Posts by Michele Crater

DAILY READING Psalm 23 The Twenty-third Psalm may well be the most recognized, most memorized, most “famous” passage in Scripture. How many posters, greeting cards, and cross-stitch pillows have we seen bearing its famous beginning, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want”? Countless. When I was a child, I heard these words read…

DAILY READING Matthew 5:1-12 One cold November afternoon I was walking around a lake in a beautiful mountain town. I was just coming to the end of my walk around the frigid gray water when I approached an older gentleman carrying a Ziploc bag full of bird seed. He walked down to the water’s edge…

DAILY READING Matthew 15:21-28 Today’s scripture reading is, to me, one of the most difficult passages about Jesus in the Bible. At first reading, it appears that Jesus — the perfect, sinless, all-compassionate Son of God — is being unkind. In his conversation with a Canaanite woman, Jesus appears to be hard-hearted, uncaring, and dare…

DAILY READING Amos 5:4-15 One hot, sticky August many years ago, I was at a retreat center far out in the Tennessee countryside with my colleagues from work. We had spent a long, tiring day in a stuffy conference room. As we wrapped up the evening, one of my co-workers led us in evening prayers.…

DAILY READING Romans 12:1-2 As winter gives way to spring, I enjoy sitting outside on my front porch or patio and watching the changes in nature as the world begins its tilt toward longer days and warmer weather. One spring I observed the leaf-buds on my maple tree in the front yard. I noticed that…

DAILY READING Philippians 4:4-7 One day recently I was riding down the interstate and I noticed a car in one of the other lanes. It was covered with writing on the windows: “Mayo Clinic-bound!” “Please pray for us!” “Praying for healing!” I was touched. Here was a family on a journey seeking healing, driving a…

DAILY READING Philippians 1:9-11 Barbara Brokoff tells of a school and a county rescue squad’s efforts to create a “mock air attack drill” in the 1950s. The alarm went off, and the school chose a 4th-grade boy to lie on a stretcher, waiting for the ambulance to arrive.  Everyone forgot to call the ambulance, and…

DAILY READING Philippians 1:1-6 Laughter is a gift from God. Our medical experts exalt the virtues of laughter. People who have a minimum of three good laughs a day are healthier, have greater oxygen flow through their bodies, build stronger immunity systems, sleep better, and have less stress. Even people who force a good laugh…

DAILY READING Philippians 1:1-6 While on a mission trip, I got “doubled-over-sick,” unable to stand and walk. I was not happy, but I had joy. How? There’s a difference between happiness and joy. Because Paul weaves joy through its 104 verses, the church refers to Philippians as the Book of Joy. What’s the difference between joy…