Posts from 2023 (Page 26)
Daily Devotions
The people quarreled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’” vs. 2 Exodus 17:1-7 The Israelites’ anger is understandable. Moses had led them into the wilderness and then had them set up camp in a place where there was no water. The people had faithfully followed, and now they had been left high and dry. Who could blame them for being upset?…
Daily Devotions
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” vss. 16-17 John 3:11-17 John 3:16 is arguably the most memorized verse in all of our scripture, and deservedly so. It contains the kernel of the gospel and…
Daily Devotions
The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” vs. 8 John 3:5-9 The conversation with Jesus wasn’t going well. Nicodemus had been nurtured by a tradition that left nothing for granted. There was an ordinance or commandment for every situation–everything was black and white. So when Jesus said that it was…
Daily Devotions
Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’” vs. 3 John 3:1-3 Nicodemus had been impressed by the signs that Jesus had been doing, but he was also puzzled, and he wanted to have a chat. Concerned for his reputation, he came by night and served as a foil for Jesus’ comments about the nature of faith. Nicodemus had seen the signs, but he hadn’t seen the…
Daily Devotions
For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham…” vs. 16 Romans 4:13-17 Paul assures the Romans that the promise of God to Abraham rested on grace, and it was therefore guaranteed to all his descendants. This declaration has continued to be foundational for every following generation of…
Daily Devotions
But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.” vs. 5 Romans 4:1-5 It’s been pretty well accepted by folks nowadays that works are no advantage in our relationship with God. We’ve sung “Amazing Grace” so many times, in every setting, that we’ve pretty much taken it to heart. Since God has justified the ungodly, there’s even hope for a wretch like me. The bigger question for us is the matter…
Daily Devotions
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and for evermore.” vs. 8 Psalm 121 Life is an ongoing cycle of going out and coming in. We know the pattern–up in the morning, out during the day, and then a coming home at night. Day after day, year after year, during good times and bad, from the time of our youth until the arrival of the golden years, the rhythm continues. And through…
Daily Devotions
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” vs. 2 Genesis 12:1-4a Israel’s ancient origin story begins with Abram and Sarai, the intrepid pair who left home and family in favor of a wandering nomadic life that took them all the way from Mesopotamia to Egypt. They became revered, not because of their wealth or station, but because they lived by faith–they trusted…
Daily Devotions
Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”’” vs. 10 Matthew 4:5-11 As Jews dreamed of the coming Messiah, they imagined a ruler like David to whom all the kingdoms of the world with all their splendor would be obedient. And in the wilderness, as he considered the dimensions of his call, Jesus came to realize that for that to happen he would need to make a…
Daily Devotions
He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’” vss. 2-3 Matthew 4:1-4 It had been an exhilarating and exhausting time for Jesus. First, he had gone for baptism at the Jordan, and in the immediate aftermath he had heard a voice saying, “You are my Son, my Beloved. With you I am well-pleased.”…
Daily Devotions
For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” vs. 19 Romans 5:12-19 Paul had loved the ancient stories of the Hebrews and had tucked them away in his memory bank. And now as he attempted to explain the righteousness of God to the Romans, he drew on one of those stories to make sense of his message. He explained that the disease of…
Daily Devotions
But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” vs. 4-5 Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 The ancient Hebrews used the story of temptation in the Garden of Eden to explain the presence of evil in the world–when not taken literally it contains profound truths about human nature and our relationship to God. Often we think…