No Longer Wandering Today’s scripture selection: Deuteronomy 26-28 Key verse: Deuteronomy 26:5-8 “Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. But the Egyptians mistreated us and made… Continue reading Week 50 Monday
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 50 Sunday
Take Courage! Today’s scripture selection: Acts 23-24 Key Verse: Acts 23:11 The turmoil was only intensifying. Paul, the former Pharisee turned Christian evangelist, was stirring up trouble wherever he went. Or, to put it more appropriately, the dark forces that would destroy the work God had begun, were stirring up trouble wherever he went. Under… Continue reading Week 50 Sunday
Week 49 Saturday
The Real Deal Today’s scripture selection: First John 4-5 Key verses: First John 4:1 Every now and then I catch myself saying that someone or something is “the real deal.” I suppose that dates me. I don’t know that people under a certain age would even get what that means – or at the very… Continue reading Week 49 Saturday
Week 49 Friday
All There Is To Say Today’s scripture selection: Revelation 1-6 Key verses: Revelation 1:8 “’I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’” Many of us tend to live our lives in little spurts – a day here; a day there. … Continue reading Week 49 Friday
Week 49 Thursday
Behold My Beloved Today’s scripture selection: Song of Solomon 1-2 Key verse: Song of Solomon 2:8 “The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.” According to tradition and Scripture – King Solomon wrote over a thousand songs (see First Kings 4:32) and spoke thousands of parables. The… Continue reading Week 49 Thursday
Week 49 Wednesday
The Way Today’s scripture selection: Psalms 140-142 Key verse: Psalm 142:3 “When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way.” Now and then, we all lose our way. At least, that’s been my life experience. No matter who you are; what answers you have found; sooner or later – you… Continue reading Week 49 Wednesday
Week 49 Tuesday
Tears and Joy Today’s scripture selection: Nehemiah 5-9 Key verses: Nehemiah 8:1 “All the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.” When the people were… Continue reading Week 49 Tuesday
Week 49 Monday
Remember Today’s scripture selection: Deuteronomy 23-25 Key verse: Deuteronomy 24:17-18 “Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there.” In the book of Deuteronomy, along with all sorts… Continue reading Week 49 Monday
Week 49 Sunday
Two Important Questions Today’s scripture selection: Acts 21-22 Key Verses: Acts 22:6-11 When the apostle Paul told the story of how he had not only become a follower of Christ but had been called into service in His name – he talked about his “road to Damascus” experience. It’s the stuff of which movies are… Continue reading Week 49 Sunday
Week 48 Saturday
That Your Joy May Be Full Today’s scripture selection: First John 1-3 Key verses: First John 1:1-4 They are the first few sentences of a letter from the one known as the “beloved” disciple. They are a greeting. But more than that, they are a promise. “That which was from the beginning, which we have… Continue reading Week 48 Saturday