Posts from November 2023 (Page 2)
Daily Devotions
After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.” vs. 19 Matthew 25:14-19 Most of us have at least a passing familiarity with what is known as the Parable of the Talents. It’s the story of a rich man going on a journey who entrusts his property to his slaves. One gets five talents, another two, and the third receives just one. When the master returned, he summoned his slaves and settled accounts with…
Daily Devotions
Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.” vs. 11 1 Thessalonians 5:6-11 Paul knew that all would be well with that little congregation in Thessalonica because they understood that life is communal. We’re not on our own in this world, a bunch of singles laboring toward a celestial goal, but we are one body in Christ. The Holy Spirit has called us into a community of faith, and for better or worse, we…
Daily Devotions
But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.” vss. 4-5 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 Like other followers of Jesus in the mid-first century Paul was looking for the Day of the Lord, which he understood as the imminent return of Jesus. But as he wrote to his friends in Thessalonica, he described…
Daily Devotions
So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.” vs. 12 Psalm 90:7-8, 12 To be alive in this spectacular universe is a great blessing no matter how long or how short our lives may be. But it is also acknowledged that there is value in having a long life. In fact, some people adopt healthy lifestyles in order to increase their odds of living longer. They’ll willingly give up artificial sweeteners and carbs in…
Daily Devotions
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” vss. 1-2 Psalm 90: 1-6 From the beginning star-gazers have pondered the origins of the universe and have wondered how all things have come into being. Probably every ethnicity and ancient culture had their own perspectives on creation and early religious groups adopted these stories as a…
Daily Devotions
The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish…” vss. 14-15a Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 There was a time when preachers and revivalists regularly invoked the vivid pictures of the day of the Lord that are found in the Hebrew prophets. These passages paint a bleak description of judgment,…
Daily Devotions
But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ “vs. 9 Matthew 25:8-12 We have to look hard to find any kindness or grace in the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids. The wise refuse to share their oil and the door to the wedding banquet is locked tight when the foolish finally arrive. Fortunately, this is not a parable about…
Daily Devotions
When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.” vss. 3-5 Matthew 25:1-8 First century Christians believed that Jesus was going to return to earth and complete the work that he had begun. As the years went by and that didn’t happen, it was simply assumed that he had been delayed, but that didn’t mean…
Daily Devotions
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever.” vs. 17 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 Some people love the image that Paul chose to describe the great reunion of the living and the dead with the Lord. When taken literally these verses call to mind stories of the rapture that we’ve read about in popular novels…
Daily Devotions
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” vs. 13 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15 Paul seems to have believed in the imminent return of Jesus, (it’s a common theme of his early letters), and that he would not die before that happened. But as the years passed, people in the congregations he had started began to die, and their…
Daily Devotions
But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!” vs. 5 Psalm 70 Sometimes we get tired of waiting for the Lord! It’s nice to say to ourselves and to others, “Oh, I have plenty of time, and God has given me the gift of patience, so it doesn’t matter when my deliverer shows up.” That’s a good attitude to have, since it seems we spend…
Daily Devotions
Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” vss. 23-24 Amos 5:21-24 During Israel’s golden age, the time of its greatest prosperity, Amos came out of the wilderness of Judah with a message from the Lord. To put it bluntly, there was nothing that the people were doing that was pleasing. They were cheating the poor,…