By David Goree Psalm 119:9-16 My cousin Brian is a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, which is one step below the Oklahoma Supreme Court. (Please pardon the bragging in my blogging.) Last week, Brian gave me a tour of the appellate courtroom and offices and explained the process by which the…
By Lance Mayes Psalm 119:9-16 If you grew up going to church, you probably memorized several Bible verses or passages. I know several people who have memorized the book of James. It seems we’ve lost this discipline in most churches. I wonder why? Scripture that is memorized is a precious treasure that does not remain…
By Bridgette Langford Psalm 51: 1-12 Growing up in a Christian home , it was not until I was young adult I felt what it was like to be disconnected from God. This is not case for many today. This passage reminds us of what can occur when we have distance from God and the…
By Jennie Mayes Psalm 51:1-12 Often, we want God to perform a “gut job” on us. We want to discard all that is ugly and messy of our lives. We want to be perfectly clean and shiny again. Just like a contractor could come in and tear down an old home and build a brand…
By Christie Goodman Psalm 51 One of the seven traditional Psalms for the Lenten season is Psalm 51. It comes with an editor’s note explaining that David wrote it after Nathan had come to confront him about his adultery with Bathsheba. When we go back and look at 2 Samuel, we see that Nathan’s indictment…
By Daniel Zamora Psalm 107:1-16 “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.” Everyday there is at least one news portraying people who live in darkness, depression, prison, chains, bitter labor, helpless, trouble and distress. Although these terrible conditions sound like far away, many may experience some…
By Diana Bridges Psalm 107:1-16 This psalm is an ideal reading for St. Patrick’s Day. It speaks of wanderers and prisoners in need of deliverance. Patrick certainly falls into those categories. Born in Britain, he was kidnapped as a young man and forced into slavery in Ireland. By the time he’d been a slave for…
By Ed Twedt Psalm 107:1-16 Reading recently about the history of Lent, it appears that there is no agreement among scholars about the exact origin and development of Lent, but there is agreement about what it means to us today. It is a time of fasting, reflection on who and what we are and getting…
By Barbara Higdon Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 As I was preparing for this devotional thought, I looked up the term “thank offering.” Most references say simply it’s an offering of thanks, especially for the gifts received. In Psalm 107, the term is used following the passages about sick people who are sick because of their sins.…
By Garrett Vickrey Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 In divinity school my urban ministry class took a pilgrimage to New York City. No, not to Broadway or the Empire State Building. We were in the streets, in the soup kitchens, and in the churches who open their doors to the poor each day. One bedroom apartment rentals…