Scripture Readings
Daily Bible Readings for the Week of July 23
Monday, July 23- Jeremiah 15:19-21
Tuesday, July 24- 2 Corinthians 6:14—7:1
Wednesday, July 25- 1 Timothy 6:11-21
Thursday, July 26- Jeremiah 2:4-17
Friday, July 27- Romans 8:12-17
Saturday, July 28- Philippians 4:10-20
Prayer of the Week
O God, give us bread. Give us bread to nourish our bodies, and in Christ give us the bread of eternal life, that in Him we may grow and thrive and serve; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Journey to Hope
Navigating Change
Change Is not something most of us eagerly anticipate, especially if it is not our plan. Grief brings about abrupt change. What was comfortable and familiar yesterday becomes horrifying and different today. Life can be re-categorized—there is BC (before change) and AD (after death or loss).
What the Parable of the Sower Tells Us About Grief
When we grieve the loss of something dear to us our faith is often tested. We are told in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13) of four areas where seeds fell and subsequently grew. Three areas could not sustain the plants that sprung up—only one could. Going through grief can reveal our spiritual soil type. God made soil to be a natural medium for the growth of plants and we are the God-designed medium through which faith is cultivated.
Letting Go
We might not think that grieving would be an appropriate word to use for the Israelites after they left Egypt. They had been in the land for many years and it had been welcoming and a prosperous time. But under a new Pharaoh life changed drastically. The bible tells us that the Egyptian masters worked the Israelites “ruthlessly” (Exod. 1:13, 14) and made their lives “bitter” (Exod. 1:14) with “hard/cruel” (Exod. 1:14; 6:9) service. As a result, Israel languished in “misery” and “suffering” (Exod. 3:7).