Daily Word Capsule

Date - January 31st, 2022 Topic - Unwanted Solitude Bible Text - Turn to me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and in deep distress.Psalm 25:16 Some of us long for solitude, praying for a quiet retreat where we can gather our thoughts or rest our tired bodies. Yet sometimes we are faced with solitude we neither ask for nor desire. The psalmist found himself in that singular place. His thoughts were large in a wilderness that seemed vast and empty. It is interesting that David didn’t ask God to take him out of the barren land but invited God to join him there. He knew from experience that God’s presence could illuminate any dark night. Our journeys through life will not always take us on straight paths. They are interspersed with thrilling mountaintop heights at times and with valleys and lulls in activity at others. Sometimes those valleys are lonely indeed. We might find ourselves there because of a move eight hundred miles away from family and friends or because we h

Date - January 30th, 2022 Topic - Consider the Ant  Bible Text - Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. - Proverbs 6:6-8 The life expectancy of an ant is only forty-five to sixty-five days. In that time, ants help organize a colony, find food, look after their young, and protect the queen from intruders. Ants are real team players. As they squeeze the juice from their food, they secrete a portion into a second stomach to share later with their fellow ants. No wonder Solomon pointed out their work ethic! The ant is a wonderful example of what hard work can accomplish. God has provided tailor-made opportunities for each of us and has given us gifts that enable us to reach for those dreams. It is sad that we sometimes lose those opportunities by investing our time in things that matter little. God has given

Date - January 29th, 2022 Topic - Blessing the Children Bible Text - Some children were brought to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. The disciples told them not to bother him. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” And he put his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left. - Matthew 19:13-15 While the disciples were rebuking the children and those bringing them to Jesus, Jesus stretched out his arms to welcome and bless the children. God has always valued children and has invited them into vital, prayerful communication with him that they can maintain throughout their lives. He responds to children’s prayer groups and answers the simple requests of an individual child.  Are you welcoming the children you parent or teach to Jesus? Are you praying with them and teaching them to pray so that they will know God and not just know about him? Ask for his help. Model a

Date - January 28th, 2022 Topic - Love in Action Bible Text - The king called in the man he had forgiven and said, “You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny. That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters in your heart. - Matthew 18:32-35 We live in a world that paints word pictures of love. We love our families. We love our careers. We even say we love inanimate things such as a beautiful painting or a new pair of shoes. But that type of love can’t change our world. Agape love is Christ’s unconditional love toward us, but agapao love is what others see as our actions reflect our love for Christ. If Christians truly demonstrated agapao love, then our world couldn’t help but be drawn to Christ. The man who punished his servant in toda

Date - January 27th, 2022 Topic - I’m Ordinary! Bible Text - [God told Moses,] “Now go, and do as I have told you. I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say.” But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send someone else. - ”Exodus 4:12-13 Conflicting emotions arise when someone asks us to do something for which we feel unprepared or inadequate. We tend to look in the mirror and scrutinize our faults and shortcomings. But we can be thankful that God views us in a much different light. He sees the promises he placed inside us when we were conceived.  God knows our talents, and he also knows our disabilities and weaknesses. In today’s verses Moses focused on just one aspect of the task—speaking—but God saw a much broader picture. He understood the hardships that were ahead. He knew that Moses was not a skilled speaker but that it was not Moses’ speaking ability that would lead God’s people through the wilderness. Rather, it was the leadership skills, faith in

Date - January 26th, 2022 Topic - Mustard Seeds and Mountains   Bible Text - The disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that [boy’s] demon?” “You didn’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” - Matthew 17:19-20 Did you know that an average-sized aspirin bottle holds more than 180,000 mustard seeds? One of those miniscule seeds, when planted in fertile soil, can produce a ten-foot bush within three months! How many times have we faced mountains and felt that our faith was small and insufficient? We might have asked ourselves how God could remove a mountain in light of the fact that our faith is so inadequate. Perhaps we’ve even considered surrendering to the circumstances that stand in our way. When the disciples felt the sting of failure over their inability to heal the boy in today’s

Date - January 25th, 2022 Topic - I Know Him Bible Tex t - Then [Jesus] asked them, “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”Matthew 16:15-16 How can people describe the ocean when they have not experienced it? How would they explain the waves that crash against the rocks or the shifting of the sand as the tide tugs at the shoreline? Are they able to put into words how the sand feels between their toes or describe the majesty of an endless blue horizon? Until they have taken a dip in the salty, white-frothed ocean, their descriptions would be limited. Perhaps that is why Jesus asked the disciples to define their faith in him on a personal level rather than rely on what others had to say about him. Jesus challenged them to base their definition of who he was on the reality of what they had seen, heard, and experienced about him.  Today, many stand in public platforms and attempt to define Jesus as a good man, a teacher,

