Main Pages

Today's Word

Lectionary Index

Topical Index

Scripture Index

Home and Away

Midweek Oasis

My Spiritual Journey

Poems and Stories

Site Map

You are welcome to use the writings on these pages or pass them on to others who might find a touch from God in the words. Our purpose is always to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you everything, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring these words to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom its been shared. All rights reserved. Peggy Hoppes

Hoppes Family Adventures Blogspot
Blog includes postings and pictures from our family adventures from every member of our family.

Christian Bible Study Pages

Sermons

Proverbs 31,
A Study on Christian Living

A Study on Prayer

A Study on Obedience

A Study on Spiritual Gifts

Archives

August 1999

September 1999

October 1999

November 1999

December 1999

January 2000

February 2000

March 2000

April 2000

May 2000

June 2000

July 2000

August 2000

September 2000

October 2000

November 2000

December 2000

January 2001

February 2001

March 2001

April 2001

May 2001

June 2001

July 2001

August 2001

September 2001

October 2001

November 2001

December 2001

January 2002

February 2002

March 2002

April 2002

May 2002

June 2002

July 2002

August 2002

September 2002

October 2002

November 2002

December 2002

January 2003

February 2003

March 2003

April 2003

May 2003

June 2003

July 2003

August 2003

September 2003

October 2003

November 2003

December 2003

January 2004

February 2004

March 2004

April 2004

May 2004

June 2004

July 2004

August 2004

September 2004

October 2004

November 2004

December 2004

January 2005

February 2005

March 2005

April 2005

May 2005

June 2005

July 2005

August 2005

September 2005

October 2005

November 2005

December 2005

January 2006

February 2006

March 2006

April 2006

May 2006

June 2006

July 2006

August 2006

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

Travel Pages

Scotland

Our English home 1997-2001

Cotswold Adventure

Salisbury Plain

South Coast

Cornwall

Climb a Hill, Look at a Rock Day

Tintagel and Glastonbury

Paris

Oxford

Sulgrave Manor

London

Extended Pages

Potpourri Pics!










A WORD FOR TODAY

Our Lord is so good, He grants us many blessings. We can see Him in the daily course of events, in our homes, our jobs, our lives. I pray that these words help you to grow in your faith and recognize His hand in even the most mundane circumstances.

The picture to the right is of a Celtic Chapel located in Cornwall England. This building is approximately 1700 years old, and contains a holy well known for its healing powers.

(Click for enlarged)




Due to the high volume of spam that comes through the domain, I have had to stop using that email address. However, if you would like to send me mail, use the following address, replacing the bracketed words with the symbol. Thank you for your continued interest, prayers and messages of encouragement.

   heart2love4god [at] aol [dot] com   





A WORD FOR TODAY, July 3, 2009

Scriptures for Sunday, July 12, 2009: Amos 7:7-15; Psalm 85:8-13; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:30-34, 53:56

Psalm 85:8-13 I will hear what God Jehovah will speak; For he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: But let them not turn again to folly. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him, That glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springeth out of the earth; And righteousness hath looked down from heaven. Yea, Jehovah will give that which is good; And our land shall yield its increase. Righteousness shall go before him, And shall make his footsteps a way to walk in.

Since Independence Day falls on a Saturday this year, many people have been given an extra day off this weekend. Some people even lucked out with a four day weekend, which gives them plenty of time to party. The celebrations are kicking off early, with some activities happening today. A neighboring town even began their carnival yesterday, with the major festivities including a parade, planned for tomorrow. I’m sure some people will even be planning events for Sunday. The holiday is a great excuse for people to get together and have fun.

I think the best type of celebration is the kind where family and friends gather together for a pot luck picnic. Pot lucks are great fun because everyone brings in their best dishes. We get to enjoy Aunt Marge’s potato salad and Grandma’s fire roasted chili stew. Hot dogs taste especially good grilled by neighbor Fred on his state of the art grill and the fresh tomatoes hand picked that morning from Sam’s garden are quite a treat. My mouth is watering as I think about the cool, crisp, sweet watermelon and the hot gooey marshmallows toasted over the charcoal and squished between chocolate and graham crackers into s’mores.

Ok, now I’m hungry for all those yummy picnic treats. The point of this writing is that this type of celebration brings together the best of all worlds. It might be fun to go to a party where someone does all the work, and I have to admit that I enjoy hosting that kind of party. But the pot luck picnic is something special. It is a gathering of food from all over the world; salads with incredible combinations that might not be planned together are piled high on paper plates until no one can eat any more. The deserts are tremendous, sinfully delicious. I think that the family gatherings in the summer are less stressed than those around the holidays. I’m not sure why, perhaps it has to do with the good weather: the gathering can take place outside where people can stretch and play. Games of volleyball or badminton bring riotous giggles heard throughout the neighborhood. These are good times.

