Scripture: Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Thought for the Day: A lot of lip service is given to putting God first, yet making God and the ways of God the pivotal truth in one’s life takes extraordinary
Scripture: John 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” Thought for the Day: The fun and often controversial author and speaker, Bishop Spong, wrote: “All religion seems to need to prove that it’s the only truth. And that’s where it turns demonic. Because that’s when you get religious wars and
Louis de Montfort, the 17th century priest, wrote, “God is a spring of living water which flows unceasingly into the hearts of those who pray.” I see a lot of people go through a dry spell in their prayer lives, and they will speak as if God turned off the faucet. By the very nature of grace, I don’t believe God ever ceases the flow. Instead, I
Scripture: Leviticus 5:18-19You shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, or the equivalent, as a guilt offering; and the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the error that you committed unintentionally, and you shall be forgiven. It is a guilt offering; you have incurred guilt before the Lord. Thought for the Day: Throughout much of Christianity, there has been this attempt
Scripture: Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Thought for the Day: On this day in 1290, King Edward issued the Edict of Expulsion. With his signature, he ordered all the Jews to be expelled from England. Bigotry and hate definitely
Scripture: Luke 14:33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. Thought for the Day: My sister posted a quote from the late George Carlin. He said, “Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body.” Though I have often enjoyed Mr. Carlin’s humor, I really never
Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:1-2 Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop like the rain, my speech condense like the dew; like gentle rain on grass, like showers on new growth. Thought for the Day: Yesterday I talked about trying to put something together without the instruction manual, but I also had a recent experience when
My son got a loft bed for his birthday last year. When we moved out of our home in Florida and into a temporary apartment, we did not put it back together. The other night, Donna and I took on the task of rebuilding it now that we are settled in our new home. The one small hinderance in the process was the lack of instructions. We were
Scripture: Numbers 28:18 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall not work at your occupations. Thought for the Day: What is your occupation and what is your vocation? For some people, their occupation is also their vocation. Others need to earn money at their occupation so they can participate in their vocation. As I understand the term, vocation is your passion that has
Scripture: Matthew 13:10-11a Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. Thought for the Day: I love how the Gospel writers often begin a new story with a rather bland introductory sentence. Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. Big deal! Yet as readers of the Gospels,