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Quick Thought – Monday, April 29, 2024: What Is Our Treasure?

Read Matthew 6:19-24 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV) Reflect One of my favorite things about children’s…

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Quick Thought – Sunday, April 28, 2024: All Doesn't Mean Some

Read Psalm 34 James 1:2-16 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:1-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,…

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Quick Thought – Saturday, April 27, 2024: Rethink How We Pray

Read Matthew 6:5-15 Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV) Reflect Most of us…

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Quick Thought – Friday, April 26, 2024: Caves, Camels and the Impossible

Read Matthew 19:16-30 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 Reflect Almost three years ago, the world was captivated by the daring rescue of 12 Thai soccer players and their coach from a flooded cave. The group had planned a picnic to celebrate the birthday of one of its members but became stranded when torrential…

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Quick Thought – Thursday, April 25, 2024: Doing Right Takes Courage

Read Mark 3:13-21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”Mark 3:21 Reflect Bill had struggled for most of his life to succeed at anything. He had a lot of talent, but nothing ever seemed to “click.” He graduated high school with decent but not stellar grades. He got into a good college, but got swept up in the college life and saw…

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Quick Thought – Wednesday, April 24, 2024: The One Thing That Is Necessary

Read Luke 10:38-42 “…but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42 Reflect Sister Suzy was probably the most active member of St. Charley’s Church. She was practically involved in everything the church did. On Mondays, she read to students in the church school. On Tuesdays, she volunteered as a receptionist in the front office.…

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Quick Thought – Tuesday, April 23, 2024: The Touch of the Master's Hand

Read Mark 4:35-41 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:40-41 Reflect One of my favorite classic Christian songs is “Touch of the Master’s Hand,” by Wayne Watson, which is based on a poem by Myra Brooks Welch. It tells the story of an…

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Quick Thought – Monday, April 22, 2024: Give For the Right Reasons

Read “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the…

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Quick Thought – Sunday, April 21, 2024: We Can't Make Everyone Happy

Read Mark 3:1-6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. Mark 3:6 Reflect Diane and Sam had a whirlwind romance and a quick honeymoon. During the trip, Sam had started to get a little testy, but it was when they got home that he really became hard to deal with. On their first morning in the house, he woke up and barked, “Get up and…

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Quick Thought – Saturday, April 20, 2024: Look Beyond the Pedigree

Read Mark 1:1-11 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. Mark 1:6 Reflect Fred Zariczny doesn’t look like most Christians you’ve met. He has long hair and tattoos, often dresses in black leather and rides a motorcycle. For years, he dealt drugs and rode with an infamous motorcycle club. But one day in 1977, the Lord moved in…

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Quick Thought – Friday, April 19, 2024: What Would You Sacrifice?

Read Matthew 26:6-13 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me.”Matthew 26:10 Reflect How much is Jesus worth to you? That’s a tricky question to ask since people so often assume that churches and ministries that ask such questions are only after their money. But with no strings attached, ask yourself, “How much of the money I…

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Quick Thought – Thursday, April 18, 2024: He Owns It All

Read Psalm 50 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. Psalm 50:10-11 Reflect Tim sat in the pew on Sunday, waiting for the ushers to pass him the offering plate. He had most of $40 in his pocket, money he had made mowing lawns in the neighborhood. He’d heard about “tithing,” that is,…

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Quick Thought – Wednesday, April 17, 2024: Prayer Changes Us ... Not God

Read Psalm 20 May he grant you your heart’s desire    and fulfill all your plans!Psalm 20:4 Reflect Think about the last time you prayed to the Lord. (Hopefully, it’s not so long ago that it’s hard to remember – maybe as soon as last night or this morning!) What did you pray? Was it a request for something? So often we treat God like a spiritual Santa Claus. We pray to Him for whatever we need,…

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Quick Thought – Tuesday, April 16, 2024: Make Time For What's Important

Read Matthew 26:36-46 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?” Matthew 26:40 Reflect “I’m just too busy.” “Something came up. I’ll get to it later.” “You don’t know what’s on my plate. There aren’t enough hours in the day.” You’ve heard all of that before. You might have even said one or more of those things before.…

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Quick Thought – Monday, April 15, 2024: Undermined, But Upheld

Read Genesis 39 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.” Genesis 39:13-14 Reflect Brian Banks was a promising young football player when he attended high school in…

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Quick Thought – Sunday, April 14, 2024: How Many Bags?

Read Matthew 25:14-30 “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Matthew 25:29 Reflect So much is lost in translation. We read talents, we think of abilities. And even when we think of a “talent of gold,” we rarely think of the amount in terms of what it really was. And the entire parable depends…

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Quick Thought – Saturday, April 13, 2024: The Value of Honesty

Read Genesis 31 Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. Genesis 31:35-36 Reflect Jacob was, beyond almost anything else, a man…