an Epistle, I am still taken by the thought of wishing for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to be with everyone. I’ve got to
Scripture: 2nd Thessalonians 3:13 Brothers and sisters, don’t get discouraged in doing what is right. Thought for the Day: All I can say is, “Preach it!” Those are words the followers of Jesus need to hear every morning and every night because the work of Kingdom-building can be very discouraging. Discouragement often happens when we focus entirely on short term successes and believe that everything is dependent upon