creative commons 2.0. attribution: dackelprincess, flickr.
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Sunday, June 1, 2025
facebook post from Pamela A. Smith, SSCM, PhD
On Saturday, October 30, the Fellowship of South Carolina Bishops and the University of South Carolina’s Center for Civil Rights History and Research hosted a presentation by Bishop Michael Curry. The title of his riveting presentation was “Love Is the Way: The Cost of Beloved Community.” Bishop Curry is the presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US. He became widely known when he preached at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meaghan Markle.
Bishop Curry’s message focused on the urgency of healing our world by attending to the needs of the poor, the demands of justice, confronting hatred and prejudice, and healing the planet. As Bishop Andrew Waldo introduced Bishop Curry, he spoke of a time they were together in Ghana at the site of the buildings which held people before they were transported to America to be sold into slavery. Bishop Waldo said that he confessed to Bishop Curry his distress over the fact that his ancestors had made their livelihood by having slaves. Bishop Curry responded to this truth of his family history, “Don’t wallow in it. Redeem it.”
Bishop Curry challenged all of us to widen our circles of friendship and collaboration to build on our shared values. That exhibits the redemptive power of love. Among those present were people representing many faith traditions and academia, including our Bishop Guglielmone, and, from the state, the new Lutheran bishop, 2 Episcopalian bishops, the United Methodist bishop, and also the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) bishop (who had traveled from Connecticut), representatives of the African Methodist Episopal church, along with other pastors and devoted laity. It was good to see so many faith leaders together.
We also heard presentations by Dr. Linda Bell (known for her health care updates during COVID), along with the principal of a public school In Richland 1 (a district with a high population of racial minority students) Dr. Robin Coltrain, and Mr. Aulize Fields, who dedicates himself, through a group called Turning Leaf, to providing support and transformational counseling to former convicts when they return home.
They spoke of human needs and statewide possibilities.
On the drive home, on back roads, I reflected that building on our shared values and working together on projects for the common good was something we did at the registration desk. I was positioned there between Rev. Mary Finklea, the Lutheran minister who oversees a camp and a retreat center that our Catholic diocese often uses, and Rev. Dr. Doris Hicks, a CME minister noted for her work for racial justice. I see Rev. Hicks often with the board of the South Carolina Christian Action Council. Every step, even the smallest, matters when we widen our circles.
And then I passed fields of cotton on US 21. We need to remember our history and redeem it—in Jesus’ name.
Amen
Redemption is "paying it forward". Jesus redeemed us. "Pay it forward" in His holy name.
Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Matthew 28: 18-20
attribution: tlcreates and flickr
Friday, May 30, 2025
Romans 5
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
3 Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance,
4 and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope,
5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.
6 For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
7 Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.
8 But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
9 How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath.
10 Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
11 Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
12 Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned
13 for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come.
15 But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by that one person’s transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many.
16 And the gift is not like the result of the one person’s sinning. For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation; but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal.
17 For if, by the transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ.
18 In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all.
19 For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous.
20 The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more,
21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans, chapter 5
attribution: Amydeanne and flickr
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
hebrews 13
Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body. Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled, for God will judge the immoral and adulterers. Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.” Thus we may say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper, [and] I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”
Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching. It is good to have our hearts strengthened by grace and not by foods, which do not benefit those who live by them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. The bodies of the animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as a sin offering are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate, to consecrate the people by his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach that he bore. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come. Through him [then] let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.
Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Pray for us, for we are confident that we have a clear conscience, wishing to act rightly in every respect. I especially ask for your prayers that I may be restored to you very soon.
May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord, furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will. May he carry out in you what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever [and ever]. Amen.
Brothers, I ask you to bear with this message of encouragement, for I have written to you rather briefly. I must let you know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, I shall see you together with him. Greetings to all your leaders and to all the holy ones. Those from Italy send you greetings. Grace be with all of you.
Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching. It is good to have our hearts strengthened by grace and not by foods, which do not benefit those who live by them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. The bodies of the animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as a sin offering are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate, to consecrate the people by his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach that he bore. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come. Through him [then] let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.
Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Pray for us, for we are confident that we have a clear conscience, wishing to act rightly in every respect. I especially ask for your prayers that I may be restored to you very soon.
May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord, furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will. May he carry out in you what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever [and ever]. Amen.
Brothers, I ask you to bear with this message of encouragement, for I have written to you rather briefly. I must let you know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he comes soon, I shall see you together with him. Greetings to all your leaders and to all the holy ones. Those from Italy send you greetings. Grace be with all of you.
image by Martin LaBar
faith
hope
love
love
Saturday, May 17, 2025
faith
Do you believe in God?
Do you believe that God created all that exists?
Do you believe that you are a child of God?
Do you believe that God loves you?
Are you sorry for your sins?
Do you forgive others who have sinned against you?
Do you believe that God knows that you are sorry for your sins?
Do you believe that God in the person of Jesus died for your sins?
Do you believe in heaven?
Do you believe that God wants you with Him in heaven?
Saturday, May 10, 2025
wisdom of God
Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him,” this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. (Isaiah 64:3)
For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. Among human beings, who knows what pertains to a person except the spirit of the person that is within? Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.
Now the natural person does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually. The spiritual person, however, can judge everything but is not subject to judgment by anyone. For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (Wisdom 9:13; Isaiah 40:13; Romans 11:34)
Saturday, May 3, 2025
Book of Lamentations
THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS
The Book of Lamentations is a collection of five poems that serve as an anguished response to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C., after a long siege by the invading Babylonian army. (See 2 Kgs 25 for a prose account of the fall of Jerusalem.) Although the poems are traditionally ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah, this is unlikely. The Hebrew text of the book does not mention Jeremiah at all, and it is difficult to square some of the content of the poetry with what one finds in the Book of Jeremiah itself (cf. Lam 1:10; 2:9; 4:17, 20). While there are connections in theme and vocabulary among all five chapters (and especially between chaps. 1 and 2), the poems may have been composed separately and grouped together later. In any case, they are anonymous compositions probably used by survivors of the catastrophe of 587 B.C. in a communal expression of grief and mourning.
Jewish liturgical tradition considers the book one of the “scrolls” (megillot); it is read once a year on the ninth of Av (August–September), a fast day commemorating the destruction of both the first Temple in 587 B.C. and the second Temple in A.D. 70. While passages from chap. 3 are often incorporated into Christian services for Holy Thursday or Good Friday, the Church has otherwise tended to neglect the book. It is not hard to see why; a more anguished piece of writing is scarcely imaginable: from its portrayal of Jerusalem in chaps. 1 and 2 as an abandoned widow exposed to endless dangers, to the broken man of chap. 3, to the bleak description in chap. 4 of the inhabitants of the devastated city, to the final unanswered communal lament of chap. 5, the reader is not so much engaged by the Book of Lamentations as assaulted by it. But with its unsparing focus on destruction, pain, and suffering the book serves an invaluable function as part of Scripture, witnessing to a biblical faith determined to express honestly the harsh realities of a violent world and providing contemporary readers the language to do the same.
As a literary work, the Book of Lamentations combines elements of communal and individual laments (in which the speakers attempt to persuade God to intervene in the face of an acute crisis), funeral dirges (in which a death is mourned), and ancient Near Eastern city-laments (in which the destruction of a city is mourned). The meter is called Qinah (lament), that is, each verse normally has three beats followed by two. The poems are acrostics: in chaps. 1–4, the separate stanzas begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet from the first to the last. The last chapter, while not strictly an acrostic, nevertheless partially conforms to the pattern in its use of 22 lines, the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Far from destroying the spontaneous pathos of the songs, this feature conveys the expression of a profound grief that might otherwise seem to be without limit (cf. 2:13).
The book may be divided as follows:The Desolation of Jerusalem (1:1–22).
The Lord’s Wrath and Zion’s Ruin (2:1–22).
The Voice of a Suffering Individual (3:1–66).
Miseries of the Besieged City (4:1–22).
The Community’s Lament to the Lord (5:1–22).
