ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 10, 2020 Scripture: Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Thought for the Day: I did some graduate work with a guy who was twenty years older than I was, and he often spoke about his early school years. He attended a religious school in which the punishment for rule infractions, and the intimidation that
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 9, 2020 Scripture: Ephesians 4:14-15 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, Thought for the Day: If you know the musical Godspell, then you
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 8, 2020 Scripture: John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Thought for the Day: Jesus speaks of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit that shall come in his stead. Of course, in good Trinitarian thinking, Jesus is of the same essence as
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 7, 2020 Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:4 Everything that has been created by God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected. Thought for the Day: Let me do some fun confessing in this devotional. I know that “confessing” and “fun” are not words usually put alongside one another. On Sunday, I was wearing a new casual sports coat that I got
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 6, 2020 Prayer for the Week: No category defines those who seek you – No class or classification, no degree or distinction, no title or entitlement delineates the boundaries of those who yearn to know you. O Holy One born in Bethlehem, O Nativity of Grace formed upon the earth, the world is drawn to you because of a deep yearning. As we begin a
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 5, 2020 Scripture: Matthew 2:12 Because the Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route. Thought for the Day: It is one thing to return home and something very different to return to a place you once called home that no longer feels like your home because of a transformative experience. Have
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 4, 2020 Scripture: Jeremiah 31:8-9 See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 3, 2020 Scripture: Matthew 2:11 They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Thought for the Day: And Mary looked up and saw these foreigners with a different religion and she said, “Get out of my house you
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 2, 2020 Scripture: Matthew 2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. Thought for the Day: Herod was troubled, or as the original Greek reads: Tarasso. The word describes an inward collision, often between values, ideals or priorities. Herod was threatened, feeling an internal clash that most definitely included his desire for security that was protected