Week of September 2, 2007, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Hebrews, chapter 13, verses 1-8, and 15-16. The writer encourages us and gives us some guidelines to remember:
1 Keep on loving each other as brothers.
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-- the fruit of lips that confess his name.
16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of love – for how deeply You love us, and how You taught love through the gift of Your Son, Jesus. Thanks for reminding me to respect and love others as if they were You – even with strangers, those in prison, those mistreated, those suffering.

Help me to live each day for You, Lord, knowing that You will never leave me or forsake me, for You are my helper, and I need not be afraid. Help me to live with a faith that has matured thanks to the help of many who have gone before.

And remind me, Jesus, that You are the same yesterday, today and forever, that You have been with me in my beginnings, that You are with me now, and that You will always be with me. And help me, Lord, to offer my life as a sacrifice of praise, always confessing Your name as my Savior and Lord, and to share Your love and joy, Your presence and strength with others. Amen.

May the Lord bless you as you go on your way. May He go before you to show you the way. May He go behind you to encourage you. May He go beside you to guide and befriend you. May He always be above you to watch over you. And may He be within you to give you peace.

In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or a prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May God, our Hope and our Help, be with us now and always.

Week of August 26, 2007, Psalm 103:1-8

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Psalm 103, verses 1-8, a great psalm of thanks:
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

Dear Lord, I praise You. With all of my heart, with every breath I take, I praise Your holy name.

Heavenly Father, I will never forget all Your benefits - Your blessings in my life. You forgive my sins. You heal my diseases - body, soul and spirit.

Sometimes my heart is heavy, Lord. Sometimes stress overtakes me. Sometimes I don’t have enough time in the day to get things done, or spend time with You for the refreshing and strengthening times. But Lord, You redeem my life from the pit; You crown me with love and compassion. You satisfy my desires with the good things that I need - Your love, Your peace, Your strength, Your comfort.

Lord, Jesus, I continue to thank You, for You are compassionate and gracious; You are slow to anger, and abounding in love. Lord, totally consume me with Your love this day, this week. AMEN.


May the Lord bless you as you go on your way. May He go before you to show you the way. May He go behind you to encourage you. May He go beside you to guide and befriend you. May He always be above you to watch over you. And may He be within you to give you peace.

In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May our great God be with you now and always.

Week of August 19, 2007, Hebrews 11:29 to 12:2

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 29 to chapter 12, verse 2. The writer of Hebrews is talking about faith, a faith that has confidence in God no matter how difficult the circumstances. The writer tells us that we need to see spiritually with our eyes, even though in the natural world the circumstances look different than what God has promised. Have faith and fix our eyes on Jesus:
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.
37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated--
38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.
40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
CHAPTER 12
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Dear Lord, increase our faith to see beyond what we see, and then to see You working in ways we could not imagine. You are faithful to Your promises, and we see now how You worked so many years ago, how everything happened as You promised. So help each of us, Lord, to trust in You, to trust in Your word.

And help us throw off everything in our lives that hinders our relationship with You, any sin that can so easily entangle us. And help us, Lord Jesus, to fix our eyes on You, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Thanks for Your presence with us always… Amen.

May the Lord shower you with His mercy; may the light of His presence be ever your guide; may He guard you and uphold you; may His Spirit be ever by your side. May He bless Your comings in and your goings out. When you sleep, may His angels watch over you; when you wake, may He fill you with His grace. May you love Him and serve Him all your days, and then in heaven to see His face forevermore.

You may leave a message or prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May Jesus, our Lord, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, be with you now and always.

Week of August 12, 2007, Psalm 33:12-22

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Psalm 33, verses 12 to 22:
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth--
15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

Dear Lord, from heaven, You look down and watch all who live on earth. More than that, Lord, You deliver us from sin and remind us of Your love. You strengthen us when we are weak. You bring hope in the midst of turmoil. You teach us to come to You, to look to Your unfailing love, to wait in hope for You as Lord, for You are our Help and our Shield.

Our hearts, Lord, rejoice in You, for we trust in Your holy name. Your unfailing love is with us. We rest in You, as we put our hope, our trust, our confidence in You.

Jesus, You are our All in all, our King of kings, the Commander of the heavenly armies. No army is great enough and no warrior is strong enough. But You, Lord God, are our Hope and Strength, and nothing overcomes Your almighty and limitless power.

Jesus, thanks for Your love, Your presence, Your power with us always as we look to You for all things. Amen.


The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His strength and His great peace. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may leave a message or prayer request by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May God, our Hope and our Help and our Strength, be with us always.

Week of August 5, 2007, Colossians 3:1-11

One of the Scriptures for Sunday is from Colossians, chapter 3, verses 1 to 11:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Dear Lord, remind me in my daily life, that You help me to die to sins of the past, and that You help me to rise to new life, that I am raised with Christ, and then help me to set my mind not on earthly things, but on things above.

Jesus, help me to rid myself of all the things that keep me earthly-minded – on such things as greed and pride, sexual immorality whether in thought, word or deed, on things such as anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language. Help me, Lord, to put on the new self – being renewed in knowledge in the image of the Creator – to be renewed in my life with You, Lord – reading Your word, growing in maturity, knowing that You, Lord are all that I need, for You are in everything, and You are my All in all.

And in this particular time with the particular events of a bridge collapse in Minneapolis this past week, Heavenly Father, we ask You to bring comfort to families who have lost loved ones, healing to all who have sustained injuries, strength to the rescuers, hope and help for all those involved.

Thanks for Your presence, Your comfort, Your peace in our lives. Amen.

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His strength and His great peace. In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You may send a message or prayer request to me by e-mailing me at: peacewm@tds.net.
May God, our Strength and Comfort, be with us now and always.