If there were one great message I could deliver to those who struggle with not having an abundance of this world’s goods, it would be this simple yet profound promise for happiness: Great wealth is not related to money! In a word, the secret is contentment.
From Proverbs 16:8: “Better is a little with righteousness than large income with injustice.”
This poem is written as a traditional Sonnet, but it can certainly be read as a prayer. God’s peace!
Lives pretending to follow a Holy God
Being of the flesh, greater than the spirit
Living as infants in our Lord Jesus Christ
Thirsty for our Father’s love, we shall fear it
Life filled with jealousy and quarrelsome times
Behaving outside of our Father’s design
Belonging to the Left, beholding the Right
Only walking with Jesus, should lives align
Sowing life’s seeds for a bountiful harvest
Thirsty for true living water and care
This world’s Master Builder brings His hope-filled Grace
Humbling kneeling at the Cross, hear our prayers
Only through our Lord Jesus, rests our foundation
Unifying voices throughout this nation
From 1 Corinthians 3:21-23: “So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”
Originally published August, 2020.
To love God and love our neighbor is the standard of God, which on our own we cannot achieve. But in Christ, a new command is issued.
From Matthew 22:36-40: “‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.'”
Randy Frazee is an American pastor and Christian author. As a teacher and innovator, he is dedicated to leading others in Bible engagement, spiritual formation, and biblical community.
We can’t avoid darkness or pain in this life. But we can go to the Lord in our weakness, knowing that In Him we are made stronger.
From 2 Corinthians 3:17-18: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”
God loves us the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way.
From Hebrews 10:38-39: “But my righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back. But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost but among those who have faith and so preserve our souls.”
Leighton Ford (born 1931) is a Canadian-born pastor and Christian evangelist. During his fruitful life of ministry and witness, he has enjoyed relationships with other Christian teachers, including Billy Graham.
The bud of victory is always in the truth.
We Americans have no commission from God to police the world.
Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) was the 23rd American President. He is one of eight Presidents with roots in the state of Ohio.
By making us in His image, God gave us capacities not given to other forms of life. He gave us freedom to make choices.
From Deuteronomy 30:19: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.”
From Psalm 146:1-2: “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.”
Bless the Lord’s name forever
Sing praises for Holy deeds
His greatness stands infinite
Loving us like tender reeds
Witness our Lord’s mighty acts
Share with each generation
His greatness lauds His goodness
Building our firm foundation
Recall love works from His hands
Fueled by Grace’s steadfast love
His greatness flows with mercy
Protecting us from above
Call on the Father this day
Pray to Him on humble knees
His greatness lighting the way
Watching over all He sees
From Psalm 145:17-18: “The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”
Originally published August, 2020.
Though we don’t always know what God is doing, we can always rely on who He is.
From Lamentations 3:22-23: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
When a man carries a gun all the time, the respect he thinks he’s getting might really be fear. So I don’t carry a gun because I don’t want the people of Mayberry to fear a gun. I’d rather they respect me. (Thoughts of Sheriff Andy Taylor from “The Andy Griffith Show.”)
I was baptized alongside my mother when I was 8 years old. Since then, I have tried to walk a Christian life. And now that I’m getting older, I realized that I’m walking even closer with my God.
Andy Griffith (1926-2012) was an American actor, television producer, and singer. As an actor, he will be remembered for his television roles as beloved Sheriff Andy Taylor (1960-1968) and folksy lawyer Ben Matlock (1986-1995). He was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina.
Big Sky Buckeye 