Date - January 24th, 2022 Topic - A Father’s Legacy Bible Text - These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and these are the blessings with which Jacob blessed his twelve sons. Each received a blessing that was appropriate to him. - Genesis 49:28 The act of blessing in the Old Testament was much more significant than just an inheritance of gifts or money. A spoken blessing was a legacy that a father left to a son. When Jacob called his sons around him, the scene was much different from when he had stolen his brother Esau’s blessing on their father Isaac’s deathbed. At that time Jacob was known as “the deceiver.” His sad example continued into the next generation, when his sons sold their brother Joseph into slavery.  As Jacob lay on his deathbed, however, he could no longer be identified as a dishonest man. He had learned from his early mistakes and was now known as a man of honor. Though he bestowed spoken blessings on his sons, the example of his changed life was a living

Date - January 22nd, 2022 Topic - Life Lessons Bible Text - If you live a life guided by wisdom, you won’t limp or stumble as you run. - Proverbs 4:12 We often find life’s lessons in surprising places. When an elderly couple stares into each other’s eyes with deep and genuine affection, they teach us that love can last forever.  When a friend is struck with a terrible sickness and his faith remains intact, we learn that God will carry us through the hard times.  When a baby falls while learning to walk and then doggedly pulls himself/herself back up and tries again, he/she  shares a lesson about tenacity.  When storms come and bend a tree’s massive branches to the ground, we learn that even those that are battered will stand straight again when the sun comes out the next day. Many people define wisdom as knowing the rules and following them, yet it is so much more. You can find wisdom by heeding the examples of those who have gone before you, finding nuggets

Date - January 21st, 2022 Topic - Scars of the Past Bible Text - Joseph made a hasty exit because he was overcome with emotion for his brother and wanted to cry. Going into his private room, he wept there. - Genesis 43:30 It has been said that the most painful cuts of all are those inflicted by others. Surely Joseph’s life exemplified that truth. The sight of Benjamin, after Joseph’s long separation from his family, was a raw reminder of his other brothers’ cruel deception. Though God had granted Joseph favor during the dark days of his slavery and unjust imprisonment, the young boy standing in front of him represented undeniable proof of what Joseph had lost—not only a brother but a beloved father and a homeland.  Surely Joseph was tempted to repay his brothers for their evil deeds. Instead, he invited them into his home to feed them. He devised a plan that would reconcile himself to his family. He could have punished his brothers a thousand times over for their actions

Date - January 20th, 2022 Topic - Worthy of Praise Bible Text - I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the strength of my salvation, and my stronghold. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, for he saves me from my enemies. - Psalm 18:1-3 Hunted and chased like an animal, David had been in terrible distress and danger, but God had preserved his life and rescued him. Because of God’s help, David hadn’t just survived; he had emerged victorious. So he sings Psalm 18, a psalm of thanksgiving for all God has done and for who he is to David. It is a great song of worship and praise for the Lord’s divine intervention in delivering David against all odds from his enemy Saul and for bringing David through his difficulties to a future and hope. In singing God’s praises, David uses vivid metaphors: “my rock” (stability and security), “my shield” (the one who gua

Date - January 19th, 2022 Topic - God’s Watchful Attention Bible Text - I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. You save with your strength those who seek refuge from their enemies. Guard me as the apple of your eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. - Psalm 17:6-8 In this prayer psalm David uses two vivid word pictures to invoke God’s help for the danger that was pressing on him. “Guard me as the apple of your eye,” he says. He is asking the Lord to keep his eye on him, to show his love by guarding David with his watchful attention.  David’s request “Hide me in the shadow of your wings” compares God’s protection to the way a mother bird (Eagle) cares for and shields her own babies from danger by gathering them under her spread wings to hide them from predators and devices of hurt. David rested his petitions on the fact that God’s very nature is to be loving, watchful, an

Date - January 18th, 2022 Topic - Unexpected Blessings Bible Text - Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. - Proverbs 3:27 Isn’t it fun to watch television shows where people are surprised with unexpected blessings? The gift might be an elaborate wedding for a couple who couldn’t afford it or a houseful of appliances for a struggling family. We delight in their joy, vicariously participating in their excitement. We may even imagine what it would be like if we had the same means of blessing others. The fact is that we are surrounded with opportunities to share good things with others: a show of love & warm greetings to welcome a new neighbor, a note telling the pastor what a great job he/she is doing, a sincere compliment to a loved one. If we wait to do good to others until we can perform benevolent deeds on a grand scale, we miss the point and the opportunity. Waiting to have money and when it's convenient for us may

