Posts by Rev. Steve Holm (Page 173)
Daily Devotions: July 13 , 2018
July 13, 2018 Ephesians 1:11-14…“In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;” vs. 13 It’s likely no accident that the words of this verse remind us of what is said following baptism in many of our congregations, “You have been marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit.” From the very beginning…
Daily Devotions: July 12 , 2018
July 12, 2018 Ephesians 1:3-10…“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.” vss. 7-8a The writer to the Ephesians can scarcely contain himself as he begins his letter to his friends in Ephesus. He has come to an explosive and expansive understanding of God’s grace and love and pours out his amazing conclusions in his introductory paragraph. He believes that the people reading…
Daily Devotions: July 11 , 2018
July 11, 2018 Psalm 85:8-13…“Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.” vs. 8 So what happens when we tire of our fixations on sports and the economy; when we’re fed up with arguments about global warming and politics, and realize that what we think or believe doesn’t mean a stinking thing? What would happen then–if, in our frustration…
Daily Devotions: July 10 , 2018
July 10, 2018 Amos 7:10-15…Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock,” and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” vss. 14-15 The biggest problem that the Bethel elites had with Amos was that he was an interloper from Judah. Amaziah, the priest, tells him to go back south and prophesy there.…
Daily Devotions: July 9 , 2018
July 9, 2018 Amos 7:7-9…“And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by…’” vs. 8 Amos came from Judah (the Southern Kingdom) to Israel (the Northern Kingdom) with a message of impending judgment from the Lord. It was a time of great prosperity in Israel but in…
Daily Devotions: July 8 , 2018
July 8, 2018 Mark 6:7-13…“So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” vss. 12-13 After the debacle in Nazareth, it appears that Jesus doubled down. He saw his rejection as an anomaly and was convinced that his early Galilean efforts at proclaiming the kingdom could be expanded, and that his disciples could do more than just follow him around. They were ready…
Daily Devotions: July 7 , 2018
July 7, 2018 Mark 6:4-6…“And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.” vss. 5-6a As Jesus had moved along the Sea of Galilee in the initial stages of his mission, he had been amazed at the faith of those who came to him for healing. They came trusting that he would be able to do something for them…
Daily Devotions: July 6 , 2018
July 6, 2018 Mark 6:1-3 …“‘Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offense at him.” vs. 3 We don’t know what Jesus was expecting when he brought his teaching and healing ministry back to his hometown. Obviously, word of what he’d been up to had filtered back to his family and old friends and you’d think they…
Daily Devotions: July 5 , 2018
July 5, 2018 2 Corinthians 12:6-9…“Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’” vss. 8-9a People have long wondered about Paul’s thorn in the flesh and have offered countless possibilities ranging from the plausible (eye issues) to the speculative (doubts or unbelief). Of course we really don’t know; Paul says only that he considered it a…
Daily Devotions: July 4 , 2018
July 4, 2018 2 Corinthians 12:2-5…“I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows…” vs. 2 Sometimes it would be nice to be able to quiz Paul about some of the things he wrote, and this is one of those moments. It’s generally accepted that he is referring here to an experience that he had some years before,…
Daily Devotions: July 3 , 2018
July 3, 2018 Psalm 123…“As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us.” vs. 2 We don’t know where the psalmist fit into the social echelon of his day, but we can be pretty sure he wasn’t near the top because he’s had his fill of the scorn of those…
Daily Devotions: July 2 , 2018
July 2, 2018 Ezekiel 2:1-5…“The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’” vs. 4 Ezekiel was minding his own business when God told him to get up on his feet and go as a prophet to the people of Israel, a nation of rebels who had rebelled against God. There is no promise that anyone will listen, but at least they would have heard a…