Posts from 2018 (Page 18)
Daily Devotions: June 11 , 2018
June 11, 2018 Ezekiel 17:22-24…“Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.” vs. 22 Ezekiel writes from Babylon at a time of crisis and turmoil in Jerusalem. The expected military help from Egypt had not arrived and the last Davidic…
Daily Devotions: June 10 , 2018
June 10, 2018 Mark 3:31-35…“And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” vss. 34-35 We get mixed messages from scripture about Jesus’ relationship with his family. John and Luke indicate that by the end of his life, Mary and his brother, James, were on board with his mission, but Mark tells us there was a disconnect early on.…
Daily Devotions: June 9 , 2018
June 9, 2018 Mark 3:20-30…“When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’” vs. 21 It’s disheartening sometimes to realize how many naysayers there are among us. As soon as someone attains some measure of notoriety, background investigations are launched and inevitably dirt begins to appear in the news. We hear all the old stories of past indiscretions and unsubstantiated accusations–and some of us love it. We…
A Special Feeling for Veterans
When Richard and Nancy Christiansen of Ann Arbor, Michigan built a winter condo in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2000, they were introduced to Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center in Carefree by Pastor Bob Hutson. Over the years Richard and Nancy have attended day lectures at the retreat center, and during one Christmas, their entire family were guests at the center for a special family Christmas celebration. Richard said, “Spirit in the Desert is a special place for renewal and healing…
Daily Devotions: June 8 , 2018
June 8, 2018 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1…“So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” vs. 16 Our situation is very different from that of the Thessalonians, yet our concerns are similar. Paul had assured them that the Day of Lord was at hand, that Jesus would be returning soon, but nothing had happened. Instead, they were getting older and some of them had died. So he…
Daily Devotions: June 7 , 2018
June 7, 2018 2 Corinthians 4:13-15…“But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—’I believed, and so I spoke’ —we also believe, and so we speak,…” vs. 13 It’s hard to know exactly what has generated faith in any believer. With some, it seems to have been there since childhood. They can’t remember any particular moment in which they first believed. With Paul, it was an encounter with the Risen Christ on the…
Daily Devotions: June 6 , 2018
June 6, 2018 Psalm 130…“If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.” vss. 3-4 There are those who believe that God keeps a detailed record of our entire lives, and has therefore taken note of all our sins and indiscretions from the times of our youth until the present. The psalmist notes that if that were indeed the case all of us would be doomed.…
Daily Devotions: June 5, 2018
June 5, 2018 Genesis 3:11-15…“The man said, ’The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’” vs. 12 This story’s truth nails us. Oh, how we love to blame others for our sins! The man manages to blame both God and the woman for his disobedience. “She did it, God! And if you hadn’t made her, things would be just fine. So it’s really all your fault, God!” Over and…
Daily Devotions: June 4, 2018
June 4, 2018 Genesis 3:8-10…“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” vs. 8 These stories from the Genesis 2 and 3 are amazing for the breadth of their understanding of human nature. In them, we see a down-to-earth God who forms and shapes the man from clay…
Daily Devotions: June 3, 2018
June 3, 2018 Mark 3:1-6…“He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.” vs. 5 When Jesus had asked the religious leaders if it was lawful to do good on the sabbath they were silent. Even though the answer would have been obvious even to a child, they were tongue-tied and Jesus was furious. Was this…
Daily Devotions: June 2, 2018
June 2, 2018 Mark 2:23-28…“Then he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath;’” vs. 27 The sabbath had been a great gift for the people of God, a commandment that actually mandated rest, and it was one that they were glad to keep and observe. But through the years, great debates had arisen among them about the types of activities that were permitted on that day. By Jesus’ day, the rules regarding…
Daily Devotions: June 1, 2018
June 1, 2018 2 Corinthians 4:8-12…“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” vss. 8-9 If Paul had ever thought that Jesus had called him to a life of privilege and prosperity, he had quickly been disabused of that notion. On nearly every step of his journey he had faced opposition and adversity, and sometimes had been forced to endure significant physical and emotional…