Posts by Rev. Steve Holm (Page 116)
Daily Devotions: August 6, 2020
August 6, 2020 Romans 10:5-11 … “For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” vs. 10 Paul contrasts the righteousness that comes from the law with the righteousness that comes from faith in his treatise to the Romans. For him it was an important distinction. He wanted the people to know that justification, being made right with God, was a gift, and not something that was earned through…
Daily Devotions: August 5, 2020
August 5, 2020 Psalm 85:11-13 … “The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.” vss. 12-13 Some days it feels good to engage with “relentless optimism” like that exhibited by the psalmist as he surveyed the scene in Jerusalem so many years ago. There was really no historical basis for what he said, and the geo-politics of his time was anything…
Daily Devotions: August 4, 2020
August 4, 2020 Psalm 85:8-10“Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.” vs. 10 The Psalmist had a vision of the future that continues to touch our heart 2500 years later. This is indeed the hope and the dream of every age: that steadfast love and faithfulness would be merged, and that righteousness and peace would give each other a big kiss. In times like ours that vision seems to erode with every demonstration, protest,…
Daily Devotions: August 3, 2020
August 3, 2020 1 Kings 19:9-18 … “and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.” vss. 11b-12 Elijah had fled for his life and was hiding in a cave when the word came to him that the Lord was about to pay a visit. He leaves his shelter and endures in…
Daily Devotions: August 2, 2020
August 2, 2020 Matthew 14:17-21 … “Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” vs. 19 The story of the feeding of the multitudes was a favorite among early Christians and shows up in all of the gospels at least once. It reminded them…
Daily Devotions: August 1, 2020
August 1, 2020 Matthew 14:13-16 … “Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’” vs. 16 As followers of Jesus, when we hear about a need our first impulse is to respond. We want the hungry to be fed and the sick to be cared for–surely there must be an agency that can help or a government program to be applied for–we’re glad to make recommendations. In fact, the disciples’ suggestion that the…
Daily Devotions: July 31, 2020
July 31, 2020 Romans 9:3-5 … “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh.” vs. 3 When Paul was encountered by the Risen Christ he spent a number of years in meditation and study. He pored over the scriptures in earnest, revisiting his old convictions and commitments. He emerged fully convinced that God, in Christ Jesus, had done a new thing…
Daily Devotions: July 30, 2020
July 30, 2020 Romans 9:1-2 … “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.” vss. 1-2 Paul has just told his readers that there is absolutely nothing in all of creation, not even death, that can separate us from the love of God. It is without a doubt one of the most reassuring and grace-filled passages in all of scripture–most…
Daily Devotions: July 29, 2020
July 29, 2020 Psalm 145:14-21 “The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings…The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.” vss. 17, 20 The Psalmist is effusive in his praise of our Lord’s love and constant care. He says that there’s generosity rooted in the nature of God and no adjectives are spared in describing God’s goodness. But then there’s this little disclaimer. Not everyone is included…
Daily Devotions: July 28, 2020
July 28, 2020 Psalm 145:8-9 … “The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.” vs. 9 Obviously the bible can be used to support any number of theologies or random ideas–people have been using it as a proof-text for centuries. Sometimes its verses even present opposing or uncomfortable points of view and we have a hard time figuring out which message to take to heart. But there’s no doubt about what the…
Daily Devotions: July 27, 2020
July 27, 2020 Isaiah 55:1-5 … “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” vs. 1 The prophet is ecstatic about the good news that he has for Israel. The country had virtually ceased to exist–Jerusalem had been destroyed–everything people had held dear was gone. Even the temple lay in ruins! And he’s so overflowing with joy and excitement that…
Daily Devotions: July 26, 2020
July 26, 2020 Matthew 13:44-52 … “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” vs.44 All the riches that God has for us–the peace and joy, the forgiveness and hope–all those blessings are present for us all the time! But too many of us don’t even sense their nearness. We pass through life, oblivious to the…