All for One Today’s scripture selection: Ephesians 4-6 Key verse: Ephesians 4:3-6 Do you remember the catchy phrase the Three Musketeers would shout as they raised their swords in salute? “One for all; all for one!” The apostle Paul lived a long time before that phrase was popularized in the novel by Alexandre Dumas about… Continue reading Week 25 Saturday
Author: Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Week 25 Friday
An Absent God Today’s scripture selection: Ezekiel 7-12 Key verse: Ezekiel 10:18 Prophets rarely had easy messages for their audience. But surely one of the most difficult to deliver was how at one point in their history the “glory of the Lord departed” from the temple – and their presence. Idolatry had struck its final… Continue reading Week 25 Friday
Week 25 Thursday
Imaginations Today’s scripture selection: Proverbs 5-6 Key verse: Proverbs 6:18 Imagination is a wonderful thing. Early on in life I discovered the joys of pretending to be one of King Arthur’s nights; a cowboy on the range; an astronaut exploring some far corner of Mars. Our mind, coupled with a compassionate heart, can… Continue reading Week 25 Thursday
Week 25 Wednesday
Boundaries Today’s scripture selection: Psalms 72-74 Key verses: Psalm 74:16-17 “The day is yours, and yours is the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.” In my pastoral counseling I have found one book particularly helpful… Continue reading Week 25 Wednesday
Week 25 Tuesday
Double Trouble Today’s scripture selection: First Kings 14-16 Key verses: First Kings 16:30-32 Ahab and Jezebel – their names are associated with the worst kind of evil. Ahab is listed among a long list of evil kings and all the scripture can say about him is that “he did more evil in the eyes… Continue reading Week 25 Tuesday
Week 25 Monday
Atonement Today’s scripture selection: Leviticus 4-6 Key verses: Leviticus 6:7 “In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the LORD, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.” The idea of atonement makes some people very uncomfortable. They don’t like the thought… Continue reading Week 25 Monday
Week 25 Sunday
Best Seat in the House Today’s scripture selection: Luke 13-14 Key Verse: Luke 14:11 Jesus had been invited to dinner, presumably quite a fancy dinner. Luke tells us, “When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable…” The scripture goes on to describe… Continue reading Week 25 Sunday
Week 24 Saturday
Divine Handiwork Today’s scripture selection: Ephesians 1-3 Key verse: Ephesians 2:10 Some years ago I came across a small hand-tatted cross – as in “made by typing knots in thread and using a small shuttle to form lace” – not as in “getting’ all tatted up” tattooing. It was in a small drawer… Continue reading Week 24 Saturday
Week 24 Thursday
Just Words Today’s scripture selection: Proverbs 4 Key verse: Proverbs 4:24 “Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk from your lips.” It’s interesting that in the middle of a long section extolling the value of wisdom – the writer of Proverbs inserts a little advice about what comes out of our mouths, or… Continue reading Week 24 Thursday