Piney Mountain United Methodist Church

06/08/2026

A Scripture Thought
June 8, 2026
(A Brief Devotional)
Psalm 139:19-24

19 If only you, God, would kill the wicked. Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 For they speak against You wickedly. Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 God, don't I hate those who hate You? Am I not grieved with those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred. They have become my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.
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Today we will look a bit at a Biblical character dealing with hard times, and how he handled it. This is a somewhat angry and violent sounding but also probably very honest passage. Sometimes it just seems like it would be so simple if evil were just wiped out. And, our writer of the Psalm, David, had a lot of evil to deal with.
Reading to the end we see him seeking for God to look at him as well, to know him, to help him be sure none of the wicked ways were his own, and to lead him in the way he should go. May we look to God for protection from evil, both around and within.
By Sharon Bagwell

06/08/2026

06/07/2026

A Brief Sunday Thought
June 7, 2026
Job 1:13-20

13 It fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house,
14 that there came a messenger to Job, and said, "The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them,
15 and the Sabeans attacked, and took them away. Yes, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you."
16 While he was still speaking, there also came another, and said, "The fire of God has fallen from the sky, and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you."
17 While he was still speaking, there came also another, and said, "The Chaldeans made three bands, and swept down on the camels, and have taken them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you."
18 While he was still speaking, there came also another, and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house,
19 and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young men, and they are dead. I alone have escaped to tell you."
20 Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshiped.
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Today we look again at Job. Look at the last line of this passage! All these horrible things happen to him, and Job worships. Just because God is God, Job still worships. This is, I'm afraid, not the usual response to the kind of loss and suffering Job was going through. How do we handle hard times? We can, even if the response of Job seems beyond us, bring our cries and pleas to God, a God Who always cares about our distress.
By Sharon Bagwell
Credit for artwork:
Glory Story / FreeBibleimages.org.

06/06/2026

A Saturday Devotional
June 6, 2026

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

John 10:27

I have heard that sheep don't do very well without a good bit of care. I read that they tend to wander and get themselves into predicaments that can prove dangerous and have to be rescued, because they aren't good at solving their problems on their own. They get lost easily, then tend to get agitated and wander more. They are defenseless animals, can fall victim to dangers around them, and even tend to get in poor physical condition without the shepherd's care. In other words, domestic sheep are totally dependent on the shepherd.
As I thought about sheep's behavior I thought about how Jesus sure knew what He was talking about when He compared us to sheep. We're good wanderers and sometimes really bad problem solvers, we worry about how to fix the situations that we find ourselves in, and even though we often forget to say thanks to God, we are dependent on Him for our very survival.
May we be good followers of our Shepherd.
By Sharon Bagwell

06/05/2026

A Scripture Thought
June 5, 2026
(A Brief Devotional)
Genesis 37:12-22

12 His brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” He said to him, “Here I am.”
14 He said to him, “Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again.” So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock.”
17 The man said, “They have left here, for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”
Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan. 18 They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Behold, this dreamer comes. 20 Come now therefore, and let’s kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured him.’ We will see what will become of his dreams.”
21 Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take his life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.
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The dreamer, this was the name Joseph's brothers gave to him. I wanted to take a break from our recent look at Job and think about this scripture today in connection with the way God's plans are always completed, no matter what may get in the way. Sometimes it looks like evil things happen and make it harder to see God at work. The dreams Joseph had shared must have frightened his brothers, and since they didn't like him anyway, murder entered the plan. (I've wondered how Reuben planned to continue protecting Joseph if his idea had succeeded.) There must have been a tremendous amount of jealousy in this somewhat dysfunctional family for it to come to this. His dreams challenged the future of the brothers, perhaps even the inheritance. But we know that God had a part in Joseph's plans for his future, and that would be fulfilled no matter what. May we always work with, and not against, God's plans.
By Sharon Bagwell