The online editorial staff comprises Betsy Shirley, Jenna Barnett, Josiah R. Daniels, Mitchell Atencio, Heather Brady, Kierra Bennning, and Zachary Lee.

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Verse of the Day: Sharing Possessions

by the Web Editors 04-23-2013
With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. - Acts 4:33-35 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Prayer of the Day: 'Teach Us'

by the Web Editors 04-23-2013
Loving God, teach us to order the desires of our hearts according to the call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with you. Amen. -From Common Prayer

Verse of the Day: Earth Day

by the Web Editors 04-22-2013
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. ... God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. - Genesis 1:1-31 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Voice of the Day: Earth Day

by the Web Editors 04-22-2013
 We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. - Native American Proverb + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

Prayer of the Day: Earth Day

by the Web Editors 04-22-2013
Lord, we pray that today, on Earth day, you would remind us of the beauty and majesty of the universe you have created, specifically the earth we live on. Forgive us for the ways in which we have damaged it and change our minds and hearts so that we may take better care of the Earth you have made for us, previous, and subsequent generations. Amen.

Verse of the Day: 'Throw the First Stone'

by the Web Editors 04-19-2013
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. - John 8:7-9 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Prayer of the Day: Be Still

by the Web Editors 04-19-2013
God, sometimes it's easier for us to speak than to listen, easier to act than it is to be still. But God, help us to recogize the times in our lives that we need to be still, to have tranquility, to have silence. In those moments calm our nerves, let our feet and our hands rest in your presence. Amen.

Voice of the Day: William Booth

by the Web Editors 04-19-2013
Consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell. - William Booth At the end of the 19th century + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

BREAKING: One Boston Marathon Suspect Dead, Boston Virtually Shut Down in Search for Second

by the Web Editors 04-19-2013
The two bombing suspects, identified as brothers. Photo via FBI.gov

The two bombing suspects, identified as brothers. Photo via FBI.gov

Boston residents are waking up this morning to a virtual shutdown of many parts of the city after a contfrontation that left one of the marathon suspects dead, according to reports. An M.I.T. police officer was also killed. From NBC News

Law enforcement officials said the tumult began just before 11 p.m., when the suspects approached a police officer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and shot him in the head.

The two then stole the officer’s cruiser, robbed a nearby 7-Eleven, carjacked a Mercedes SUV and briefly kidnapped the driver, the sources said. The suspects threw explosives out the window during the chase that followed, they said. A Boston transit police officer was shot and wounded, authorities said.

The dead suspect — the man in the black hat from the FBI photos — had an improvised explosive device strapped to his chest, law enforcement officials said.

The two suspects have been identified as brothers — the one on the run identified as 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. 

This story is developing. 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Voice of the Day: An Aboriginal Activist Sister

by the Web Editors 04-18-2013
If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us walk together. - An Aboriginal Activist Sister + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

Verse of the Day: 'I Can Do Nothing on My Own'

by the Web Editors 04-18-2013
I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgement is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. - John 5:30 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Prayer of the Day: The Mourning

by the Web Editors 04-18-2013
Lord, we pray for all of the mourning people today, both from the explosions in Texas and Boston. May your Spirit comfort them and heal them in time. Amen.

Fertilizer Plant Explodes in West, Texas

by the Web Editors 04-18-2013
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Smoke rises in the distance about half a mile from the West Fertilizer Company April 18. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A fertilizer plant exploded Wednesday evening, killing at least five and injuring more than 100, according to CNN. From the report: 

"Nothing at this point indicates we have had criminal activity, but we are not ruling that out," said Sgt. William Patrick Swanton of the nearby Waco Police Department.

A more immediate question is how high the death toll will rise.

It could be between five and 15, Swanton said. Dr. George Smith, the city's emergency management system director, said it could spike to 60 or 70.

"We have two EMS personnel that are dead for sure, and there may be three firefighters that are dead," Smith said.

Background Checks Proposal Fails (VIDEO)

by the Web Editors 04-17-2013

The U.S. Senate has just failed to get 60 votes on a bipartisan proposal to expand gun sale background checks. Politico reports:

“The vote was 54-46, with only four Republicans crossing the aisle and voting with the Democrats in favor of the bipartisan proposal by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). Sixty votes were needed.”

Four months after the Newtown massacre, a compromise measure that would have banned no guns, no magazines, is apparently still too strong. And what is especially outrageous is the continued abuse of the filibuster, requiring 60 votes for anything to pass the Senate. Is there any other legislative body in the world where a proposal can pass by 8 votes and lose?

Verse of the Day: Trust In a Time of Trouble

by the Web Editors 04-17-2013
Fig trees may no longer bloom, or vineyards produce grapes; olive trees may be fruitless, and harvest time a failure; sheep pens may be empty, and cattle stalls vacant — but I will still celebrate because the LORD God saves me. (The Poverty and Justice Bible) - Habakkuk 3:17-18 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail

Voice of the Day: Therese of Lisieux

by the Web Editors 04-17-2013
The only way to make rapid progress along the path of divine love is to remain very little and put all our trust in Almight God. - Saint Therese of Lisieux + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

Prayer of the Day: Come Quickly, Lord

by the Web Editors 04-17-2013
This marathon tragedy drives us again to our Maranatha cry — "Come quickly, Lord" — and set things right. In the meantime, may we live as agents of your Kingdom — showing and sharing the love of Jesus to a broken and lost world. Running toward the blast, toward the suffering in order to help, instead of away from it—like the first responders did in the incredible video of bomb blast at the finish line. A Prayer by Ed Stetzer

Voice of the Day: Eugene Cho

by the Web Editors 04-16-2013
I can't explain everything but I know this:  In both the joys and pains of life, God is with you. God rejoices and mourns with you. You are not alone. - Eugene Cho + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail

Prayer of the Day: Boston

by the Web Editors 04-16-2013
Lord, we pray for the grieving victims and families in Boston. May the Spirit comfort all in their suffering. Amen.

Verse of the Day: 'The Light Shines in the Darkness'

by the Web Editors 04-16-2013
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:5 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail