Posts from May 2020
Daily Devotions: May 31, 2020
May 31, 2020 John 20:21-23 … “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” When John wrote his Gospel he evidently didn’t have access to the stories used by Luke some years before. So he doesn’t include anything about a Pentecost outpouring of the Holy Spirit with tongues as of fire and…
Daily Devotions: May 30, 2020
May 30, 2020 John 20:19-20 … “After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” vs. 20 It’s interesting that, according to John, the wounds of Jesus were not obliterated by his resurrection. Indeed, their presence as scars on his body are proof of his identity. The disciples knew who he was for sure only when they saw the marks left by the nails and the spear. That…
Daily Devotions: May 29, 2020
May 29, 2020 1 Corinthians 12:9-13 … “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” vs. 12 For centuries the Church has acknowledged that it is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. There is little argument among Christians that these Marks, or Attributes, have a solid foundation in the teachings of the New Testament, and most theologians would agree that they…
Daily Devotions: May 28, 2020
May 28, 2020 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-8 … “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” vs. 7 It had become obvious to the Corinthians that there were differences among them, and as is the custom among sinners, they believed that those differences marked a kind of hierarchy. Some of them had greater gifts, ones that were of more value, and they would, of course, hold dominant positions in the community. In others gifts were…
Daily Devotions: May 27, 2020
May 27, 2020 Psalm 104:24-34 … “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures…When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” vss. 24, 30 Through billions of years the hand of our imaginative and inventive Creator has been molding and sustaining the amazing variety of stars, galaxies, black holes, and dark matter that provide the backdrop for our…
Daily Devotions: May 26, 2020
Excuse the lateness. We have had a Microsoft update and several days of devotions are “swirling in place” instead of being delivered to you all. If you have received early June ones, the same thing–technology is great when it works, Hallelujah! May 26, 2020 Acts 2:12-21 … “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see…
Daily Devotions: May 25, 2020
May 25, 2020 Acts 2:1-11 … “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” vs. 2 The disciples had sensed that there was more coming after Jesus’ death and resurrection, but they didn’t know what it might be. Some were likely still looking for an overthrow of the oppressive occupation, but they had no clear direction; so they waited in Jerusalem and continued…
Daily Devotions: May 24, 2020
May 24, 2020 John 17:7-11 … “And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” vs. 11 According to the Gospels, there was a kind of unity among Jesus and his disciples that was of great value. He was able to send them out in his…
Daily Devotions: May 23, 2020
May 23, 2020 John 17:1-6 … “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.” vs. 4 According to John, Jesus glorified God by finishing the work that he had been given to do. It’s no accident then that in John’s Gospel, Jesus’ last words from the cross are, “It is finished!” He had completed his mission and was ready for whatever came next. This isn’t a bad model for those who desire to…
Daily Devotions: May 22, 2020
May 22, 2020 1 Peter 5:6-11 … “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.” vs. 6 The longer we live in this world the more likely it is that we will come to understand the virtues of humility. We just don’t have all the answers and we don’t have solutions to every problem. Some things are beyond the capacity of human minds to comprehend or figure out. Naturally, some…
Daily Devotions: May 21, 2020
May 21, 2020 1 Peter 4:12-14 … “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” vs 12 Believers are regularly promised in the New Testament writings that they should not be surprised when suffering came their way. Times were different and persecutions came sporadically but inevitably to people of faith. They are told by their leaders that they should regard these ordeals…
Daily Devotions: May 20, 2020
May 20, 2020 Psalm 68:32-35 … “Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord, Selah” vs. 32 The word Selah occurs 71 times in the Psalms, always at the end of a verse, and no one knows what it means! Oh, some scholars have made guesses. Many say it is some sort of a liturgical direction that was used in temple worship, perhaps signaling a pause, but no one really knows for sure. Undoubtedly, at…