Posts from August 2023
Daily Devotions
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.” vss. 9, 12-13 Romans 12:9-15 Life in community is not complicated, and after showering the Romans with theological background, Paul outlines some basic principles for dealing with brothers and sisters in Christ and offers his readers guidance that has stood the test of time. Any…
Daily Devotions
Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and mind.” vss. 1-2 Psalm 26:1-8 The psalmist was a righteous man, and he knew it! And he didn’t want anyone to confuse him with the sinners that may have hung around the temple precincts. And he was so confident in the way that he had lived that he asked…
Daily Devotions
And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the Lord.” vs. 20 Jeremiah 15:19-21 Jeremiah did more than his share of lamenting in his short but storied career as a prophet in Jerusalem. The royals had paid no attention to his warnings and oracles and he was lucky to have avoided…
Daily Devotions
Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail.” vs. 18 Jeremiah 15:15-18 Jeremiah had been called to be a prophet of God and he had accepted the call. He would call the people of Jerusalem to repentance and to turn from their idolatrous ways. He devoured the words the Spirit laid on his heart and then discovered that no one paid the least bit…
Daily Devotions
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” vs. 19 Matthew 16:17-20 While actual historical evidence is lacking, there is no doubt that Peter was associated with the community of Christians in Rome and probably died there as a martyr. As centuries passed and the bishop of Rome gained greater authority, Peter was widely believed…
Daily Devotions
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’” vs. 13 Matthew 16:13-17 There was a lot of speculation about Jesus during his ministry. There was a heightened sense of expectation among the people, and many were wondering if God had at long last sent his messiah. John the Baptist had garnered a good bit of attention, but now that he’d been arrested and killed,…
Daily Devotions
For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” vss. 4-5 Romans 12:3-8 Life in Christ is communal! That’s one of the basic teachings of Christianity 101 and nothing good happens when we don’t take it seriously. And yet that is exactly what has taken place in our congregations in the last century.…
Daily Devotions
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” vs. 1 Romans 12:1-2 When Paul was making his own decisions about life he used his personality and his learning to launch a crusade against Jews who believed that Jesus was the messiah. After he was confronted by the living Christ everything changed. Moved by the gospel of grace,…
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 We like to believe that we have a purpose in life, and some of us spend a lifetime trying to figure out exactly what that is. Many wander aimlessly as though in a maze, trying first one thing and then another, hoping to perhaps stumble on their reason for being. The psalmist too…
Daily Devotions
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.” vs. 6 Isaiah 51:3-6 At first glance the prophet’s vision for his people seems horribly depressing, but as we think about what he means, a deep and comforting truth…
Daily Devotions
Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.” vs. 1 Isaiah 51:1-3 It’s sad when people seem to have no interest in those who have gone before them. History is often ranked as one of the least popular courses of study in school. Youth will say, “What’s the point of learning about people who lived hundreds of years…
Daily Devotions
He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’” vss. 26-27 Matthew 15:25-28 Most of the time in the gospels we read that Jesus outsmarted his adversaries and left them speechless. None of his opponents could stand up against his clever use of logic and scripture. But in his encounter with the Canaanite woman he…