The Book of Lamentations is a collection of five poems that serve as an anguished response to the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C., after a long siege by the invading Babylonian army. (See 2 Kgs 25 for a prose account of the fall of Jerusalem.) Although the poems are traditionally ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah, this is unlikely. The Hebrew text of the book does not mention Jeremiah at all, and it is difficult to square some of the content of the poetry with what one finds in the Book of Jeremiah itself (cf. Lam 1:10; 2:9; 4:17, 20). While there are connections in theme and vocabulary among all five chapters (and especially between chaps. 1 and 2), the poems may have been composed separately and grouped together later. In any case, they are anonymous compositions probably used by survivors of the catastrophe of 587 B.C. in a communal expression of grief and mourning.
Jewish liturgical tradition considers the book one of the “scrolls” (megillot); it is read once a year on the ninth of Av (August–September), a fast day commemorating the destruction of both the first Temple in 587 B.C. and the second Temple in A.D. 70. While passages from chap. 3 are often incorporated into Christian services for Holy Thursday or Good Friday, the Church has otherwise tended to neglect the book. It is not hard to see why; a more anguished piece of writing is scarcely imaginable: from its portrayal of Jerusalem in chaps. 1 and 2 as an abandoned widow exposed to endless dangers, to the broken man of chap. 3, to the bleak description in chap. 4 of the inhabitants of the devastated city, to the final unanswered communal lament of chap. 5, the reader is not so much engaged by the Book of Lamentations as assaulted by it. But with its unsparing focus on destruction, pain, and suffering the book serves an invaluable function as part of Scripture, witnessing to a biblical faith determined to express honestly the harsh realities of a violent world and providing contemporary readers the language to do the same.
As a literary work, the Book of Lamentations combines elements of communal and individual laments (in which the speakers attempt to persuade God to intervene in the face of an acute crisis), funeral dirges (in which a death is mourned), and ancient Near Eastern city-laments (in which the destruction of a city is mourned). The meter is called Qinah (lament), that is, each verse normally has three beats followed by two. The poems are acrostics: in chaps. 1–4, the separate stanzas begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet from the first to the last. The last chapter, while not strictly an acrostic, nevertheless partially conforms to the pattern in its use of 22 lines, the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Far from destroying the spontaneous pathos of the songs, this feature conveys the expression of a profound grief that might otherwise seem to be without limit (cf. 2:13).
The book may be divided as follows:The Desolation of Jerusalem (1:1–22).
The Lord’s Wrath and Zion’s Ruin (2:1–22).
The Voice of a Suffering Individual (3:1–66).
Miseries of the Besieged City (4:1–22).
The Community’s Lament to the Lord (5:1–22).
Written more than 2500 years ago, the Book of Lamentations describes the weakness of mankind and the poignant grief of our lamentations.
Some of us lament our past and present failures. Lamentations describes how when our imperfect faith, hope, and love are combined with God's perfect love that God's perfect love conquers all.
We don't need to continue to lament over our past transgressions. With our imperfect faith, hope, and love and God's perfect love, God forgives us for our past sins.
FAITH
HOPE
LOVE
attribution: Rembrandt, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Matthew 24
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold.
1* a Jesus left the temple area and was going away, when his disciples approached him to point out the temple buildings.
2* He said to them in reply, “You see all these things, do you not? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives,* the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?”
7c Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place.
8* All these are the beginning of the labor pains.
21* i for at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be.
33 In the same way, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the gates.
34 Amen, I say to you, this generation* will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
2* He said to them in reply, “You see all these things, do you not? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
3 As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives,* the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4* Jesus said to them in reply, “See that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many.
6b You will hear of wars* and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end.
7c Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place.
8* All these are the beginning of the labor pains.
9* d Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.
10 And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another.
11 Many false prophets will arise and deceive many;
12 and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold.
13e But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
14f And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations,* and then the end will come.
The Great Tribulation.*
The Great Tribulation.*
15g “When you see the desolating abomination* spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then those in Judea must flee* to the mountains,
18 a person in the field must not return to get his cloak.
19 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days.
20* Pray that your flight not be in winter or on the sabbath,
21* i for at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be.
22 And if those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened.
23j If anyone says to you then, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.