The psalmist also speaks of good times. Look at the wonderful things God is going to do. This passage is a potluck of God’s grace! Salvation, glory, mercy and truth, righteousness and peace all come together in God’s kingdom. Thanks to God’s goodness, His people will prosper. He establishes the way of righteousness for them. This is truly something to celebrate.



Would you like to receive A Word For Today in your mailbox daily? Enter your email below and you will be added to our list at topica.com.

Subscribe!
Enter your email to join A Word for Today today!

 

Hosted By Topica




A WORD FOR TODAY, July 2, 2009

Scriptures for Sunday, July 12, 2009: Amos 7:7-15; Psalm 85:8-13; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:30-34, 53:56

Amos 7:7-15 Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. And Jehovah said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more; and the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land. Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thou away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more at Beth-el; for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house. Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdsman, and a dresser of sycomore-trees: and Jehovah took me from following the flock, and Jehovah said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

Anyone who has done any home improvement have probably used a tool called a plumb line. This is a very simple tool, used for millennia, to find the vertical line. It is especially helpful for building walls because it helps to keep the walls straight. A plumb line is simply a weight tied to the end of a light string. The string is held at the top of the vertical and the weight is allowed to swing free until it stops. At that point, the line points directly to the center of the earth. All lines established from the plumb line will be parallel and the wall will be straight.

Anyone can make a plumb line by tying a weight onto a piece of string, although it is helpful to purchase a manufactured line since the wrong weight and string could skew the line. I found a plumb line at a tool site on the Internet for just $2.99, a well-spent few dollars to ensure a straight wall. Amazingly, I also found some laser plumb lines for two to three hundred dollars. The laser plumb lines do exactly the same job as the cheap weight on a string. It does have an out-of-level alert that you don’t have with the string, but then the string does naturally what the electronic version does electronically. In other words, there’s room for error with the laser plumb line. The laser tool will also break: batteries die, lights fade, tools need to be recalibrated from time to time. The weight on a string might break, but it is easily, and cheaply, replaced. Sometimes simple is better.

The plumb line is an important tool when building a wall. It is very easy for a brick worker to set a wall that leans. It only takes a fraction of an inch on each level of brick for the wall to eventually topple. A level will help each row of bricks lay even, but the plumb line is also necessary so that they are stacked directly on top of one another. Why is it that important? Every wall is dependent on every other wall. Everything inside is dependent on the walls being straight. The windows and doors will not fit properly if the walls lean. A leaning wall will not stand very long. Isn’t it amazing that a simple $3.00 tool can be so important?

Amos had words for the king that the king and the people did not want to hear. Their time was short. They’d disobeyed the Lord and He was about to take matters into His own hands. They were leaning like a poorly built wall. The Lord promised to send a plumb line to measure His people, to see how well they stood. Now, the Lord could have chosen a powerful man, an educated man, a gifted man. Instead, He chose Amos, who tells us that he takes care of sheep and sycamore trees. What does he know about politics? What does he know about religion? What does he know about the future?

Of course the king would argue with a prophet who foretells his demise and the destruction of his people. Of course they would question whether Amos can really say these things. He was just a simple shepherd. But that’s exactly why he was chosen to take this message, a message he really didn’t want to take. As a matter of fact, our passage today is the third vision. Amos convinced the Lord to relent from the first two. Finally, the Lord showed Amos a plumb line, meant to show Israel that they were out of whack. A leaning wall must be destroyed and rebuilt. Amos was that plumb line, the one being sent to the people to warn them of what is to come.


The following links provide some specially chosen scripture that tell the stories of the Birth and Passion of our Lord as Saviour Jesus Christ, as well as a fictional perspective of the Crucifixion. Spend time in God's Word, read about His life and learn of the wonderful gifts He has for you. Know Jesus Christ and honour Him today. Thanks be to God.

The Birth of our Saviour

The Story of our Saviour's Passion

The Crucifixion, a fictional perspective




Scripture on this page taken from the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible which belongs to the public domain. Some scripture on this site taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.



As you may be aware, I also write a weekly devotional on Wednesday called "MIDWEEK OASIS." For those of you who are familiar with lectionary scripture sources, MIDWEEK OASIS is based on the texts used by millions of Christians each Sunday. The lectionary consists of four texts – an Old Testament passage, a Psalm, a passage from one of the Epistles and a Gospel text. We are now using the lectionary for our A WORD FOR TODAY texts. The way it works: Our week begins on Thursday, with our texts being those that will be used on the Sunday ten days out. Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday we look at each of the texts – an Old Testament lesson, a Psalm, an epistle and a Gospel text, in no particular order. On Wednesday, we'll look at how these texts fit together, how they fit into the church calendar and how they fit into our lives. I use the Revised Common Lectionary as used by the Lutheran Church.






A WORD FOR TODAY is available daily through a mailing list. If you would like to be added to this list, add your name using the topica.com link sign up above. You will receive the WORD in your box Monday through Friday.

You are welcome to use these words to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you these gifts, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring them to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom you've shared it. Peggy Hoppes