Devotional

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely, we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all, and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are human heart. II Corinthians 3:1-3 STORY William Blackaby was born in British Columbia in 1935. After graduating from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, he began serving a church…

The word of the Lord came to me: O Mortal, speak to your people and say to them: If I bring the sword upon a land and the people of the land take one of their number as their sentinel, and if the sentinel sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if any who hear the sound of the trumpet do not take warning and the sword comes and takes them away, their blood shall be upon their own heads. They heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; their blood shall be upon…

Psalm 95:1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Psalm 104:33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. Psalm 105:2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Psalm 144:9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, Psalm 149:34 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre! Psalm 150:1-6 Praise the…

Clergy He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13 Underemployed? Questionable. Overemployed? Possibly. Always employed? Certainly. The ordained ministry is one of the few professions where the time spent and the activities engaged in are not fully known, so ministers can work as little or as much as desired. What…

Suffering During the coronavirus pandemic I wrote this devotional and published it on May 12, 2020. The message of God’ overseeing protection is still relevant for us this day. I am 68-years-old with the underlining condition of leukemia. This makes me the most vulnerable to death by the coronavirus. I am also autistic, which means I live every day as an anxious day. This means the constant news coverage of the pandemic only increases my anxiety. I have Asperger’s, which is on the autism spectrum, which means I lack social skills but I am brilliant in one area. My area…

Discipleship Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 As we walk through this story in John’s gospel, chapter 20 and verses 19 through 31, what unfolds before us is fear that is tempered by the presence of Jesus. The story takes place on the evening of the day that we now call Easter. The day of the Resurrection.…

Scripture All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17   Perry Noble was the pastor of NewSpring Church and the worship leader of 32,000, with the constant articulated goal of reaching 100,000, As the largest church in South Carolina with multiple campuses, it still wasn’t big enough for an egocentric pastor. Noble caused a theological stir with his Christmas Eve sermon in 2016, proclaiming that the Ten Commandments were not commandments, but…

Peacemakers In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall…

Serenity Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves. Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. Psalm 127 STORY LeBron James grew up in Akron, Ohio. A city that was once…

NEW YEAR PRAYER HELEN STEINER RICE God grant us this year a wider view, So we see others’ faults through the eyes of You. Teach us to judge not with hasty tongue, Neither the adult … nor the young. Give us patience and grace to endure And a stronger faith so we feel secure. Instead of remembering, help us forget The irritations that caused us to fret. Freely forgiving for some offense And finding each day a rich recompense. In offering a friendly, helping hand And trying in all ways to understand; That all of us whoever we are ……