Reading: Psalm 139: 11-12 and 23-24 Verses 23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart… and lead me in the way everlasting”. As we wrap up Psalm 139 today we begin with a reminder that we cannot hide from God. In the opening ten verses we were reminded that God is everywhere and is at all times present. Today the psalmist reminds us that not even darkness can hide us. To God, the night shines like the day. God’s vision is 20/20 all the time. It is in the dark that we get astr

Reading: Psalm 139: 11-12 and 23-24 Verses 23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart… and lead me in the way everlasting”. As we wrap up Psalm 139 today we begin with a reminder that we cannot hide from God. In the opening ten verses we were reminded that God is everywhere and is at all times present. Today the psalmist reminds us that not even darkness can hide us. To God, the night shines like the day. God’s vision is 20/20 all the time. It is in the dark that we get astr

Reading: Matthew 11: 25-30 Verse 29: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart”. In the second section of this week’s passage from Matthew 11, Jesus begins by reminding us that faith comes to those who are pure in heart and who have a childlike heart. Faith is, after all, a thing of the heart, not of the head. The wise of this world have no need for faith in Jesus – at least in their minds. Only those whom God chooses to reveal the Son to w

Reading: Matthew 10: 40-42 Verse 40: “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me”. Today’s passage pairs well with the Romans 6 passage that we have been reading. Jesus is encouraging us to turn to others in the name of the Lord. In the opening verse Jesus explains the connection: when we serve another in Jesus’ name, if they receive our faithful service, they are receiving Jesus. And if the person or group receives Jesus then they al

Reading: Romans 6: 12-23 Verse 22: “Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life”. Paul calls on the Romans and on us to walk the path that leads to life. This path begins with offering our very life to God in witness and in service. In doing so we become the “instruments of righteousness” that Paul refers to in verse thirteen. In offering ourselves to God we are becoming obedien

Readings: Acts 7: 55-60 and 1st Peter 2: 4-5 and 9-10 Verse 9: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood… that you may declare the praises of him who called you into his wonderful light”. In the first passage for today we see Stephen dying for his faith in Jesus Christ. Being filled with the Holy Spirit he declares that he sees Jesus in heaven. This leads to his stoning. It is a willing gift to God, to declare this and then to go to be with the one he saw in heaven. While