Date - January 17th, 2022 Topic - Who May Enter ? Bible Text - Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. - Psalm 15:1-2 When we kneel at the altar, we present our hearts in reverent worship to God. It is our inward sacrifice of praise. In these verses the psalmist presents another side of worship—the worship that praises God with our lives. We offer this type of worship when we live in integrity and honesty in everyday situations.  We offer it when we treat others with fairness in business deals and speak highly of others no matter who is listening. When we avoid the bitter tongue of gossip, tell the truth instead of resorting to a lie, or keep a promise we have made even at great cost, we are showing that our lives are a living sacrifice of worship to God. I’m thankful that we don’t have to be perfect to worship God. No one is without

Date - January 16th, 2022 Topic - His Burden Is Light Bible Text - Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”Matthew 11:28-30 What heavy burden is weighing you down and causing a heaviness and weariness in your spirit? Is it the need to take care of an elderly parent? a seemingly impossible deadline at work? juggling overwhelming responsibilities of a job plus parenting a houseful of kids? the burden of chronic illness? a difficult relationship with someone you love? financial struggles? Whatever your “heavy burden” might be, Jesus invites you, just as he did the crowds he was teaching: Come to me. Give me the heavy load you’re carrying. And in exchange, I will give you rest. Whenever I read these verses from Matthew, I breathe a sigh

Date - January 15th, 2022 Topic - Of Infinite Value Bible Text - Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows. - Matthew 10:29-31 We have been planted according to a divine pattern, even if we do not always understand that pattern. God is interested in each of us “microscopically” as well as “telescopically.” The hairs of our heads have been counted, but the universe is also in His hand. God cares about even the smallest creatures that in the world’s eyes are worth only a penny or less. The same God who created the expanse of the heavens, majestic mountains, glaciers, and everything else on earth and holds the whole world together by his powerful word knows the number of hairs on our heads—and watchfully and lovingly cares about each one of us individually.  This one truth is worth rejoici

Date : January 14th, 2022 Topic - Words for Disciples Bible Text - When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say in your defense, because you will be given the right words at the right time. For it won’t be you doing the talking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.Matthew 10:19-20 Some of the traveling instructions that Jesus gave to his twelve disciples—such as don’t take any money with you, and don’t carry a bag or even an extra coat (Matthew 10:9-10)—may sound strange to our modern ears. But imbedded in Christ’s words are important principles and, most important, a call for a deeper level of trust.  In verse 19 Jesus carries that need to trust God even into the courtroom, advising his followers not to worry about relying on their own natural abilities to devise a clever defense, because God would give them the right words at the right time. Perhaps it is not a court trial you face but a job situation, a misunderstanding with a friend, or a

Date - January 13th, 2022 Topic - The Workers Are Few Bible Text - Wherever [Jesus] went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness. He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields.” - Matthew 9:35-38 Jesus saw the people not just as a whole massive group but as individuals suffering from pain, sickness, and grief. And while he felt deep compassion and healed them of every kind of disease and illness, he also enlisted his disciples to pray for more workers, for the harvest was ready, the kingdom was at hand, and the workers were few. God our Heavenly Father is the LORD of the Harvest and Christ Jesus has shown us how to cultivate many souls on this ripe field called

Date - January 12 Bible Text - Good Medicine Bible Text - When he heard [the Pharisees’ criticism], Jesus replied, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices.’ For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough.”Matthew 9:12-13 When Jesus ate with the tax collectors, he caused a stir throughout the city. Many were men of ill repute who abused their power over their fellow citizens by overcharging them and then lining their own pockets with the difference. The Pharisees reasoned that if Jesus were truly the Messiah, he would not seek out these vile men but would eat with the righteous instead.  When the Pharisees confronted Jesus about this, he silenced them with a challenge to discover the true meaning of mercy, defined by his own example. Rather than wait for the unbeliever to come to church, Christ brought a l

Date - January 11th, 2022 Topic - Increase Our Faith Bible Text - Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a terrible storm came up, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” And Jesus answered, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” - Matthew 8:23-26 The storm that came up that night struck terror in these veteran fishermen’s hearts. Would they be shipwrecked? Would they perish? They panicked and doubted whether Jesus was aware of or even cared if they drowned. Like the disciples, we sometimes get into troubles that feel so overwhelming, storms that rage so furiously, that we’re sure our boat is about to be swamped and we’ll drown.  It may seem to us—as it did to the disciples in today’s verses—that Jesus is sleeping, that he is unconcerned and unaware of our plight, and we cry, “Lord, save us!” When we are panick

