Scripture: Luke 1:67-68 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them…” Thought for the Day: Zechariah bursts into a spirit-filled song at the naming of his son, John [the Baptist]. Zechariah had been unable to speak for months, and this song contains the joyous
Scripture: Isaiah 2:5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord! Thought for the Day: Each Sunday of Advent, we light a candle on the Advent Wreath. For centuries, Christians have taken the time to light a candle as a way of representing the growing light of God coming into the world through Christ. We are not the light, but God has
Scripture: Ezekiel 34:1-4 The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. You
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 1:25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. Thought for the Day: There have been two major news stories on Facebook in the last 18 hours. The first was the live version of The Sound of Music on NBC. It appears to have received mixed reviews, though I was unable to watch it. The other news
Scripture: 2nd Corinthians 9:2 (the Message) I know you’re on board and ready to go. I’ve been bragging about you all through Macedonia province, telling them, “Achaia province has been ready to go on this since last year.” Your enthusiasm by now has spread to most of them. Thought for the Day: Yesterday morning I had a breakfast meeting at Champions Golf Club, and there was practically no
Scripture: Luke 13:24 [Jesus said,] “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able…” Thought for the Day: I’ve been at Cypress Creek Christian Church for almost 18 months, and just last night I found another room I had yet to see. Don’t get me wrong – I had seen the door, but as I stood
Scripture: Proverbs 8:6-8 Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right; for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them Thought for the Day: Language is a glorious gift, though it can also have unintended consequences. We can say something
Scripture: Psalm 122:8-9 For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. Thought for the Day: Though we don’t want to get too confident in our achievements, I think we can be excited about the amazing strides taken in dealing with HIV and AID’s. Yesterday was
Happy Advent Scripture: Isaiah 9:6-7 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:12-17 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the one do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. The wise have eyes in their head, but fools walk in darkness. Yet I perceived that the same fate befalls all of them. Then I said to