Jefferson VFW Post 10373

06/06/2026

Chaplain's Corner
Daily Devotions
Scripture, Meditation, and Prayer for Every Day
Richard Kew
Saturday, June 6, 2026


Genesis 26:34-35
When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.


Thought for the Day
I guess that for most of my life when reading Genesis, my eyes have slid over this short passage, it has hardly registered in my mind. Today, while doing my preparation, it caught my attention and I realized how important it is.

We have skipped over much of Genesis 26 that focuses on the public face of Isaac, the father of the twins, Esau and Jacob. Now as that chapter ends, we come back to these boys and the important business of whom they should marry. Abraham and his kin had come into the land of Canaan at roughly the same time as a larger tribal network known as the Hittites. The smaller tribe of Hebrews were semi-nomads living among Hittites, so Esau off and marries one of the Hittite daughters, immediately compromising the witness of their covenant call to be God’s faithful ones through whom all the families of the world would be blessed. Now there were huge tensions in this extended family between Rebekah and Esau’s wife, Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite. The home is always the place where such stresses are played out.

This presents a message that echoes through Scripture about the importance of who it is we marry. I was taught as a young Christian that the two most important decisions I make in life are firstly to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and the second who my spouse should be. My beloved Rosemary began shaping me and my faith far more than I ever realized when we were twenty-one and twenty respectively, marrying 18 months later. Esau made a choice that brought turmoil to the family, and as we will see tomorrow, his father seemed willing to bless it.


Thanksgiving for the Day
We give thanks to God for the witness of Christian families.


Intercession for the Day
Let us offer to God in prayer all the members of our family, that they may serve Christ.


Collect for the Day
God of compassion, whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home in Nazareth, and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself: strengthen us in our daily living
that in joy and in sorrow we may know the power of your presence
to bind together and to heal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(A Prayer for family life from the Church of England)


Readings for the Day
Genesis 26:34-35, Psalm 55, Galatians 3:15-22, Mark 12:38-44

06/06/2026

Daily Devotions
Scripture, Meditation, and Prayer for Every Day
Richard Kew
Saturday, June 6, 2026


Genesis 26:34-35
When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.


Thought for the Day
I guess that for most of my life when reading Genesis, my eyes have slid over this short passage, it has hardly registered in my mind. Today, while doing my preparation, it caught my attention and I realized how important it is.

We have skipped over much of Genesis 26 that focuses on the public face of Isaac, the father of the twins, Esau and Jacob. Now as that chapter ends, we come back to these boys and the important business of whom they should marry. Abraham and his kin had come into the land of Canaan at roughly the same time as a larger tribal network known as the Hittites. The smaller tribe of Hebrews were semi-nomads living among Hittites, so Esau off and marries one of the Hittite daughters, immediately compromising the witness of their covenant call to be God’s faithful ones through whom all the families of the world would be blessed. Now there were huge tensions in this extended family between Rebekah and Esau’s wife, Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite. The home is always the place where such stresses are played out.

This presents a message that echoes through Scripture about the importance of who it is we marry. I was taught as a young Christian that the two most important decisions I make in life are firstly to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and the second who my spouse should be. My beloved Rosemary began shaping me and my faith far more than I ever realized when we were twenty-one and twenty respectively, marrying 18 months later. Esau made a choice that brought turmoil to the family, and as we will see tomorrow, his father seemed willing to bless it.


Thanksgiving for the Day
We give thanks to God for the witness of Christian families.


Intercession for the Day
Let us offer to God in prayer all the members of our family, that they may serve Christ.


Collect for the Day
God of compassion, whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home in Nazareth, and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself: strengthen us in our daily living
that in joy and in sorrow we may know the power of your presence
to bind together and to heal; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(A Prayer for family life from the Church of England)


Readings for the Day
Genesis 26:34-35, Psalm 55, Galatians 3:15-22, Mark 12:38-44

06/04/2026

Chaplain's Corner
Daily Devotions
Scripture, Meditation, and Prayer for Every Day
Richard Kew
Thursday, June 4, 2026


Genesis 25:19-28
These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other,

the older shall serve the younger.”

24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.


Thought for the Day
During the next few days we will be looking at the life of Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, the grandson of Abraham and Sarah. Scripture is careful to record the family genealogy, and while this does not make good devotional reading the content is often fascinating. Abraham having moved westward to the coastland of the Mediterranean sends back to his birth family, now fully settled in Haran (northern Iraq) for a wife for his son – and his servant comes back with Rebekah. It is not difficult to imagine the monthly disappointment of both Isaac and Rebekah when there is no pregnancy so, of course, Isaac prayed. This might be better interpreted as Isaac praying up a storm while, perhaps, Rebekah wept up a storm. She was desperate for motherhood, for Isaac’s children.

Finally, at the time of God’s choosing, she became uncomfortably pregnant.

As the weeks passed, it came upon her that this was not a normal pregnancy. Maybe with the help of one of the older local women who acted as a midwife, she learned that she was expecting twins. She had been, like Isaac, praying and somehow the Lord told her:

“Two nations are in your womb

and two peoples from within you shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other,

the older shall serve the younger.”

The human race has been conscious of sibling rivalry since Cain and Abel, here is forecast a contentiousness every bit as intense as theirs. Thus, we are introduced to Jacob and his elder brother by seconds, Esau. The twins made mother and father proud, but from the outset their friction was accentuated by parental favoritism.


Thanksgiving for the Day
We praise the Lord for loving parents.


Intercession for the Day
We pray that the Lord will give wisdom to ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren when raising the next generation.


