Posts from 2020 (Page 19)
Daily Devotions: June 4, 2020
June 4, 2020 Psalm 8:5-9 … “Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.” vs. 5 Even though the Psalmist was convinced of humankind’s insignificance in the universe, he also believed that we stand out from the rest of creation in some significant ways. We’re not like dogs or cats, or any other creature, and he likely didn’t come to that conclusion from reading Genesis. For him it was a simple…
Daily Devotions: June 3, 2020
June 3, 2020 Psalm 8:1-4 … “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” vss. 3-4 The Psalmist had likely spent long hours observing the wonders of the world. We can imagine him in the Judean hills, perhaps on a mountaintop, watching the sun go down and seeing the myriads of stars…
Daily Devotions: June 2, 2020
June 2, 2020 Genesis 1:25-2:4 … “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” vs. 27 According to Genesis 1, humankind is the crown of creation; we only show up when everything else has been done, and, more than that, we’re the only ones created in the image of God. It’s not surprising that the Hebrews wrote in this way. All the ancient storytellers put themselves in…
Daily Devotions: June 1, 2020
June 1, 2020 Genesis 1:1-24 … “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” vss. 1-2 In our time, scientists have given us a second-by-second-description of our universe’s origin, and there’s no reason for us to doubt their stories about the Big Bang and the development of galaxies and black holes.…
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…