Scripture reading for today: Matthew 19 - 20; Psalm 95 Dependencies: These are the people, places, and/or things that if we are brutally honest, we do not think we could live without. They are the things we cling to, even when clear evidence indicates they are not good for us and depending on this is not working. [1] I slid into a seat in a hurry. Running late, I barely made it through the door … [Read more...] about January 21
January 22
Scripture reading for today: Matthew 21 - 22; Psalm 96 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21 NIV Maybe you aren't quite ready to tell this to anyone else, but take a moment and tell yourself the truth: Who or what do you treasure? "After twenty years of listening to the yearnings of people's hearts, I am convinced that all human beings have an inborn desire … [Read more...] about January 22
January 23
Scripture reading for today: Matthew 23 - 25; Psalm 96 A bright, articulate, funny, and smart kid (who always used to say, "I'm going to grow up and be a doctor; I want to make sick kids well.") dropped out of high school and is currently serving out a felony conviction for drug trafficking. A homeless person, huddled inside an office doorway trying to keep warm, startles me as I round the … [Read more...] about January 23
January 24
Scripture reading for today: Matthew 26 - 28; Psalm 97 "Addiction is about wanting to be hungry, about the need to be unsatisfied. This, it turned out, was the truth that, for the longest time, I sought to deny." William Leith - author of The Hungry Years: Confessions of a Food Addict (Gotham) Denial: Denial is so much more than a river in Egypt! It's that stubborn propensity to see things … [Read more...] about January 24
January 25
Scripture reading for today: Haggai and Psalm 98 I'm currently reading a book that challenges everything I believe. My son is reading a book written by a famous agnostic philosopher, and the author is also sharing a perspective wildly different from what we usually read around our house. (My son is reading this book because of a lyric in a song; go figure.) No doubt you're tempted to suggest … [Read more...] about January 25
January 26
Scripture reading for today: Exodus 1 - 3 In yesterday's devotion, I mentioned that my youngest child was reading a book in which the very premise is the antithesis of everything our family professes to believe. At first, he was scared to tell me that he had checked it out of the library. He was worried I would disapprove. I did disapprove. I did not like it that my son hesitated for a moment … [Read more...] about January 26
January 27
Scripture reading for today: Exodus 4 - 6 Most of us know all about Moses. Epic movies have been made about this guy who is famous for setting the Israelites free. Oppressed, helpless, and hopeless, enslaved in Egypt--the Israelites were in a big mess. Along came Moses (also famous because of his adoption by an Egyptian princess) and saves his people in very dramatic fashion. His story is great … [Read more...] about January 27