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DAILY READING Psalm 127 FIELD NOTES We know that it is important to work hard and do our best, but as Psalm 127 explains, if the work that we do is not of God, then it is in vain.  1 Unless the Lord builds the house,    the builders labor in vain.Unless the Lord watches over the city,    the guards stand watch in vain.2 In vain…

DAILY READING Psalm 146 FIELD NOTES We know that we have been created in God’s image, but what does this mean? Psalm 146 provides a powerful description of who God is:  6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,    the sea, and everything in them—    he remains faithful forever.7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed    and gives food to the hungry.The Lord sets…

DAILY READING Deuteronomy 6:10-25 FIELD NOTES The final verse in this passage explains that “if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness” (v. 25).  What does righteousness mean? Is it a reward? A hymn by Albert Midlane helps to provide an answer.  The…

DAILY READING Deuteronomy 6:10-25 FIELD NOTES The passage in Deuteronomy that we read yesterday, instructs us to obey God, to follow “stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded” (v. 20). We are directed to obey not to receive a reward, but because “the Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear…

DAILY READING Deuteronomy 6:10-25 1 Timothy 6:17-19 FIELD NOTES This passage in Deuteronomy cautions the Jewish people to remember that the gifts they have received and good things in their life are not a product of their own hard work, but a gift from God. It can be tempting to believe that we are the…

DAILY READING “Thy Kingdome come on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) FIELD NOTES We discussed how Christ’s church takes the world and baptizes it, transforming it into God’s kingdom in one seminary class. The church took the Roman Festival of Lights and converted it into Christmas, Jesus’ birth as the light that…

DAILY READING Ephesians 6:11, 14-17: Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. . . . Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready…

DAILY READING Matthew 22:39: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” FIELD NOTES Upon arriving to officiate a funeral service, the director said, “You have another funeral tomorrow.” He showed me it was for 1 p.m. the next day for a man I did not know. I noticed the decease’s address was near our home.…

DAILY READING Matthew 22:39: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” FIELD NOTES When our daughters were younger, I walked with them, door to door trick-or-treating. It amazed me to see so many children in our neighborhood. It amazed me even more to see so many adults open their doors, giving candy and gifts to…