tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86944317834208030332008-05-06T05:55:28.279-04:00Davidnoreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-41945271924746040242008-05-06T05:54:00.000-04:002008-05-06T05:55:28.332-04:00

The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit each month. The leaves of the Tree are for healing the nations. Never again will anything be cursed. (The Message) Yesterday, David was cutting down some small trees in the backyard, just clearing out a few dead ones so we could put our trampoline up in a new place, when one tree decided to be

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-25775508448171857472008-05-01T13:44:00.001-04:002008-05-01T13:44:28.525-04:00

Anger can give Satan a foothold. Ephesians 4: 26-27 I was angry the other day. I mean, really angry. Heart pounding, red-faced angry. And I carried that anger around for most of the day, which obviously didn’t make for a pleasant day for me. Even though I put on a “smiley” face, I still let the anger consume me. Then, something happened. Must have been the Holy Spirit giving me a whack on the

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-75324378188096931062008-04-29T13:14:00.000-04:002008-04-29T13:15:18.130-04:00

Create in me a pure heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me. The prophet Nathan confronted David about an affair David had with Bathsheba and in this Psalm David cries out to God for forgiveness and cleansing. Have you ever seen a diseased heart? It could be larger than normal or different in color or pitted or spongy. Those of us who took biology likely saw both healthy and

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-6081219407404698162008-04-17T13:27:00.000-04:002008-04-17T13:28:47.539-04:00

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me, let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. (NIV) This makes me think of lighthouses at the ocean. There are more than 60 lighthouses along the Maine coast and they start in Kittery and end in Machias. Many (28) were transferred from the Coast Guard to local preservation groups and some (8) are owned privately

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-5539343291165791992008-04-11T10:04:00.002-04:002008-04-11T10:05:54.672-04:00

Reassure me; let me hear you say, "I'll save you." The Message Psalm 35 is an appeal by David to God. David had enemies who attacked him for no reason and he wants God to rescue him. My dog, Samantha, was a Doberman/Shepard mix. Kind of a funny looking 70 lb dog with a tail that curled up over her back, a barrel chest and a boney little head. She had a loud ferocious bark which could be a

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-30461656308699779352008-04-07T17:41:00.001-04:002008-04-07T17:43:49.452-04:00

How exquisite your love, O God; How eager we are to run under your wings. (The Message) Earlier in the Scripture it says that God's love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, his purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness, nothing gets lost. Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks. My online dictionary gives these definitions: Meteoric - characterized by

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-9808133630820640912008-03-29T20:48:00.000-04:002008-03-29T20:49:24.283-04:00

Psalm 33:3 Play his praise on a grand piano! Invent your own new song to him; give him a trumpet fanfare. (The Message) Psalm 33 is a praise song. It talks about making music with harps, trumpets ten-stringed lyres and choirs. Even the last verse in Psalm 32 says to Celebrate God. Sing together-everyone! All I can think of is my youngest grandchildren, Natalee and Jacob. They love music of

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-44447185572942280622008-03-24T22:16:00.000-04:002008-03-24T22:18:15.297-04:00

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. (NIV) I was looking at some pictures of my grandchildren earlier this week and thought how quickly they are growing up. I have one in kindergarten all ready and that is hard to believe. When Rebecca was somewhere between the ages 7

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-58861361996967809362008-03-21T21:41:00.001-04:002008-03-22T08:36:43.640-04:00

The Prayer Labyrinth I had never heard of the prayer labyrinth, until I read in the church bulletin that we were invited to come to ubc to walk the prayer labyrinth on Maundy Thursday. Maundy Thursday being a special day, I was very curious as to why this was a special event. What the whole experience does is to help you relax, get centered and concentrate on God. Everything in the atmosphere

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-14479583623484281012008-03-21T10:12:00.000-04:002008-03-21T10:13:41.046-04:00

Mark 16:15 Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God's good news to one and all. (The Message) I've learned a couple of things this morning when I read this Scripture. First I learned that Mark 16:9-20 are only in later manuscripts and not the earlier Greek ones. I learned that when Jesus was speaking to his disciples in chapter 16:14-18, he was only speaking to 11 of

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-83433682227492955422008-03-13T16:39:00.002-04:002008-03-13T16:42:59.178-04:00

Nancy sent me this email following her devotion yesterday. I thought it was really important and asked for her permission to share it with you all. She agreed. So, if you haven't read her devotion of March 12, 2008 "John 15:12-13" scroll down to read that first. David, I've been thinking a lot about what I wrote for my devotion this morning and I think I've come to an understanding of what

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-81934306446673254232008-03-12T06:22:00.000-04:002008-03-12T06:24:01.458-04:00

John 15: 12-13 This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. (The Message) Jesus was teaching this message to his disciples on his last night. Chapter 15 goes from a believers relationship with Jesus to the relationship with other believers and then to the relationship with nonbelievers in the world. I

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-2260824341132103822008-03-07T09:06:00.001-05:002008-03-07T09:08:21.367-05:00

