Scripture: Psalm 97:12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name! Thought for the Day: Worship is many things, but among them is the opportunity for the community to collectively give thanks. Our expressions of gratitude are not to meet some need or expectation of God, but to meet a yearning within us. As people of faith, we have come to realize
Scripture: Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. Thought for the Day: Last night, I was a able to attend the Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service hosted by our friends at Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. It was a wonderful service, including speakers representing: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikh community and Islam. Each representative spoke beautifully, with both humor and challenge. At the close of the
Scripture: Colossians 3:15-16 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. Thought for the Day: While visiting my grandparents on vacation years
Scripture: Psalm 8:9 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Thought for the Day: In continuing from yesterday’s devotional, I find myself drawn to these words at the close of Psalm 8. Last night I ran to the store to get a couple of items for my spouse. On my way back, I looked up at the sky and saw what you
Scripture: Psalm 8:3-8 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you
Scripture: Psalm 66:4-5 All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name. Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals. Thought for the Day: During the first half of the 18th century, a Jesuit Priest by the name of Jean-Pierre de Caussde wrote, “There is no peace more wonderful than the peace we enjoy when
Scripture: Matthew 13:53-56 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place. He came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon
Scripture: 1st Peter 1:14-15 Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct. Thought for the Day: A regular practice can become a habit. A habit, if given the opportunity, can become an enduring characteristic. Yet too often people are not willing to put forth the
Scripture: Malachi 2:10 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors? Thought for the Day: On this day in 1956, the Supreme Court declared that Alabama’s law requiring segregated buses was illegal. It was a milestone in the Civil Right’s Movement, yet it was only one step in the long
Scripture: Romans 9:1-2 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. Thought for the Day: The Apostle Paul feels great anguish for the division he sees within the community, and it is from this anguish that he must speak the truth he has discovered in Christ. Anguish can so