God, It is morning again. It’s a new day. Whom shall I be today? It is up to me. I can be a sign of your love to those I meet, or I can hide my light under a bushel. I can be full of gratitude for the life I have, every breath I take, or I can grumble about the tasks before me. I can choose joy, or I can sulk. I can focus my energy and full attention on others, or I can preoccupy myself with my own affairs. I can live each moment by the Christ that [...]
Luke 11:5-13 5 And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ 7 And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is [...]
Charity Autry, Always Missing Something Scripture: Luke 15: 8-10 8Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Reflection: Don’t you love a good trilogy!? Some of my favorites are Indiana Jones, Die Hard, Toy Story, [...]
Rachel Fisher, Disney Adult Matthew 25:14-21 (NIV) 14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man [...]
Louise McEvoy, Guilty of being an Elder Son at times, Life Member of the Ted Lasso Fan Club Luke 15:25-32 25 “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with [...]
Tim Helwege Mark 4:26-29 (ESV) He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” Reflection: Have you ever had a moment in life where you realized that your presence wasn’t [...]
Mark 12:1-12 Then he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. 5 [...]
God of love, For those of us who were alive on September 11, 2001, the memories of the trauma are seared into our brains. We grieve the loss. The loss of 2996 of your children, their futures snatched from them by violent terror attacks. The loss of fathers and mothers, children and brothers and sisters. The loss of first responders and valiant passengers on a plane, heroes who sacrificed to save others. The loss of so much potential. The loss of innocence for children, who could not understand such callous hatred. The loss of a sense of security for [...]
Meghan Kazmann Luke 18: 1-8 NIV Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, [...]
Betty Owens Geary Luke 18:9-14; The Message He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ‘Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’ “Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face [...]