Scripture: Roman 8:6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Thought for the Day: Flesh is evil and the spirit is good! That’s often the over simplification of passages like this one which can lead to some rather unhealthy theology and practices. People have practiced flogging (self-flagellation) to beat down the ways of the
Scripture: Romans 11:1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. Thought for the Day: We live in a world where we give a lot of lip service to tolerance, but just how respectful are we of those on the other side of… (fill in the blank). God does
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. Thought for the Day: My friend (and author of numerous books), Jim Mulholland, said the following, [I am] “amazed at how often my perception of others is simply a projection
Scripture: Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. Thought for the Day: In the book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Quirrell (a teacher whose body plays host to the Dark Lord, Voldemort) says to Harry, “Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it…” These
Scripture: 2nd Corinthians 4:11 (the Message) Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. Thought for the Day: I was watching a Bowl Game yesterday when a commercial came on that depicted a new exciting car. In the commercial, they drove the car off a cliff. The car appeared to fly while the announcer explained all the
Scripture: Ephesians 4:32 …and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Thought for the Day: In Wendell Berry’s book of poetry, “Leavings,” he has a piece simply entitled “A Letter to My Brother.” It begins, Dear John, You said “Treat your worst enemies as if they could become your best friends.” You were not the first to perpetrate such
Scripture: Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thought for the Day: On this date in history, many famous people died, including: Pope Innocent IX (1519); the chemist and theologian, Robert Boyle (1691); politician and signer of the Constitution, Francis Lewis (1803); mathematician and philosopher,
Scripture: Psalm 94:22 (the Message) But God became my hideout, God was my high mountain retreat… Thought for the Day: Yesterday was spent replacing items around the house that were fried by a lightning strike on Christmas morning. It makes me realize how dependent my family (with an emphasis on myself) is on electronics. Without internet or phones, there was a strange feeling of being cut off from
Scripture: Luke 2:22-24 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of
Scripture: Romans 3:21-23 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… Thought for the Day: During the afternoon of December 24, I took around