Posts from 2021 (Page 24)
Daily Devotions
They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?’” vss. 37-38 Luke 24:36b-43 According to the stories that Luke had investigated, the disciples were not expecting Jesus to rise from the dead. At first they dismissed the women’s report of an empty tomb as an idle tale, but Peter’s verification of the story got them thinking. And when Jesus showed…
Daily Devotions
You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.” vss. 5-6 1 John 3:4-7 Just a few paragraphs earlier John had told his readers that anyone who said they did not sin was a liar, and we would heartily agree. That certainly fits our experience! But he doesn’t mean to imply that we should…
Daily Devotions
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” vs. 1 1 John 3:1-3 Love is the most powerful force in the universe! It’s been there from the beginning and defines the very nature of God. Love has been breathed into our lives from the moment of birth and sustains us until…
Daily Devotions
There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!’” vs. 6 Psalm 4:5-8 Twenty-five hundred years ago there were people wandering around Jerusalem, shaking their heads in disgust at the constant stream of bad news that daily came their way. They longed for good news–and so do we! There are daily reports of political scandals, international tensions, and the continuing effects of the global COVID shutdown.…
Daily Devotions
When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent.” vs. 4 Psalm 4:1-4 The psalmist is here advising his enemies to think twice about the harm they might intend to do to him. Rather than simply acting on their feelings and saying something they will regret, he says they should take to their beds, consider options and then be silent. This is timeless wisdom! Many of us are plagued by runaway tongues and end…
Daily Devotions
And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.” vss. 17-18 Acts 3:12-19 According to Luke’s account, after the healing of the crippled beggar, a crowd gathered around Peter and John in the temple precincts. Peter uses the opportunity to confront them with their complicity in the death of Jesus, in whose name the man had…
Daily Devotions
But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” vs. 31 John 20:26-31 We don’t really know who John was. Although there has been a ton of speculation about his identity he remains shrouded in mystery. But what we do know is his reason for writing the book that bears his name–he wanted his readers to know that…
Daily Devotions
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” vss. 22-23 John 20:19-25 The gospel writer John understood that the Holy Spirit could not be contained and said that it was like the wind. We could hear the sound of it but not know where it was coming from, or where…
Daily Devotions
All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.” vs. 24 1 John 3:23-24 We do a lot of talking about the Holy Spirit in our congregations and some people are eager to claim that they possess the Spirit, thereby implying that there are many who don’t. As a result there are folks who go through life wondering…
Daily Devotions
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” vs. 18 1 John 3:18-22 From the beginning faith communities have known that there are some who are adept at talking the talk, but who don’t come close to walking the walk. And sadly, these are the ones who are mostly responsible for the widespread opinion that all Christians are hypocrites. Even though they’re a minority among believers, their inability or unwillingness to love in…
Daily Devotions
How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?” vs. 17 1 John 3:16-17 Sometimes the words of scripture are so plain and obvious that it’s impossible to miss their point. There’s no way to squirm out of the spotlight they shine on our lives. That’s the way it is with the epistle writer, John, today. We don’t know the situation precisely but he…
Daily Devotions
How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” vs. 1 Psalm 133 The psalmist nails it today! His dream has been around for a long time and describes one of our deepest yearnings. There is nothing that can be any better than unity in the life of our communities. When Jesus was completing his mission John tells us that he told his disciples that he was giving them just one commandment, that they should love…