Date -January 10th, 2022 Topic - Seek God’s Understanding Bible Text - Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.Proverbs 3:5-6 These verses from Proverbs can be a continual, lifelong, daily prayer for us to pray for all those we love, because our natural tendency is to lean on our own understanding and do things our way instead of depending on God’s wisdom and ways. The longer I live, the more I realize that all of our responsibilities, all that God has called us to do, are beyond our own human ability. There is nothing I can do apart from God.  In everything—whether it is parenting; relationships with your husband, wife, children, grandchildren, and friends; ministry work; writing; speaking; or teaching—you need to depend on God, seek his higher understanding, his wisdom and his will, and then trust in his leading with all your heart.  As we do these things, we become the r

Date - January 8th, 2022 Topic - The Value of Private Prayer Bible Text - When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.Matthew 6:5-6 Jesus is our pattern and example for prayer, not only in giving us the Lord’s Prayer but also in the way he practiced prayer himself during his life on earth. He often left the multitudes and his disciples and went apart to pray alone with his Father in heaven. He didn’t just flash an eloquent prayer heavenward to impress his followers; he spent solitary, extended times talking and listening to God.  In this passage he exhorts us to do the same. Jesus tells us not to pray like the Pharisees, whose goal was to impress others with their pra

Date - January 6th, 2021 Topic - Praying for Our Enemies Bible Text - [Jesus said,] “You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.”Matthew 5:43-45 There are times when others will misunderstand, mistreat, or persecute us, and it’s hard not to respond to such treatment by retaliating or rejecting those who act that way toward us. That would be the way the unredeemed world naturally reacts. But Jesus says in these verses that we are to offer a radically different response: we are to love and pray for our enemies; in other words, we are to respond with the energy of prayer instead of the energy of hate. This approach upholds a basic foundation of our faith—that God is love, that his love is for all people, whether friend or foe toward us, and that he desires that not one would perish but that all wo

Date - January 5th, 2022 Topic - The Favor of the Lord Bible Text - Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I will never pray to anyone but you. . . . Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; with deepest awe I will worship at your Temple. Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Tell me clearly what to do, and show me which way to turn. . . . For you bless the godly, O Lord, surrounding them with your shield of love. - Psalm 5:2, 7-8, 12 This psalm is called the Inheritance Prayer and expresses a twofold blessing: First, we are recipients of great favor and a great inheritance. Second, the righteous—those in right standing with the Father by virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection—are the Lord’s own inheritance. Because we belong to him and are his heirs, God blesses our lives with deliverance, direction, and continual access into his presence.  Because of his unfailing love for us, we can enter his throne room and rec

Date - January 4th, 2022 Topic - Safe in Him Bible Text - You can be sure of this: The Lord has set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him. . . . Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let the smile of your face shine on us, Lord. You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and wine. I will lie down in peace and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.Psalm 4:3, 6-8 In this psalm David proclaimed his faith in God’s ability to answer him when he called and to protect him even when he was pursued and slandered by his enemies. David’s experiences with God had taught him that he did not have to wait to praise God until he was enjoying “better times.”  Though David was weary and may have been spending the night in a cave as he fled his enemies and didn’t know the outcome of the danger he was in, his trust produced joy that was greater than the joy experienced by those celebrating a great harvest

Date - January 3rd, 2022 Topic - God Is My Shield Bible Text - O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!” But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. - Psalm 3:1-4 Have you ever felt as if someone was out to get you? as if you were surrounded by people who meant you harm in some way? When David wrote this psalm, he was crying out to God as he raced from the palace, pursued by enemies loyal to his son Absalom, who was trying to overthrow David’s kingdom by force.  As David prayed this God-centered prayer, he was exercising his confidence that in this situation the Lord would reveal himself as a shield and protector, as David’s “glory and the one who lifts my head high.” In the midst of hearing others telling David that there was no hope, that all was lost, he had hope. But the source of his hope wasn’t

Date - January 2nd, 2022 Topic - Revering God Bible Text - Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.Proverbs 1:7 As we look at the state of the world around us, at what has happened in the past and what we may face in the year ahead, there is much to fear: Will a sniper terrorize our community as has happened in other areas? Will the bottom fall out of the economy? Will my job be jeopardized? Will there be violence at my child’s school? Fear about possibilities like these can consume us, producing increased stress and even illness.  But today’s verse tells us that there is only one thing/personality to fear—God himself. This fear is not an unhealthy fear that leads to cringing and hiding as Adam and Eve did after they had disobeyed God. Rather, it is a humble and honest recognition of God’s beauty, sovereignty, and preeminence so that worshiping and serving him take first place in our lives. It is a healthy reverence that l