"Be still and know that I am God!" (NRSV) Psalm 46:10 You don't need a candle to pray, but if you're an easily distractible, extremely busy, over-scheduled fifth or sixth-grader, a candle can't hurt. Perhaps it's just the pace of...

"For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me." (NRSV) Matthew 26:11 Squarely, in front of the doors of the Central Bank of Costa Rica, in San Jose, stands the sculpture "Monument Los Presentes" (Monument To...

“Then you when call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.” (NRSV)  Jeremiah 29: 12 What are the first words you hear when you awaken each morning? For me, they are those of my child coming through the baby monitor....

Is any among you sick? They should call the elders of the church and have them pray over them. … The prayer of faith will save the sick... James 5:14-15 Following the celebration of the 10th anniversary of my consecration, several of...

Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you...cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you'. Luke 10:8-9 My son lay comatose in the hospital, not expected to survive the night. The call...

This cross standing before me has a history. The image is not unfamiliar -- a Chi Rho cross, a basin on one arm to represent the image of foot washing.  But this one has a history.  It was created from the pews that once filled...

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out… and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. John 10:3-4 My daughter was born into a room of caring...

I will lift up my eyes to the hills -- from where will my help come? The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. Psalm 121:1;8 I felt very alone driving a 30-foot motor home from Oregon to...

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.  Matt 5:4 Our congregation was in turmoil. Our pastor had died suddenly, and the shock of losing someone so young turned us upside down.  The congregation felt like a ship...

“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” -- Matthew 6:12 Do we often pray this almost without thinking? Or is this Lord's Prayer petition a powerful reminder that calls to mind those who we need to...