SCRIPTURE: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and [b]establish you in every good word and work.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Prayer: Our eternal Father in Heaven, as Your children we bow in Your presence. We’re so mindful of what grace has meant to us all the days of our sa...  Read More

SCRIPTURE:  “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[a] are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ 17 Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:15-17 A heart idol is anything or an...  Read More

SCRIPTURE: ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, 5 that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’ 6 “Therefo...  Read More

SCRIPTURE: “Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?” Ezekiel 14:1-3 Who or what is in control of your heart is your true God. Religious people c...  Read More

SCRIPTURE:  “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-1...  Read More

SCRIPTURE: " But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spiritis life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the deaddwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to yourmortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." Romans 8:10-12 (ESV) In the late 90’s, this hymn struck me and became my favorite. It ...  Read More

SCRIPTURE: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Col. 3:1-4 (NIV, 1984) My favorite news channel over the past several years has been Fox 45 here in the Baltimore region. Its reporters are focused, professional, and have become like f...  Read More

SCRIPTURE:  "Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! 2 Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. 3 Say to God, 'How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. 4 All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.' Selah 5 Come and see the works of God;He is awesome in His doi...  Read More

SCRIPTURE: “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,….” Luke 18:1 (NASB) The sanctuary was so quiet that one could almost hear a pin drop where the floor was carpet-free. All the congregants prayed one at a time, quietly waiting for the Spirit to move yet another saint to offer up praises and petitions at the weekly prayer meeting. Sudde...  Read More

SCRIPTURE: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you….” 1 Peter 1:3, 4 (NASB) If you are a child of God today, by the definition found i...  Read More

Scripture: "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world...But of the Son He says, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom...For this reason we must pay much closer attenti...  Read More

Prayer: "Let my soul live that it may praise Thee, and let Thine ordinances help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Thy servant, for I do not forget Thy commandments."Psalm 119:175-176 [NASB] The latter 'let' of Psalm 119, its 'punchline', can be summarized as Permit me, all of Thee, upon all Thine. The emphases are pointing to the ordinances, the precepts, the testimonies, the statute...  Read More

Scripture:  "For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He nee...  Read More

Scripture: "And some of them were persuaded" [by the gospel, v. 2-3] "and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women. But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and coming upon the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the peop...  Read More

Scripture: "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power...  Read More

Scripture: "Give Me Understanding and I Shall Live" - Psalm 119:144b Put differently, without the highest understanding, there is neither 'life' nor 'living'. The gain of the highest understanding is the gaining of the gloriously and eternally sacred, which has no earthly equal. All else is an unsatisfying mismatching of a misshapen puzzle piece with that space in reality, reserved for God and the...  Read More

Scripture: "...Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." Philippians 2:16 As Jesus was perfectly mindful for our sakes to exit glory and the Glorious, to be God with us, so should we in kind, invite, receive, and keep a lifted gaze, which for the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Word, we have the capacity to...  Read More

Scripture: "...Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." Philippians 2:16 A few days ago Debora and I attended a church's health fair. We were not a part of its staffing, so we were free to walk about and chat up various vendors. Along the way we met one of the more seniorly members of the church who was a retired mi...  Read More