Daily Devotional

“I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I […]

Full disclosure: I have never read the Bible from cover to cover. I am excited and looking forward to this challenge this year, A Year in the Bible with St. Luke’s Methodist Church.

I have been a Christian my whole life. I was born and raised at the church my parents have been members at since they were born. I attended church every Sunday and even volunteered with my parents within the TV Ministry at our church. During college, I attended church with my husband, and you guessed it, volunteered for many years. My husband, Brian Morgan began working for St. Luke’s Methodist Church in 2014 and we instantly felt at home. We became members shortly after and I instantly began volunteering. Volunteering my time and gifts has always been a part of me and it should’ve been a sign for me at a young age that I would eventually work within a church setting…

The story of our faith is filled with imperfect people. Many of the people that God uses have a troubled past, and some have troubles in the present. The start to the Year in the Bible has been a wonderful reminder that God is at work in and through the lives of all His children. As we completed the book of Genesis and began to read the book of Exodus, I was reminded that God is not scared off by our messy lives. God works through His children to show his immersible love and grace to the world.

In the book of Genesis, we encountered people who were disobedient to God’s commandments, jealous siblings, marriage troubles, and warring tribes…

The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Tell me, I pray, your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peni′el, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penu′el, limping because of his thigh.

I love you, Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
    and I have been saved from my enemies.

One of my favorite hymns is “Wonderful Words of Life.” This classic gospel hymn was written by Philip P. Bliss. From an early age, two things captured Philip P. Bliss’ attention; music and his faith. Bliss would become a traveling music teacher in the late 1800s. He would travel around his home state of Pennsylvania. He would teach choirs and individuals the great music of the church, while also performing to help earn a living. He eventually made it to Chicago where his music teaching grew and flourished.

Philip P. Bliss eventually connected with some of the great preachers and evangelists in Chicago. He would play and write music for Dwight L. Moody and Major Webster Whittle. With his connection to these two wonderful men of faith, Philip P. Bliss would see his music career transform…

The first time I set out to read the Bible in its entirety, I was in junior high and had recently received a Teen Study Bible.  There were many features that come in study bibles with topics of interest for teens. In the back of the Bible there were maps, a small glossary, concordance, and a Bible reading plan.  The suggestion given about reading the Bible was that if you read 3 chapters a day, and 5 chapters on Sunday, you could read the Bible in a year. In this Bible reading guide, there were small boxes for every chapter of every book of the Bible that you could check when you completed that chapter.

So, in January I began my journey and commitment to read the Bible in a year. Reading 3 chapters a day is maybe a 15-minute commitment, so I started off doing well.  But somewhere along the line..

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” -Proverbs 3:27

Hockey is an interesting sport. It combines the grace of ice skating, the quick skills needed to handle a stick and puck, and the strength needed to endure a brutal game that often features large athletes slamming into one another for two and a half hours. Hockey is vicious. It is one of the fastest and most fierce competitive sports. That is why I loved when I learned about a hockey team that was sharing kindness with thousands of children.

The Hershey Bears hockey team of Pennsylvania have started a wonderful tradition. The team plays in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town known for chocolate. The hockey team has become a joyful example of fun and giving. For the past twelve years, the team has hosted the Annual Teddy Bear Toss. When the Hershey Bears score the first goal of the game…

On the last Sunday of 2023, I had the opportunity to worship in the Lifelight Contemporary Service.  There were several upbeat praise songs including a personal favorite:  The Goodness of God.  As I sang along, I noticed a dad and his young daughter join us on the back row.  At one point during the song, the dad turned to his daughter and began to teach her, by example, how to clap to the rhythm of the praise songs.  I was awed by this dad’s willingness to teach his daughter part of worship.

That afternoon, as I looked ahead to our 2024 theme: “A Year in the Bible,” I wondered who taught me how to love and appreciate reading the Bible?  Just as that dad taught his daughter how to clap in rhythm to a praise song, I imagine most of us had people who taught us how to read the Bible.  Who taught you?

My earliest memory is of my maternal grandmother…

In the summer of 2019, my family visited the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.  This historic church was the first black church organized in Birmingham in 1873. In the early 1960’s the church was a place where many civil rights meetings took place. It became the headquarters for organizing the work of much of the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham and Alabama. Great leaders, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. often spoke from the pulpit. From this Church, the United States would experience significant change.

Sadly, it was a racist, violent act that put the name of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in every home in the United States. On Sunday, September 5, 1963, a bomb exploded outside of this church. This act of terror killed four young girls and wounded 22 other people during the Sunday school hour…