A New Spirit
Read: Ezekiel 37:1-14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live. (v. 14) My husband’s enthusiasm for Civil War history has taken us to numerous battlefields and historic sites. I am always moved by the enormity of loss in the cemeteries; row after row of white crosses are a memorial to […]
A New Heart
Read: Ezekiel 36:22-32 And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (v. 26) Have you ever known someone who was truly hard-hearted? According to the Lexico.com dictionary, a hard-hearted person is “incapable of being moved to pity or tenderness; unfeeling.” Synonyms include “unloving” or “lacking […]
January Prayer Guide 2022
SOUTH SUDAN — Continue to pray for everyone still suffering from severe flooding in South Sudan. Floodwaters have been high since June of 2021, the worst flooding the region has experienced in 60 years. Homes, farms, and markets have been destroyed. The UN reports that 35,000 people have been displaced. Pray for relief for people […]
All Things New
Read: Isaiah 65:17-25 For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered. (v. 17) Doesn’t it feel good to put up a brand-new calendar at the first of the year? While January 1st may be an arbitrary starting point, it’s encouraging to think of a fresh […]
Worthy!
Read: Revelation 4:1-11 Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. (v. 11) It is fitting to conclude our reflections on Jesus’ birth by hearing again the glorious song “Worthy are you!” What Jesus did to redeem the cosmos is so stunning, the hosts of heaven will never stop […]
Antichrists
Read: 1 John 4:1-6 This is the spirit of the antichrist. (v. 3) Most of us have heard of the Antichrist. And most of us have picked up on the idea that some Christians believe the day will come when a singularly evil person will take over the world. We assume then that the New […]
Be Not Deceived
Read: 1 John 1:1-10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. (v. 8) Most of us are more familiar with John 1 than with 1 John 1. But it’s obvious the same apostle wrote both. John again harks back to “the beginning” and he has plenty to say about light and darkness […]
Family
Read: Galatians 4:1-7 God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (v. 6) Earlier this month in looking at the family tree of Jesus in Matthew 1, we noted that at the end of the genealogy Joseph was not listed as “the father of Jesus” but only as “Mary’s […]
Epiphany
Read: Titus 2:11-15 For the grace of God has appeared . . . (v. 11) In ten days the church will mark Epiphany. The word means “to appear,” and on January 6 the church in some traditions will mark the appearance of the star that led the Magi to the Christ, and other traditions will […]