Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were two hundred five years; and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11: 31, 32, NRSV, emphasis provided). Merciful God, it is so easy for us, as travellers along the road of life, to settle down before we reach our intended destination. Please teach us something today, that will keep us...

God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you, and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Genesis 9: 1-3, NRSV. Gracious God, We come into Your presence today asking You to speak Your creative...

The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear (reverence) Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth. (Revelation 11: 18, NRSV, emphasis provided). Gracious God, when we contemplate our environment, we are amazed at how little we know about the thought that was put into creating our world, and how important it is for us to think of nature as a "whole." As we sit at Your feet...

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15: 13, NRSV. Dear God, we are truly grateful for Your goodness toward us. We pray that as we gather to study Your Word, we might be filled with hope. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Paul is wishing for the believers in Rome,  that God would fill them with all joy and peace in believing, and, that as a result, they would abound, in hope.  That is a...

God said, "The man (humankind) has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never - this cannot happen!" So God expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they'd been made. He threw them out of the garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree-of-Life. Genesis 3: 22-24, MSG. Heavenly Parent, our...

Then he said, "This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me." Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, "My Father if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?" . . . When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, "My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I'm ready. Do it your way." When he came...

Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” "Man, I am not!” Peter replied. About...

Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, "This man was with him." But he denied it. "Woman, I don't know him," he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." Man, I am not!" Peter replied. About...

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26: 40, 41, NIV. Dear God, We hear Your warning. We want to obey; but our flesh is weak. Please strengthen us as we come before You, in prayer to study Your Word. In the blessed name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Today as we continue with our study on watchfulness, we come to a well...

"But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven's angels, not even the Son. Only the Father. So keep a sharp lookout, for you don't know the timetable. It's like a man who takes a trip, leaving home and putting his servants in charge, each assigned a task, and commanding the gatekeeper to keep watch. So, stay at your post, watching. You have no idea when the homeowner is returning, whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. You don't want him showing up unannounced, with you asleep on the job. I say it to you, and I...