Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
On 05/18/2025,
in Emotion, ethics, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, morals/values, parents/guardians, relationships, religion, society, youth,
by Daniel Christian
On 05/05/2025,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
On 04/09/2025,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.
On 04/04/2025,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us return to the Lord.
22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
On 03/28/2025,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Psalm 29:1-2
A psalm of David.
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
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On 03/05/2025,
in ethics, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, morals/values, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Two of our small groups at church have been watching The Chosen. The discussions have been deep and valuable. The series gives us a clear picture of the cultural things that were going on when Jesus Christ came into our world, in the flesh. We have grown closer to the LORD and to each other. If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend this professionally done video series. The LORD’s fingerprints are all over it!
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Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Praise to the God of All Comfort
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
On 02/14/2025,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
On 02/07/2025,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
11 “‘Do not steal.
“‘Do not lie.
“‘Do not deceive one another.
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. 5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
13 “‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.
“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
On 01/28/2025,
in ethics, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
Proverbs 17:3
“The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.”
Proverbs 17:9
“Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.”
Proverbs 17:15
“Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the Lord detests them both.”
Psalms 28:7-9
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.”
Psalms 30:8-10
“To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.””
On 01/22/2025,
in ethics, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, morals/values, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
On 01/08/2025,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
Of David.
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Revelation 7:12
…saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.
On 12/22/2024,
in faith, future, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
On 12/05/2024,
in business, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, ethics, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, leadership, morals/values, relationships, religion, society, sociology, strategy, trends, United States, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
I opened up a BRAND NEW box of cereal from Post the other day. As I looked down into the package, I realized that it was roughly half full. (This has happened many times before, but it struck me so much this time that I had to take pictures of it and post this item.)
.
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Looks can be deceiving for sure. It looks like I should have been getting a full box of cereal…but no…only about half of the package was full. It’s another example of the shrinkflation of things — which can also be described as people deceptively ripping other people off.
“As long as I’m earning $$, I don’t care how it impacts others.” <– That’s not me talking, but it’s increasingly the perspective that many Americans have these days. We don’t bother with ethics and morals…how old-fashioned can you get, right? We just want to make as much money as possible and to hell with how our actions/products are impacting others.
Another example from the food industry is one of the companies that I worked for in the 1990’s — Kraft Foods. Kraft has not served peoples’ health well at all. Even when they tried to take noble steps to provide healthier foods, other food executives/companies in the industry wouldn’t hop on board. They just wanted to please Wall Street, not Main Street. So companies like Kraft have contributed to the current situations that we face which involve obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, and other ailments. (Not to mention increased health care costs.)
The gambling industry doesn’t give a rip about people either. Look out for the consequences.
And the cannabis industry joins the gambling industry...and they’re often right on the doorsteps of universities and colleges.
Bottom line reflection:
There are REAL ramifications when we don’t take Christ’s words/commands to love one another seriously (or even to care about someone at all). We’re experiencing such ramifications EVERY DAY now.
On 11/27/2024,
in Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
On 11/13/2024,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
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19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.