24 False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect.
25 Behold, I have told it to you beforehand.
26 So if they say to you, ‘He is in the desert,’ do not go out there; if they say, ‘He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.*
27k For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
The Coming of the Son of Man.
The Coming of the Son of Man.
29* l “Immediately after the tribulation of those days,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30m And then the sign of the Son of Man* will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30m And then the sign of the Son of Man* will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31n And he will send out his angels* with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
The Lesson of the Fig Tree.*
The Lesson of the Fig Tree.*
32 “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.
33 In the same way, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the gates.
34 Amen, I say to you, this generation* will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
36p “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,* but the Father alone.
38 In [those] days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
39 They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be [also] at the coming of the Son of Man.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.
43t Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
44 So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant.*
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant.*
45u “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?*
46 Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
47 Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
48* But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’
49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards,
50 the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
51v and will punish him severely* and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/24
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/24
public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Saturday, April 26, 2025
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Mat 11: 28-30
"If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming [upon the disobedient]. By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3: 1-17
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Matthew 11: 28-30
faith
hope
love
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Matthew 8: 5-13
5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him,
6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
7 He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
8 The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.
9 For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
11 I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven,
12 but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.
attribution: pcstratman and flickr
I relate to the centurion. My wife has dementia. I love her and she loves me. We both are suffering with her dementia.
I'm not asking Jesus to heal her. But I am asking Jesus for a miracle.
Help me, Lord, to love Jenny as her dementia increases. She becomes frustrated. I become frustrated. Jesus, help me to be patient and loving. Help me to help her and love her as the stress and strain on both of us increases. Help me to love Jenny as You love her.
Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and I will be healed.
Jesus, we believe in You.
Monday, March 31, 2025
1 Kings 19: 11-21
11 Then the LORD said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake;
12 after the earthquake, fire—but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound.
13 When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, Why are you here, Elijah?
14 He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.”
15 The LORD said to him: Go back! Take the desert road to Damascus. When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
16 You shall also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you.
17 Anyone who escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill. Anyone who escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.
18 But I will spare seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bent to Baal, every mouth that has not kissed him.
19 Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak on him.
19 Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak on him.
20 Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please, let me kiss my father and mother good-bye, and I will follow you.” Elijah answered, “Go back! What have I done to you?”
21 Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to the people to eat. Then he left and followed Elijah to serve him.
attribution: Lawrence OP and flickr
Friday, March 21, 2025
Jesus holds the universe together
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
Colossians 1: 16-17
attribution: NASA and the European Space Agency., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Sunday, March 16, 2025
lust vs. love
The media didn't get it. Neither did Playboy or those who "read" it. The same for many other people.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter knew the difference between lust and love.
attribution: Michael A. Schwarz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Public Domain via Wikipedia Commons
Saturday, March 15, 2025
psalm 25:1
attribution: Dr. Michael D. Evans and flickr
Each of us has a body and a soul. Our earthly body is finite. Our soul is our connection with God.
Cherish your soul. Praise God. It connects us to our Creator--infinite and almighty God.
Monday, March 10, 2025
"...may God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and, ... by the power of God, cast into hell satan and all the evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls."
He was driving out a demon [that was] mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that [I] drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first.”
_-_James_Tissot.jpg)
Luke 11: 14-26
_-_James_Tissot.jpg){kind=link}
James Tissot [No restrictions or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
image by Monica Argentina
To my fellow Christians: As Christians we are one body in Jesus Christ. We share one faith in Jesus Christ. We believe God's word--the bible. Catholic, Protestant, and nondenominational Christians all share the same faith--regardless of differences in religion. Religion for many is a matter of heritage. It doesn't matter. What does matter is our shared faith in the triune God.
attribution: Lawrence OP and flickr
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
hope
"Therefore, biblical hope is a reality and not a feeling. Biblical hope carries no doubt. Biblical hope is a sure foundation upon which we base our lives, believing that God always keeps His promises. Hope or confident assurance can be ours when we trust the words, “he who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47, NKJV). Accepting that gift of eternal life means our hope is no longer filled with doubt but, rather, has at its sure foundation the whole of God’s Word, the entirety of God’s character, and the finished work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
attribution: Michael Toy and flickr
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)