Posts by Rev. Steve Holm (Page 152)
Daily Devotions: March 31, 2019
March 31, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 15:18-32 …“But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.’” vs. 29 Sinners, wandering sons and daughters, people eating with pigs—all love Jesus’ story of the waiting, loving, ever-merciful father. They rightly understand it to be a…
Daily Devotions: March 30, 2019
March 30, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-19 …“But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!’” vs. 17 The parable of the Prodigal Son is perhaps one of Jesus’ most loved and often preached upon stories, probably because it touches on universal themes that most of us can identify with. We know all about rebellious children and leaving…
Daily Devotions: March 29, 2019
March 29, 2019 For full passage click: 2 Corinthians 5: 18-21 …“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” vs. 21 Most of us have grown to maturity thinking that Jesus of Nazareth was sinless, that he never once did any of the things that we do regularly—never a cross word, never an impure thought, never an act of rebellion. We believe this because…
Daily Devotions: March 28, 2019
March 28, 2019 For full passage click: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 …“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” vs. 17 Being a disciple of Jesus is far more than believing in him and walking in his way. While those things are important Paul describes discipleship as more of a mystical union, an entering into Christ that allows us to experience the pulsating energy of God that is…
Daily Devotions: March 27, 2019
March 27, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 32:6-11 …“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.” vs. 11 The psalmist would have loved praise services. He couldn’t get enough of exultations and shouts of joy and wanted all the upright and the righteous to join in giving thanks to the Lord. Some who read these words might have the impression that they don’t have an invitation to the party.…
Daily Devotions: March 26, 2019
March 26, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 32:1-5 …“Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” vs 5 The psalmist had been engaged in a great cover-up and his conscience had been nagging at him. We don’t know what had happened but it doesn’t seem to have been a public matter. Only he knew what…
Daily Devotions: March 25, 2019
March 25, 2019 For full passage click: Joshua 5:9-12 …“The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.” vs. 12 According to one of their ancient narratives, God had sustained the Israelites with a special bread from heaven through their years in the wilderness. But when they crossed the Jordan River and entered the land of Canaan, that…
Daily Devotions: March 24, 2019
March 24, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 9:6-10 …“So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’” vs. 7 It appears that in this parable, the man’s love for his fig tree was quite conditional. He could put up with three years of fruitless living, but that was his limit. That’s the…
Daily Devotions: March 23, 2019
March 23, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 13:1-5 …“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” vs. 5 Mass tragedies were common in Jesus’ world. Not only were the dominating powers cruel and unjust, there were few if any construction standards; death was always close at hand. Of course people wondered about such things, and there was often a tendency to blame the victims, that they’d been killed because of their…
Daily Devotions: March 22, 2019
March 22, 2019 For full passage click: 1 Corinthians 10:6-13 …“No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” vs. 13 Paul was a strong advocate of the gospel of grace and he knew that our salvation was not dependent on our own good…
Daily Devotions: March 21, 2019
March 21, 2019 For full passage click: 1 Corinthians 10:1-5 …“and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.” vss. 2-4 Paul was frustrated with the folks at Corinth. They’d been baptized into Christ and were feasting on Christ’s body and blood, but their behavior was abysmal.…
Daily Devotions: March 20, 2019
March 20, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 63:1-8 …“O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” vs. 1 There are some who say that there is a “God-space” within every human and unless that space is filled our lives will seem barren and pointless. While there are some difficulties with that kind of language, the psalmist…