Collect for the Day
Almighty God, heavenly Father, you have blessed our families with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

(Adapted from a prayer for children in the Book of Common Prayer)


Readings for the Day
Genesis 25:19-28, Psalm 25, Galatians 2:11-21, Mark 12:28-34

06/03/2026

Chaplain's Corner
Daily Devotions
Scripture, Meditation, and Prayer for Every Day
Richard Kew
Wednesday, June 3, 2026



John 20:1-11
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb…


Thought for the Day
The way that John phrases this telling of the Easter morning story suggests that the women may have come as a group, but Mary Magdalene seems to have arrived there first. Running on ahead, she was probably both scared and anxious, what greeted her was an empty tomb, and her worst fears were realized. Already in running mode, she dashed back to where the apostles were and broke the news that the body had been stolen from grave. Peter and John then charged off to the garden where the tomb was, Mary Magdalene likely lagging behind them. In the ancient world the testimony of a woman was usually treated as suspect (!), they needed to check that Mary Magdalene was telling the truth. Finally, everyone was gone but Mary lingered, somehow, she did not want to leave, there was something here she could not grasp. This was when the risen Jesus came to her, she thought he was the gardener – but then as he said her name she knew that it was him. It became her privilege to demonstrate her trustworthiness by taking the good news to his followers. Thus, there she was the first witness and missionary in the history of Christian believing.


Thanksgiving for the Day
We praise God for those great women who in Christ have lived out the Good News in so many ways.


Intercession for the Day
Let us pray for the women who have followed in Mary Magdalene’s footsteps. Praying especially for Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury.


Collect for the Day
Lord Jesus Christ, who didst stretch out thine arms of love
on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come
within the reach of thy saving embrace: So clothe us in thy
Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring
those who do not know thee to the knowledge and love of
thee; for the honor of thy Name. Amen.

(From Morning Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer)


Readings for the Day
Deuteronomy 13:1-11, Psalm 123, Galatians 1:18-2:10, John 20:1-18

06/02/2026

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Learn more at your local VFW Post or check out texasvfw.org

05/31/2026

Chaplain's Corner
Daily Devotions
Scripture, Meditation, and Prayer for Every Day
Richard Kew
Sunday, May 31, 2026

Trinity Sunday

Luke 8:1-3
Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.


Thought for the Day
We return to Mary Magdalene because there is more to say about her. Firstly, she was very likely not the woman with a questionable reputation who anointed Jesus’s feet in the Pharisee’s hose (Luke 7:28-40), a notion became popular half a millennium later when championed by Pope Gregory the Great! She was, I believe, very much a strong personality who had perhaps been one of those life-and-soul of the party types. There is no mention of her ever marrying, and the notion that she was Jesus’s girlfriend is absurd. She obviously came from a monied background and as she shared her resources, she encouraged other women of means who had come to Jesus, to do the same. During my ordained life I have met several Mary Magdalenes, affluent, colorful ladies whose lives have been totally turned round by their faith in the Lord. That Mary was a leader among women is clear from the fact that she was at the foot of the cross, at the burial in the garden tomb, and was the first to meet the risen Jesus on the first Easter day. After the ascension her name does not appear again in Scripture, although there is no reason to believe that she was not one of the women there at the ascension, and with the disciples at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). We praise God for this forerunner of so many devout women whose lives have transformed the church.


Thanksgiving for the Day
On this Trinity Sunday we thank the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the multitude of women whose lives have shone forth Jesus Christ.


Intercession for the Day
We pray for the whole church of God that we might always glorify the triune God.


Collect for the Day
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity: keep us steadfast in this faith, that we may evermore be defended from all adversities; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

(The Collect for Trinity Sunday)


Readings for the Day
Genesis 1:1-2:4, Psalm 8, 2 Corinthians 12:11-13, Luke 8:1-3

05/30/2026

05/30/2026

Daily Devotions
Scripture, Meditation, and Prayer for Every Day
Richard Kew
Saturday, May 30, 2026

Luke 8:1-3
Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.


Thought for the Day
Reading of Christ’s Passion, there is a group of women who had clearly been significant players in his miistry, yet like a Greek chorus they hover in the background every now and again breaking forth for a moment at center stage. Given that women seldom had a high profile in that age, we cannot help but realize that they were far more significant players than the amount of space they occupy in the New Testament’s text. The alpha female among them is, without doubt, Mary Magdalene. In the next few days, we are going to look at her part in the life of Christ with some care. However, she was certainly not the personage Dan Brown describes in his questionable novel The da Vinci Code!

This short passage in Luke tells us that part of Jesus’s retinue is a group of mostly influential women who supported his work and enabled the Savior’s ministry.

Mary hailed from Magdala, a Galilean lakeside town that played a significant role in the fishing industry and trade. Perhaps this is the source of her personal means. The fact that she was cured of demon possession by Jesus suggests that she could very well have lived a fairly wild existence before Jesus, the healer, came on the scene, turning around the mess that had been her life.

Down through the century the Christian story is littered with lives that were in disarray being turned round by meeting Jesus of Nazareth.


Thanksgiving for the Day
We praise the living God for the great saints like Mary Magdalene, Augustine of Hippo, Francis of Assisi, whose broken lives were transformed by the love of Christ encountering them.


Intercession for the Day
Pray for someone known to you whose life is in confusion and who needs the love and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.


Collect for the Day
Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made us one with your saints in heaven and on earth: Grant that in our earthly pilgrimage we may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer,
and know ourselves to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy; for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whom all our intercessions are acceptable through the Spirit, and who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(A prayer of gratitude for the saints of the faith in heaven and on earth)


Readings for the Day
Proverbs 25:15-28, Psalm 63, Jude 1, Luke 8:1-3