Hebrews 10:22-24 (NIV) 22 Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Reflection: Much of my thinking these days during this pandemic has been about how we, as Christians, show our faith and hope to others. I [...]

Job 11:17-19 17 And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.  18 And you will have confidence, because there is HOPE; you will be protected and take your rest in safety. 19 You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will entreat your favor. Reflection: There are two wonderful Bible stories of suffering and hope. They flash to the front of my mind when I catch myself grumbling and grousing about the inconveniences and hardships, and even death, that we are currently experiencing due to the worldwide pandemic. [...]

Luke 1:13-17 (NIV) 13But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel [...]

Genesis 8:21-22  21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.22 As long as the earth endures,    seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,summer and winter, day and night,    shall not cease.” Genesis 9:13I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Reflection:Throughout history, as early as the first days of Creation [...]

Psalm 118:24 “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Reflection: I love this scripture. It was always an easy one to remember in our VBS memory verse quizzes as a child, and it’s one I can speak aloud daily without second thought. Seeing the sunrise in the morning when I used to be commuting to work always reminded me of this scripture and helped me to start my day off with the right intention and focus. Besides, it’s so easy to rejoice when the chaos of your day hasn’t [...]

John 13:34 I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” Reflection: As Jesus was preparing to leave this earth, dying on the cross for our sins, one of his last commandments reminds us of the importance of loving one another. Later, in the 14th chapter of John, He confirms that we will never be orphans because God will send the Holy Spirit to be our forever Companion. But because [...]

Romans 15:13 (The Message) Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope. Reflection: On December 3, 2004 my dad celebrated his eighty-seventh birthday by having lunch with a friend. While eating, he choked. Later his concerned friend called me to report the incident. I responded that my brother would be coming that evening to spend the night with him to celebrate. When Tom arrived, Dad was experiencing a great deal of physical difficulty. [...]

Scripture:  Romans 8:38–39 (Common English Bible Translation) 38 I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers 39 or height or depth, or any other thing that is created. Reflection: Separation. Since mid-March, separation has become the normal in our world. The Covid-19 virus has separated us from church, from jobs, from family and friends, from all the activities we take for granted every day. Simple things like dinner at a restaurant, a trip to the museum or the [...]