Matthew 17:6-8 When the disciples heard it (God's voice), they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. But Jesus came over and touched them. "Don't be afraid." When they opened their eyes and looked around all the saw was Jesus, only Jesus. (The Message) In this story, Jesus led Peter and brothers, John and James up on a high mountain. Jesus wanted to show them who he was and was transfigured

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-29297145967308036242008-03-04T20:00:00.002-05:002008-03-04T20:05:17.220-05:00

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (NIV) On the 28th of February, all I heard was Nicholas saying, 'Come on Grammie, it will be fun.' Well, Grammie didn't think riding an aerial tramway up over 6,000 feet of jagged, jagged rocks and 5 towers while the tram was going

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-60804572764094711402008-02-24T15:57:00.000-05:002008-02-24T15:58:54.328-05:00

Deuteronomy 5:22 These are the words that God spoke to the whole congregation at the mountain. He spoke in a tremendous voice from the fire and cloud and dark mist. And that was it. No more words. Then he wrote them on two slabs of stone and gave them to me. (The Message) God first spoke the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and in Deuteronomy 5, Moses restated them to Israel and God wrote them

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-50034982293142074582008-02-22T14:07:00.001-05:002008-02-23T09:49:29.307-05:00

This letter is from Hannah Joy, a best loved child of God chosen to receive his grace and share with you the Good News. To the community of believers in Concord who associate themselves not only with United Baptist Church and each other, but also with Jesus Christ, our savior and Son of God; to all of you my dear friends, Greetings. I have not been able to be with you these past few years,

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-51356180727291569852008-02-19T08:26:00.001-05:002008-02-19T08:28:54.728-05:00

Two or three weeks ago, at a Sunday morning book discussion, Dave mentioned that he admires Polycarp. I wondered why. Because I find church history interesting, curiosity got the best of me and I did some reading about Polycarp on Wikipedia and a website called Polycarp. This is A Glimpse of Polycarp.... St. Polycarp of Smyrna (69 AD-156 AD) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna, in present day

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-21222134109071056972008-02-19T08:25:00.000-05:002008-02-19T08:26:28.681-05:00

Psalm 18:36 You cleared the ground under me so my footing was firm. (The Message) We've had a lot of snow this year and as beautiful and awesome as snow can be, it can also be icy and slippery. The ice, all that ice, makes sure footing passé. And it's not just driving on the icy roads or shoveling frozen driveways or rooftops, it's walking in the woods as well. What about maneuvering through

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-35967221396102106002008-02-17T15:34:00.000-05:002008-02-17T15:36:16.456-05:00

Proverbs 18:21 Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit--you choose. (The Message) Over my life, I've learned that words can heal or hurt and it's not only 'what', but 'how' we say the words as well. I've noticed people often say, 'I can't control what I say, it just comes out.' But then I think, who controls what they say? What about the gossip thing, who controls those

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-56703743454123802132008-02-02T10:58:00.000-05:002008-02-02T10:59:39.226-05:00

Revelation 2:7 "Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. Christ-conquerors are safe from Devil-death." (The Message) Are your ears awake? When Jacob and Natalee are overly active and loud and need to stop and calm down, I like to play the game of game of Shhhh, let's see what we can hear. If the TV or radio is on,they're turned off, then

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-52578435450013790832008-01-29T12:47:00.001-05:002008-01-29T12:49:32.829-05:00

Proverbs 1:1-2 (A Manual for Living) These are the wise sayings of Solomon. David's son, Israel's king--Written down so we'll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it is going; (The Message) Someone gave me a cookbook today called, 'Be Healthier, Feel Stronger- A Vegetarian Cookbook'. On page 15 it lists 6 different kinds of vegetarians - 1.

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-88649133856791668542008-01-25T09:37:00.000-05:002008-01-27T16:52:14.736-05:00

I've read the story about the tomb and resurrection many times, but recently I heard the words 'the stone was rolled away for the disciples to see, not for Christ to get out. Jesus kept telling people that after three days he would be raised. The Pharisees told Pilate that the tomb should be sealed until that third day because the disciples might come and steal Jesus so to prove that he had

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-11230943956957554872008-01-21T15:21:00.000-05:002008-01-21T15:20:47.920-05:00

James 1:1-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-88933999847627238922008-01-16T14:19:00.000-05:002008-01-16T14:20:12.875-05:00

Galatians 5:1 Christ has set us free to live a free life. (The Message) Donna has a young active dog named Kesia who loves to run. At home she is confined to a fenced in yard to play in, but when Donna takes her to the river, she is free to run and play with all her dog friends with no leash, no fences, no nothing... Picture her ears flapping, the excitement on her face, the big smile - ahhhhh,

Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694431783420803033.post-69924896112765553052008-01-14T19:15:00.000-05:002008-01-14T19:16:41.100-05:00

Luke 6:27-28 To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. (The Message) The Bible is filled with many reasons to pray and when I saw this today, I thought, 'ok, this is a reason why I need to pray, big time and all the time'. It's

Davidnoreply@blogger.com