Posts by Rev. Steve Holm (Page 196)
Daily Devotions: October 17, 2017
Isaiah 45:4-7 “I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things.” vs. 7 The presence of evil in the world has been a perplexing question from the beginning of human consciousness. Again and again while struggling with pain we wonder why God couldn’t have made a world in which only good things happen. It’s a “why” that seems beyond our capacity to comprehend…and yet we persist in asking, “Why is…
Daily Devotions: October 16, 2017
Isaiah 45:1-3 “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him— and the gates shall not be closed:” vs. 16 The prophet, living among the captives in Babylon, makes an astonishing identification. Prompted by the Spirit he tells the people that the messiah is coming…but it’s not going to be a son of David, it’s not even going…
Daily Devotions: October 15, 2017
Matthew 22:11-14 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless.” vss. 11-12 Jesus adds a bizarre twist to this mostly straightforward parable about the wedding feast when he mentions the man without the wedding robe who gets bound up and thrown into the outer darkness. And…
Daily Devotions: October 14, 2017
Matthew 22:1-10 “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.” vs. 10 A couple of things catch our attention in Jesus’ parable of the wedding banquet as remembered by Matthew. The first is the reluctance of the invited guests to come to the dinner. It seems strange to think that anyone would turn down a chance to celebrate—but–that’s exactly how it is. What…
Daily Devotions: October 13, 2017
Philippians 4:8-9 “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” vs. 8 Paul’s letter to the Philippians is universally loved and appreciated, mainly because of verses like this. And what a gem this one is! As we read these carefully chosen words we can actually imagine that he is writing to…
Daily Devotions: October 12, 2017
Philippians 4:1-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” vss. 4-5 Paul was encouraged by what he heard from his beloved friends in Philippi. Oh, there were some conflicts…a couple of women were evidently at odds. But overall things were going well as these followers of Jesus began to develop a congregational identity in the community. Paul advises them to rejoice always and to let their…
Daily Devotions: October 11, 2017
Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” vs. 1 These familiar words strike a familiar and comforting chord in our ears. We love hearing that God has our backs and will take care of us even through the darkest days. But if these words are true, and if we truly believe that the Lord is our shepherd, why do so many of us behave so poorly? If the Lord is our shepherd do we actually think…
Daily Devotions: October 10, 2017
Isaiah 25:6-9 “And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.” vs. 7 Most of us become aware of death during the years of our childhood. Sometimes it’s when a favorite pet dies…or worse, when we experience the loss of a friend or family member. We learn early the pain that comes with grieving–the explosion of tears as we comprehend…
Daily Devotions: October 9, 2017
Isaiah 25:1-5 “For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.” vs. 4 When we look at our history, it’s a wonder that the poor have ever survived the ravages of the rich and the powerful! Again and again they have been the victims, always the first to die in wars and the last to get relief in times of disaster.…
Daily Devotions: October 8, 2017
Matthew 21:42-46 “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.” vs. 43 Sometimes we get the notion that we are indispensable, that if we don’t do the work that we have been given, it just isn’t going to be done. But that’s not how it works in the kingdom of God. Jesus is pretty plain about that! He bluntly tells the religious…
Daily Devotions: October 7, 2017
Matthew 21:33-41 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.” vs. 33 After entering Jerusalem on his final journey Jesus tells the gathered crowd a new parable that made use of an old metaphor for the land of Israel. It’s a story about tenants who forget that they are stewards while…
Daily Devotions: October 6, 2017
Philippians 3:8-14 “in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.” vss. 8b-9 So what do we have to do to gain Christ and be found in him? That question has plagued and divided Christians for centuries. According to some there are a whole sequence of steps for believers to…