DAILY READING Colossians 2:8-15 REFLECTION   The Head Over Every Power and Authority By Carmel Elmer As a Saturday devotional writer, before I write I like to read the passages for the week in succession and reflect on how they connect with one another and with the heading for the week.   This week’s heading is “In the Shadow of the Cross” and the readings focus on discerning the difference between the wisdom & authority of this world and that of God in the wake of Christ’s sacrifice on the...

DAILY READING Matthew 4:12-17 REFLECTION   A Light Has Dawned By Carmel Elmer “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” Boom!!  Drop the Mic! For centuries, the Jewish people had waited in anticipation for the promised Messiah to come and rescue them.  Generation after generation, they had been oppressed, exiled, returned to Jerusalem, conquered…and the cycle just seemed to continue over and over again.  And...

DAILY READING Genesis 12:1-3, 7-8 REFLECTION   God's Promises in Uncertain Times By Carmel Elmer “The Lord said: Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” Genesis 12:1 Before reading on, take a moment, close your eyes, and imagine you are Abram… What went through your mind?  What did you feel?   My initial reaction?  “THIS is my home and it’s all I know.  What if I don’t speak the language and I am not welcome there?  How will I feed my...