Posts from October 2020 (Page 3)
Daily Devotions
Matthew 22:8-14 … “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless.” vss.11-12 Pastors love passages like this! On the surface the king’s response to the man’s breach of wedding etiquette seems heavy-handed, and a violation of the Jesus kindness principle. So preachers get to do a…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 22:1-7 … “But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them.” vss. 5-6 This parable obviously packed a punch for Pharisees when they heard it. They immediately ratcheted up their plans to eliminate Jesus–for them he was nothing but a troublemaker. For us it’s interesting, but not easily relatable–we don’t live in a time of regional kings and royal wedding…
Daily Devotions
Philippians 4:6-9 … “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” vs.8 Over the last few weeks, as we’ve dealt with the pandemic and the presidential election campaign, many have become despondent at the tone and the mood of social discourse. As rhetoric grows more harsh and divisions solidify it gets…
Daily Devotions
Philippians 4:1-5 … “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” vss. 4-5 Paul tells the Philippians in the closing part of his letter that the “Lord is near.” Most often we read these words as a kind of warning–Paul wants the Philippians to be on their best behavior when Jesus returns–and it could be that this is what he has in mind. But it’s more likely…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 23 …“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” vs. 5 The psalmist was familiar with the banqueting table image that is so dear to our hearts as we consider our future life in Christ. In this familiar psalm he expands that vision in an unexpected way, and assures us that one day we will be at table in the presence of our enemies. Some have…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 25:6-9 … “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.” vs. 6 As the people of God have looked toward the future, prophets like Isaiah have painted vivid pictures of the magnificent banquet that will be prepared for us by the Lord. This feast of victory will provide the best food imaginable, rich goodies…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 25:1-5 … “For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.” vs. 4 Isaiah has nothing but praise and thanks for God, saying “I will exalt you; for you have done wonderful things,” and this time he doesn’t have in mind great victories in battle or economic gain for the nobility. On this occasion, perhaps after famine or forced migration,…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 21:42-46 … “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.” vs. 45 The religious leaders of the Jews were not lacking in intelligence–they got the point of Jesus’ parables and knew that he had been talking about them. But it made absolutely no difference in their behavior. They did not repent of their foolish ways and become his followers. Instead they began to plot about how they might arrest…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 21:33-41 … “They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’” vs. 41 The religious leaders were quick to give Jesus the right answer when he asked them about the parable of the vineyard. The tenants had acted in such a despicable way that they deserved the wrath of the landowner. What the Pharisees didn’t get was that…
Daily Devotions
Philippians 3:10-14 … “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” vss. 13-14 There are some who believe that life in this world is a kind of qualifying test for the new life that has been promised to us in Christ…
Daily Devotions
Philippians 3:4b-9 … “More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ…” vs. 8 When Paul, the zealous credentialed Pharisee, was encountered by the Risen Christ, the trajectory of his life changed completely. It wasn’t that he’d been a shameful sinner, he’d in fact lived a…