Daily Bible Readings
Daily Bible Readings for Week of January 17, 2022
Monday, January 17th – Jeremiah 33:6-9
Tuesday, January 18th – 1 Peter 3:15-17
Wednesday, January 19th – Mark 1:40-45
Thursday, January 20th – Job 1:1-22
Friday, January 21st – Hebrews 11:1-16
Saturday, January 22nd – Luke 17:5-10
Prayer of the Week
Almighty God, You sent Your Son to proclaim Your kingdom and to teach as one with authority. Anoint us with the power of Your Spirit that we, too, may bring good news to the afflicted, bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captive; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Memory Verses for January, 2022
January 2: Proverbs 16:9
9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
January 9: Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
January 16: Isaiah 43:18-19
18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
January 23: Psalm 51:10
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
January 30: John 13:34-35
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Book of the Month: Ephesians
Journey to Hope
"We need to accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope" Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
A Declaration of Blessing
“Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4) It seems a strange thing to say that those who suffer are blessed. Every instinct within our human selves rises in disbelief and confusion. It seems illogical and contradictory. How can anyone who has lost something or someone much loved be blessed? Is that not a misfortune or a curse? Yet, God declares that people who believe God are privileged in the midst of every sad and painful circumstance. How can that be?
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).