Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together.
From Matthew 20:18: “For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there among them.”
Charles Finney (1792-1875) was an American pastor and Christian evangelist. In the years before America’s Civil War, he was an outspoken opponent of slavery.
Seeds
Of faith
Nourished with grace
Spiritual journey fulfills hope
Growth
Hands
Of faith
Body unites soul
Endurance for tomorrow blossoms
Healing
Lessons
Of faith
Sisters and brothers
Absorbing daily “live” teachings
Togetherness
This series of poems (written in the German-inspired style of Elfchen or Elevenie) shares a total of eleven words in each poem, with a sequence by line of one, two, three, four, and one words.
Make your church grow: some assembly required.
From 1 Corinthians 3:9: “For we are God’s coworkers, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
The love of husband and wife is the force that welds society together.
From Matthew 19:4-6: “He answered, ‘Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
John Chrysostom served the early Christian church during the late 4th century and early 5th century in Constantinople where he preached and was a prolific writer.
Singing
Worship hymns
Praising Father above
In His Holy name
Gathering
Gathering
Congregation’s joy
Honoring Father’s Word
Faith nourished with grace
Blessing
Blessing
One Body
Father’s welcoming place
Uniting voices with hope
Togetherness
As we join together in prayer, we draw on God’s enabling might in a way, that multiplies our own efforts many times over.
From Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Shirley Dobson is an American Christian writer and speaker. She is the wife of American Christian author and psychologist, James Dobson. For 25 years, she chaired the task force of the National Day of Prayer.
Growing up with a band of brothers, there was a common refrain at my childhood home, “What’s for breakfast?”
However, in order to answer this question, one must return to dinner the night before.
Our mother, in her desire to provide our growing, young bodies with nutrition, decided to try a new vegetable for dinner. Do diced beets from a can catch your fancy?
Being used to green beans, peas, and corn, my brothers and I looked at the beets with their strange color and unappetizing smell, and we knew these little morsels would taste just awful.
All of us went on strike at dinnertime . . . refusing to eat any of the beets.
Our father wasn’t a happy camper with our decision. In fact, he became quite animated that we should all try a sample at dinner. Yet, we refused to budge.
Finally, our enlightened father drew a line in the sand (or on the table), “If you don’t try these beets tonight, you can have them for breakfast in the morning.”
Morning arrived, and instead of our usual Cream of Wheat or Quaker Oatmeal, our breakfast menu consisted of those horrible red beet squares. My brothers and I held fast—NO BEETS!
Our mother was paying close attention to her sons. Never again did she include beets with a meal.
To this day, I still won’t eat beets, no matter how they are prepared. I think my brothers probably feel the same way. Do you have a least favorite vegetable?
Originally published August, 2020.
From Deuteronomy 5:12-14: “Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work.”
Keeping His Sabbath Holy
Cherishing God’s blessed day
Strengthening our faith journey
Worshipping Commandments’ way
Submitting to Father’s way
Following His righteous road
Rescuing us from darkness
Relieving our burden’s load
Supplanting with mercy’s load
Praising Resurrection’s flight
Proclaiming Jesus as Lord
Allowing in grace-filled light
Trusting faith’s heavenly light
Walking daily with God’s Son
Shining His mercy upon
Stepping boldly now as one
Joining together as one
Sowing forgiveness of sin
Healing our relationships
Hearing Christ’s spirit within
From 2 Corinthians 4:5-6: “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’s sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Light will shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
To make this thing called life work, we gotta lean and support. Especially in God’s family . . . where working together is Plan A for survival.
From 1 John 5:1-2: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments.”
Spending time at home
Relaxing bounty of peace—
Worldly noise can wait
Seeding with patience
Harvest’s bounty shall come forth—
First blossom appears
Praising second chance
Bountiful reconnection—
Restoring friendship
Big Sky Buckeye 