Posts by Rev. Steve Holm (Page 33)
Daily Devotions
For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” vs. 25 1 Peter 2:23-25 When left to our own devices we can manage to get ourselves into every kind of trouble imaginable. Humans seem to have an infinite capacity for mischief and wrongdoing, and sometimes it can be the ruin of us. In order to live well, we need some sort of internal compass that can be our guide…
Daily Devotions
If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval.” vs. 20 1 Peter 2:19-22 It was not unusual in the Roman provinces for households to include a number of slaves, and it’s evident that many of those slaves became followers of Jesus. Peter in his letter advises those slaves to patiently endure when they are mistreated. They should take…
Daily Devotions
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” vs. 6 Psalm 23:4-6 Many in Israel claimed to belong to the house of David–it was the most prestigious lineage that anyone could hope to have. But this psalmist believed that he was of the house of the Lord, and he would be a resident in that house for as long as he…
Daily Devotions
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.” vss. 2-3a Psalm 23:1-3 For some these words from Psalm 23 call to mind a tranquil day on the golf course, minus the traps and the out-of-bounds. For them, golf is exactly what the psalmist is describing–a restful day on beautifully contoured green fairways with calming water features always at hand. It’s a beautiful experience! Of course for most, these verses are…
Daily Devotions
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” vs. 42 Acts 2:42-47 Luke writes that after Pentecost the followers of Jesus, remembering his teachings about the folly of riches and the accumulation of wealth, practiced communism in their faith community. They had all things in common, sold their possessions and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. Undergirding those practices was a community life that centered on the apostles’…
Daily Devotions
Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” vs. 35 Luke 24:25-35 The post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, as recorded in the gospels, are mysterious and compelling. Each of the gospels has different stories with surprise endings and various twists. Luke’s account of the appearance to two unnamed disciples on the road to Emmaus has long spoken to the hearts of believers in every age.…
Daily Devotions
Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” vs. 24 Luke 24:13-24 It’s really hard for any of us to believe in things that we have not experienced. And if we are going to believe in them, we will need to have supporting evidence. According to Luke, that’s what disciples of Jesus were looking for when they were told by some women…
Daily Devotions
You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.” vs. 23 1 Peter 1:21-23 Early believers thought of themselves as having been born anew by the implanting of the living Word of God in their hearts through faith. They had then been gathered by the Holy Spirit into small communities where they were bound together in mutual love, where, in this writer’s words, they were “to love one another…
Daily Devotions
You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.” vss. 18-19 1 Peter 1:17-20 It’s no accident that the liturgies of many congregations contain references to Jesus as the Lamb of God. After all, that’s the language of scripture. Sacrifice was at the heart of Jewish temple worship, and it was…
Daily Devotions
What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.” vss. 12-14 Psalm 116:12-19 The psalmist was alive–he’d been as good as dead, cried out to the Lord, and had been restored to health. Now what? In his mind there remained only one thing to do–he…
Daily Devotions
The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’” vss. 3-4 Psalm 116:1-4 The psalmist had a powerful story of deliverance that he believed would lift up and encourage the entire congregation of believers. He’d been close to death, perhaps with a dread illness, and had cried out to the Lord for help. And…
Daily Devotions
So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.” vs. 41 Acts 2:14a, 36-41 According to Luke, Peter got quite a response to his Pentecost sermon in Jerusalem. While the number 3000 can be questioned, there’s no doubt that not long after Jesus’ crucifixion, many Jews joined the ranks of the believers. Some of them may have been in the crowd shouting for his death, but when they heard Peter’s words…