Today is Thursday, the twenty-second day of January, 2026, in the second week of Epiphany.
May the peace of Christ surround you and yours today and every day!
It is day 22 of 2026, with 343 days remaining in the year
27 days until Ash Wednesday.
Day 24,787 of my life
Well, there’s this one cat who keeps chasing the newest cat, so I would like to get her to understand that she needs to stop doing that. Otherwise, they seem to be getting along fine. I think our pets understand how much we love them. I do wish we could get the feral cats outside to understand that we mean them no harm and just want to love on them.
Today is a somewhat normal Thursday, at least for me. I’m off work, and don’t really have much on the agenda, other than cooking dinner. C continues to recover from her surgery. I think she has maybe one more week before she is supposed to start working from home. She would probably start sooner if they would let her.
I’m still struggling with blood pressure being high. It’s a puzzle to me, as this just started quite suddenly last week. But then, so did the low heart rate, at least as far as I could tell. I’m in contact with my cardiologist’s office, though, so we will be keeping a close eye on it.
We are still expecting the winter storm this weekend, beginning somewhere around midnight tomorrow night. So my Friday at the library should be as usual, and I’m already scheduled off on Saturday. I’m really hoping, though, that we can have church on Sunday morning. I’ve missed two out of the last three Sundays, and am really feeling that. I desperately need the fellowship and Communion. Definitely missing the Body and Blood.
Here’s the Thursday Morning Devotional for this week. Very appropriate.
JESUS TIME
“Lord Jesus, by Your regenerating grace given in Baptism, You have made me a new creature through Your redeeming blood. I confess to You, Searcher of hearts, that in me also, that is in my sinful flesh, dwells all manner of evil thoughts, wicked desires, and sinful wishes. This evil is with me constantly and tarnishes my best efforts to do Your will; it plagues my conscience with guilt and shame. I come to You this morning confessing my own weakness and asking You, for the sake of Your suffering and death, to forgive me, to overlook my shortcomings, and to help me in my daily struggle against the old sinful nature. Do not let my flesh direct my thoughts and actions. Lovingly strengthen me so that I can daily put off the old man and all that he works against me, and put on the new man born in Baptism and created after You in righteousness and holiness. Daily make me purer in my desires, cleaner in my speech, and holier in my actions, so that I may be blameless in Your sight and a shining light in the world until You call me home and to perfection. Amen.”
(Lutheran Book of Prayer, Prayer 12, for Thursday Morning)
Omnipotent, heavenly Father, as I awake to a new dawn, I entrust my life to Your care and favor. I thank You for another day to serve You. The apostle Paul exhorts, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5); may my thoughts be fixed on You. As my body is Your temple, enable me to remember that my physical life is not my own, but is Yours. As my soul can find satisfaction only with faith in Christ, help me to bring honor and glory to Him in both word and deed. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, I pray. Amen.
(Portals of Prayer, Prayer for Thursday Morning)
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
(Matthew 7:7-8 ESV)
Today I am grateful:
- That as I read Scripture, I am encountering “the living word of the living God whose voice still carries resurrection power” (You Version Bible Plan, Awestruck)
- That God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways; He reveals Himself and His love whenever and wherever He chooses (Isaiah 55:8)
- For the ability to praise the Lord with all my heart, with my voice, and with musical instruments
- For His steadfast love that reaches to the heavens, and His faithfulness that stretches to the clouds (Psalm 108)
- For the grace upon grace that I have received (John 1:16)
Lord, in Your mercy, hear, now, the prayers lifted up to you for all who need strength, healing, comfort, and peace.
If you are reading this, I encourage you to stop and pray for someone, at this time. Or, if there is something on your heart, please leave a comment. What can I pray for you?
Psalm of the Day – Psalm 150
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!
(Psalms 150:1-6 ESV)
“Lord God,
may You be glorified
in every house of worship,
by every heart on sojourn,
every pilgrim,
exile,
son,
daughter,
who calls upon Your name!
Be lauded by
billowing cloud,
roaring thunder,
by sun,
moon,
star!
Be extolled for
Your power,
Your might,
Your justice,
Your love!
May Your fame be
sung,
sounded,
strummed,
thrummed,
drummed,
hummed!
May Your Gospel be
proclaimed in all the earth!
May Your glory be declared by all
living, breathing things –
all that is from You,
through You,
to You!
Be praised, Lord –
for Your sheltering mercy,
Your endless grace.
Amen
and
amen.”
(Endless Grace, Psalm 150, Sheltering Mercy, Endless Grace)
And thus ends another time through the Psalms. I will start all over tomorrow, while reading through a different book, this time, Words to God’s Music, by Laurance Wieder.
Out of everything that I read, this morning, the thing that spoke to me most (gave me chill bumps, in reality) was from the You Version Bible Plan, “Awestruck,” by Jen Weaver. I’m on day 22 of that 30-day reading plan.
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
(John 11:38-44 ESV)
“As you read the Bible today, you’re not just turning pages of history. You’re encountering the living word of our living God whose voice still carries resurrection power. The same voice that called Lazarus from the tomb speaks words of life to you today.”
“The same Word that spoke creation into being reversed death itself.” Earlier in the Gospel of John, Jesus had told His disciples, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” A few verses later, Peter says to Christ, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Jesus’s Words are LIFE! They don’t just give life, they are life! That is one of the reasons that I am so enjoying the current sermon series that my pastors are preaching, on “The Red Letters.” Starting last September, and going through this coming May, they are examining the words that Jesus spoke in Scripture. Words of LIFE! And as they preach? They are speaking that life into us, as well!
Hallelujah!
My Jesus, I praise You for Your Words. And I praise You that every time I open the Bible and read it, I am reading LIFE. I’m not just reading words on a page, I am not just reading inspiring stories. I am not just reading ancient history. I am reading YOU! I am reading LIFE into my very soul, because Your Words are life. Where else can I go, my Jesus?? You have the words of life!
Thank You, thank You, thank You!!
Amen!
Grace and peace, my brothers and sisters! Drink deep!
Because Jesus!! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love 