I was asked to do the Easter sunrise service meditation.  Here it is, complete with scripture. We had a powerpoint slide show with this on a big screen (done by Deanna Etienne).  Try to picture appropriate scenes where they come to mind.  I read this very slowly - took 6 - 7 minutes so it was SLOW and reflective! John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 1 John 4 9-10, 19 : This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 19 We love because he first loved us. Wonderful God, we praise you and ask that you guide our thoughts. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our heart s be pleasing in your sight, O LORD.  Amen. Please join me by reflecting on the significance and eve...

Matthew 12:35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. These are the words of Jesus. It's part of the good-trees-produce-fruit discussion that Jesus has with the Pharisees when they accuse Him of using the power of Beelzebub to drive demons from someone. There is no revelation to the statement but it offers an opportunity for self-examination. I really haven't thought much about what I "store up" within myself. I've thought about storing treasures in heaven but not about whether I store good things or bad things within myself.  I think when I harbor ill-feelings for someone or something, I may be "storing" them. When I nurse hurt feelings, or remain angry about something, or want bad things to happen, I risk "storing up evil". I need to rid myself of that and work to store up good things within me so that I am more able to bring forth good thi...

By Deanna Etienne.  Used by permission Jeremiah 17:9 is a strange and chilling verse. It says:  The heart is deceitful above all things        and beyond cure.        Who can understand it? I say chilling because to me it means that we can't trust our hearts. Our feelings which is what I think is meant by "heart" can distract us. Our feelings get in the way of evaluation of things around us, and in us. They say that love is blind. I believe that's true and even necessary. I mean that when we love someone we can put on blinders so that the same thing that would make us crazy if someone else did it, doesn't when our loved one does it. This passage tells us though that we need to use more than our hearts to discern truth or we will be led astray. Our hearts are deceitful above all things . Following God involves more than just a feeling of peace and a feeling of gratitude.  We also have to be prepared to u...

What I do each morning (ok, most mornings) is to read my Daily Bible, my UpperRoom daily devotional, and some other daily readings.  I always have a notebook and pen handy so I can write bits of scripture that I want to remember.  I use that as a reference to post to this blog. But the main reason I started writing scripture in a notebook is because it helps me remember passages. I don't have many memorized.  I certainly can't tell you that Hebrews 13:5a says "keep your life free from love of money...." except that I wrote it down today. I know that I have a better chance remembering things if I write it down. My daily reading ritual includes scripture.  I use other sources which comment on scripture but I always include the referenced scripture too.  My daily Bible is good for reading all of scripture.  By reading through the entire Bible, I find things that I wouldn't find just looking at other people's commentaries.  For example, did you know tha...