Posts from 2022 (Page 29)
Daily Devotions
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” vs. 8 Psalm 138 It’s not unusual for us to wonder about our purpose in this world. We know that time is passing and that the years are speeding by, sometimes, it seems, at an ever-increasing rate. Once we were teenagers and, in our eyes, the possibilities were endless; but then middle age comes and many…
Daily Devotions
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’” vs. 8 Isaiah 6:5-8 Initially Isaiah had been terrified to be in the presence of the Lord–the vision was too much for someone so undeserving. He was unclean–like everyone else he knew. But then, purely as a gift of God, he had been cleansed–he had been made clean, and it totally changed his…
Daily Devotions
Seraphs were in attendance above him;…and one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.’” vss. 2a-3 Isaiah 6:1-4 Isaiah traces his call to be a prophet to a vision that he had in the year 738 BCE and then describes the vision as having taken place in the temple in Jerusalem. As he recounts the hymn of praise sung by the six-winged attending seraphs he lets…
Daily Devotions
‘There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage.” vss. 27-28 Luke 4: 24-30 At first the folks in the synagogue were pleased with what Jesus had to say but their mood changed when they heard the rest of the story. They knew their scriptures and they immediately got the point when Jesus…
Daily Devotions
Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’” vss. 21-22 Luke 4:21-24 Initially Jesus got positive reviews from the folks at the synagogue in his hometown. They knew him as Joseph’s son, and had heard that he had begun to develop a reputation as a healer and teacher.…
Daily Devotions
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” vs. 12 1 Corinthians 13:7-13 Gifted futurists can make a good living with their projections about the direction of life on earth and in the universe. After all, no one can prove them wrong, and their computer modeling is often compelling. We won’t really know if…
Daily Devotions
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” vs. 1 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 No matter how many talented folks a congregation has, no matter how many ministry programs are available, unless there is a spirit of love within that congregation, everything else is pointless and worthless! Paul doesn’t mince words with the Corinthians. He spells out his most excellent way in terms that…
Daily Devotions
For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.” vss. 5-6 Psalm 71:1-6 The psalmist has lived a long and faithful life–he has trusted in the Lord from the time of his youth, even from the moment of his birth. And now, in his old age things are not going so…
Daily Devotions
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’” vs. 6 Jeremiah 1: 6-10 When Moses had been called by the Lord to go speak to the Pharaoh about the plight of the Hebrews, he claimed that he wasn’t eloquent and couldn’t do it. His argument didn’t work–he went anyway! Jeremiah, likely aware of the Moses story, pleaded his own youth and inexperience, and got an identical response from…
Daily Devotions
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” vs. 5 Jeremiah 1:4-5 We like to believe that we are the masters of our own destinies, that we can pick and choose among a multitude of professions and careers in the course of our lives–that some could even decide to become preachers! Jeremiah would have laughed at such a notion! He believed that…
Daily Devotions
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free…” vs. 18 Luke 4:17b-21 When Jesus was handed the scroll of Isaiah he chose to read a portion of chapter 61. It was the scripture that had come to his mind as he had wrestled with ministry…
Daily Devotions
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.” vss. 16-17a Luke 4:14-16 Synagogues began to be built in the towns of Galilee and Judea just prior to the time that Jesus began his ministry. They were places of prayer and study and for the reading and exposition of…