Posts from 2018 (Page 30)
Daily Devotions: January 24, 2018
Psalm 111:1-5 “Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” vs. 1 With the exception of a few hermits through the centuries, the people of God have always enjoyed coming together for worship. While it’s possible to serve God in isolation, being part of a congregation provides a huge benefit for the faithful. Often we don’t notice how precious those times together really are, but…
Daily Devotions: January 23, 2018
Deuteronomy 18:17-20 “But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die.” vs. 20 When the Israelites began to review their history and write it down they recognized how important it was have leaders who brought them genuine words from the Lord. They needed prophets with integrity, not charlatans who spoke to enrich themselves or to ingratiate…
Daily Devotions: January 22, 2018
Deuteronomy 18:15-16 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet.” vs. 15 The people of Israel remembered Moses with fondness. According to their tradition it was he who had given them the Deuteronomic laws that had cemented their identity. And he was the one who had promised that God would raise up prophets like himself to bring them new marching orders in times of…
Daily Devotions: January 21, 2018
Mark 1:17-20 “And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” vss. 17-18 Jesus doesn’t seem to have done any background check before calling his first disciples…and they didn’t ask for a job description before they responded. There’s a sense of urgency in Mark’s account, both in the invitation and in the response. The kingdom of God is at hand and Jesus needs help in…
Daily Devotions: January 20, 2018
Mark 1:14-16 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’” vss. 14-15 It’s almost as though John’s arrest was a signal for Jesus, a sign that it was time for his ministry to begin, and he comes back from the Jordan to his home territory to begin preaching in earnest. The core…
Daily Devotions: January 19, 2018
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 “I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none,” vs. 29 Paul probably never dreamed that he’d be getting questions about sex from the congregation in Corinth…but that’s what had happened and now he struggles to answer. We have to give him credit…at least he tries, even though in our context his advice seems hopelessly outdated. We can only pity…
Daily Devotions: January 18, 2018
Psalm 62: 9-12 “Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.” vs. 10 Today’s psalm provides a window into the Judean culture of 2500 years ago and it’s amazing to see that folks then were driven by the same passions that inflame us. There was a common desire for riches and some used extortion and robbery as a means to wealth…not much different from 21st century…
Daily Devotions: January 17, 2018
Psalm 62:5-8 “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.” vs. 5 Every day we are besieged by “breaking news” from around the world. Breathless commentators go on and on about a new tweet, an uptick in the stock market, a terrorist attack in a subway, an earthquake, a massive snow storm….the list goes on and on…and our little minds can scarcely take it in. And then we wonder. If it’s all so important…
Daily Devotions: January 16, 2018
Jonah 3:5,10 “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.” vs. 10 Love changed God’s mind about the fate of Nineveh. Jonah didn’t much care about God’s decision but anyone who has loved from the heart will understand. When someone for whom we care deeply returns from the dark side we will open…
Daily Devotions: January 15, 2018
Jonah 3:1-4 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” v. 2 Jonah did not like his mission assignment! Nineveh was the capital city of the hated Assyrians and Jonah had zero love for the country or its people. But he had no choice but to go…when he’d tried to escape the draft by fleeing across the sea the Lord had summoned a great fish to bring him back. The…
Daily Devotions: January 14, 2018
John 1:47-51 “Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’” vs. 50 Nathaniel was expecting to meet a carpenter’s son from Nazareth when he went with Philip. Instead he encountered Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, the king of Israel and he was blown away, turned from a doubter to a believer within moments of their introduction. Nathaniel’s faith story is the first…
Daily Devotions: January 13, 2018
John 1:43-46 “Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’” vs. 46 Nathanael knew Nazareth. It was a sleepy little town in the hills and had no history to speak of…it wasn’t even mentioned in any of the Hebrew scriptures. From his perspective it seemed unlikely that it would produce the long-awaited messiah and his answer to Philip reveals his scepticism. But Philip doesn’t argue…this wasn’t the sort of issue…