Devotional

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16 (NRSV) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9 (NRSV) STORY The Arabella was a ship of 350 tons with 28 cannons…

And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. Habakkuk 2:2 In the early 1980s, Jim Carrey was an unknown actor struggling to be successful. To stay motivated he wrote a check for $10 million to himself for “acting services rendered,” and dated it for 1994. He carried this promise in his wallet for daily inspiration. In 1994, Carrey learned he would reap exactly $10 million for his role in the movie Dumb and Dumber. Today, Carrey is one of America’s top movie stars, and he credits his constant visualization with helping him…

Education How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. Proverbs 16:16 Jim Henry, who lives at Mystic, Connecticut, was in the third grade when he was pulled out of school by his Portuguese immigrant father to work on his fishing boat. As a child he made a promise to learn to read. The life an illiterate man was difficult. Unable to read a restaurant menu, he would listen to what others ordered and order the same. He shared “Inside I felt so ashamed. Sometimes I cried.” He started his journey…

I was shopping for school supplies at Woolworth’s on McKnight Road in Pittsburgh, when a man got off the escalator and began a conversation with me. It was a pleasant encounter, though I wondered why he took the time to speak with me. Until, as he was walking away, I realized that it was my father. I know that this sounds absorb to the reader, though for me, with autism, it is a daily venture – I do not recognize faces or remember names. When I watch a movie and a character appears at a café that I think I…

Happy are those who find wisdom and those who get understanding, for her income is better than silver and her revenue better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 3:13-15 When gold seeker Edward Jackson set out for California during the Great Gold Rush, his diary entry on May 20, 1849, lamented his grueling wagon journey, marked by disease and death. He wrote, “O do not leave my bones here. If possible let them lay at home.” Another gold-seeker named John Walker penned, “It is the most complete lottery that…

Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. Luke 12:48 John Blasé shared this story that was printed in Our Daily Bread on January 21,2022. A successful businessman spent the last few decades of his life doing all he could to give away his fortune. A multimillionaire, he donated cash to a variety of causes such as bringing peace to Northern Ireland and modernizing Vietnam’s health care system; and not long before he died, he spent $350 million to turn New York City’s…

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. Psalm 22 (NRSV) STORY In April 2007, I read a selection of Good Friday sermons preached at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, which is an African-American church in Philadelphia. There were seven preachers that afternoon, with the oldest and the most respected pastor being honored by mounting the pulpit last. That seventh preacher’s sermon became another watershed moment in…

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! … Psalm 150:1-6 STORY It happened on March 19, 1988 at Twickenham Stadium. Because of the athletic skills of Chris Oti, the Cambridge University Rugby Football Club team made a comeback victory over their arch rival, a team from Ireland.…

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13 STORY John Bunyan was a Puritan pastor, who is best known to us for his book Pilgrim’s Progress. Wit death impending from a fever caught in a storm, he preached his last sermon at Mr. Gamman’s meeting-house, near Whitechapel, England, on Thursday, August 19, 1688. Nineteen days after preaching this sermon John Bunyan died. The text for the sermon…

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles. First of all, you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” They deliberately ignore this fact, that by…