Posts by Michele Crater

DAILY READING Matthew 5:13-16 FIELD NOTES Howard Thurman, explains in his poem, The Work of Christmas, that is it now, after the celebrations, that the work we are called to as Christians begins.   The Work of Christmas When the song of the angels is stilled,  When the star in the sky is gone,  When the kings…

DAILY READING Matthew 2:1-12 Matthew 3:13-17 John 2:1-11 FIELD NOTES Today and every January 6th is the day that Christians celebrate Epiphany. This is the 13th day of the Christmas season and celebrates the day that the Magi or three wise men came to pay homage to Christ. The United Methodist Church explains that “[t]he arrival of…

DAILY READING Luke 10:38-42 FIELD NOTES To be honest, this passage in Luke makes me uncomfortable. I am more like Martha than Mary and I find it troubling that this busyness, this work in service is not exalted. I am good at being busy, I am not good at being still.  However, the Scripture reminds…

DAILY READING Philippians 4:4-8 FIELD NOTES From the sermons of A.W. Tozer:  It is something of a happy paradox that while the thoughts deeply affect the will and go far to determine its choices, the will on the other hand has the power to control the thoughts. A will firmly engaged with God can swing…

DAILY READING Job 42:10-17  FIELD NOTES In this last part of the Book, we see Job restored and being made whole after praying for his friends. Job’s friends had made the error of assuming that Job’s suffering was caused by a great sin he had committed. Even though the counsel of his friends had caused…

DAILY READING Psalm 147:12-20 FIELD NOTES Charles Wesley published these words in 1750 for New Year’s Day worship. Let them be our prayer as we begin a New Year. Wisdom ascribe, and might and praise To God, who lengthens out our days, Who spares us yet another year, And lets us see his goodness here;…

DAILY READING 1 Kings 3:5-14 FIELD NOTES As another year comes to a close today, you may find yourself looking back over the last twelve months and evaluating the results of your choices and decisions. Were they wise? Are you pleased with where your year took you? In today’s reading, Solomon, the great king of…

DAILY READING John 1:10-18 FIELD NOTES Next week, on January 6, we will celebrate “Epiphany” — the twelfth day following Christmas which commemorates the day the wise men from the East visited Jesus and honored him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Merriam Webster’s online dictionary gives us more definitions of the word “epiphany”…

DAILY READING Acts 7:44-53 FIELD NOTES I’ve had the privilege of visiting several amazing and beautiful places of worship through the years — including York Minster in England; St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. When one enters these wonders of engineering, architecture and art, it’s natural to think, “Oh,…