For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made: your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body: all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139: 13-16
Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done? Proverbs 24: 11, 12
Today we see the direct result of how we cast our votes. Is your allegiance, is your passion to Jesus and the lives He created for life? If the godly do not care, who will? Thank you New York state elected officials for this reminder.
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Psalm 127: 3-5
“Father, forgive us for this sin of selfishness and the sacrifice of innocent blood.”
On a recent prayer time away from my office, I carried John Wesley’s 21 accountability questions with me. I have gone through these numerous times and really enjoy doing so. I thought that if you were not familiar with them, you just might like to consider a look as well. On that note, here they are:
In 2018 I was able to enjoy several children’s dedication services. One was my grandson. That was special.
Benjamin’s faith followed him in all he set out to accomplish. Perhaps it was his father’s dedicating him to the service of the Lord that helped to hold him to that relationship. With the many trials and tribulations, losses and shattered dreams he encountered, late in the book he wrote, “I at present think that whoever attempts this aright, and is well qualified, can not fail of pleasing God, and of meeting with success.”
I was speaking with a friend recently about a specific governmental department that I obviously did not have a good word for. Later in a text message, I apologized for my negative expressions. And here’s the reason for my apology: Holy Spirit.
Three wise men traveled quite a distance to see the Christ child. There is a bit of debate about the distance they traveled, as well as the time it took to travel those miles. Some Bible scholars say He was a toddler and some say He was still an infant when they arrived in Bethlehem.
Before we said, “I do” we diligently worked at not having or experiencing differences with one another, at least not out loud. We wanted to be argument free and not allow anything to inhibit our communication. But not long after saying “I do,” for many of us that changed. We trusted our marriage vows to hold us together while experiencing differences, even when they became heated. What changed?
“People die from this infection; this is serious; do not take it lightly,” said the ER doctor to us before discharge. My wife of 43 years was sick and in pain – bent over pain. Showing up at the ER just after midnight on a Saturday (Sunday morning really) is a busy, if not overwhelming place to be. I was so concerned for the woman in my arms who could barely stand up from the excruciating pain she was experiencing in her abdomen.
Meanwhile I began observing the many people around us, none smiling, all needing immediate attention. I found myself not only praying for my wife, but those in the ER rooms we passed. Sitting with Mary and holding her hand, I heard screams repeatedly. Then I heard a police officer reading someone his Miranda rights. After that a police officer telling someone they were under arrest for DUI and refusing a blood test.
There it was, 15 feet up, stuck on a tree limb. My grandson’s favorite stuffed animal hanging and lodged by a single leg now out of his hands and his control. In his five-year-old mind it seemed permanent, so he cried and cried. He imagined it gone from his life forever and thus the emotion. We held him to console him and then said, “There’s no need to cry. Let’s work on a solution to the problem.” When asking him what we could do about the problem he shrugged his shoulders and whimpered, “I don’t know.” We asked him if crying could be part of the solution and he managed to shake his head no.
My wife and I have been practicing debt-free living for years now.* I say practicing because it takes discipline to reach and discipline to maintain. So here are eight encouragements or benefits that we have discovered when it comes to debt-free living.
This is the week that America sets aside as a time of giving thanks. Why is that? Two past presidents of the United States made very specific declarations.
Steve Prokopchak 