Scripture: Matthew 10:7 As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Thought for the Day: I’ve spent the last few days with some amazing pastors who are currently starting new churches or are in the process of discerning a call to start new churches. It is a courageous crazy bunch, and I must confess a great sense of humility as I listened
Scripture: 1st Timothy 3:14-15 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. Thought for the Day: It is so important that if, by chance, the author cannot
Scripture: Proverb 23:18 Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Thought for the Day: The writer and poet, Oscar Wilde, gives us a perspective so often forgotten. He wrote, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” The words are powerful, but they feel a bit too idealistic for the person sitting in the gutter.
Scripture: Psalm 16:11 You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Thought for the Day: I don’t know who actually said it, but I love the words, “Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.” How often do we approach the day at half speed and with a ho-hum attitude as if some other
Scripture: Acts 7:26 The next day he came to some of them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, “Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?’ Thought for the Day: A few years back, Edward Gilbreath wrote an article about St. George’s Methodist Church in Philadelphia. Two hundred years ago, a group of African American members of the church refused to sit
Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Thought for the Day: In 1903, President Teddy Roosevelt slipped away for a three-day camping trip
Scripture: 2nd Chronicles 15:16-17 King Asa even removed his mother Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the Wadi Kidron. But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was true all his days. Thought for the Day: At staff meeting yesterday, we discussed
Scripture: 2nd Chronicles 15:7-8a “But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.” When Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded, he took courage… Thought for the Day: The prophetic words of Azariah, to take courage, were very encouraging and resulted in Asa doing exactly that. And for Asa to bring about the dramatic shift that
Scripture: Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones. Thought for the Day: I was reading an article a couple years back about a Christian man from Eastern Congo who has helped to create a University where more than 800 students now attend. It is located not far from where most of the violence was taking place in that country. He was asked if there
Scripture: Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. Thought for the Day: In his book, “Giving,” former President Bill Clinton talks about his partnership with former President George H. W. Bush. Clinton writes, “Our partnership seemed to strike a responsive chord in America and around the world, I think because it was