Life Goes On

Once there was a man who visited every bank, savings and loan, and business in the world and made arrangements to pay all the debts of all the people who owed anything.  This information was made public, and some people took advantage by ceasing to struggle to pay their debts and just acting as if they owed nothing.  Some of those who were thus relieved of debt told their friends and family members. Some even told strangers they met this good news.  However, others said nothing to anyone.  They knew they had neighbors and friends who were weighed down with debt, but they didn't think it was any of their business to interfere.  Eventually many people who had accepted this freedom from debt got together with others who also were now debt-free.  They met weekly to talk about their new freedom and celebrate it.  On very rare occasions debt-ridden people found their way into these meetings and discovered how to be debt-free. A few of those who were freed fr...

It seems that anything we do over a long period of time can become tedious and stale.  That is true even with personal devotions.  Anyone who denies ever going through a "dry" period in their devotional life, would probably lie about other things as well.  Recently I was reminded of the benefit of praying from scripture.  Prayer that springs FROM Scripture is a bit different from praying Scripture.  It means that the Scripture you read provokes prayer that may even take a different direction. The video specifically mentioned using the Psalms and  epistles as a springboard for praying.  As I thought about this, I realized that we can actually do that with every book of the Bible. Then I also realized that using the Scriptures is a great way to freshen my praise and worship (that phrase includes more than just music). For example, take a look at Genesis 1:1   "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  That sentence alone coul...