Posts by Rev. Steve Holm (Page 5)
Daily Devotions
John 1:1-14… “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” vss. 3b-5 John doesn’t have an infancy narrative in his gospel. For him what happened in Jesus was connected not to a stable but to the Word through whom life itself had come into being. This life was the light of all people and exposed them to…
Daily Devotions
December 21, 2025 Matthew 1:22-25… “All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, “God is with us.”’” vss. 22-23 During the lifetime of Jesus there is no indication that any of his disciples knew anything about his virgin birth. Paul, the writer of a large portion of the New Testament, doesn’t mention anything about it. But when Matthew…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 1:18-21… “But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” vs. 20 Like Luke, when Matthew put together his account of Jesus’ life and ministry, he decided to include the story of Jesus’ birth, but his description doesn’t have the flair…
Daily Devotions
December 16, 2025 Luke 21:12-19… “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.” vs. 12 While it is true that in some parts of the world Christians are being persecuted and sometimes even killed because of their allegiance to Jesus, nearly all of us live in places where Christians are able to practice their faith…
Daily Devotions
December 15, 2025 Isaiah 7:10-12 …“Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.’” vss. 11-12 Ahaz, the king of Judah, was a headstrong man. Even as his kingdom trembled at the news of imminent attacks by the combined forces of Israel and Aram, he refused to ask a sign of the Lord. Evidently he felt…
Daily Devotions
December 14, 2025 Matthew 11:7-11“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” vs. 11 Jesus gives a glowing endorsement of John the Baptist, naming him as the greatest of the prophets, but then he knocks him off his pedestal by saying that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. At first those words seem…
Daily Devotions
December 12, 2025 James 5:9-10“Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!” vs. 9 When James was concerned about the behavior of his community he was not above using threats to get them back in line. Evidently he had become aware of bickering and grumbling within his flock, and warned them that if they continued, they could expect to be judged when the Lord returned. His method…
Daily Devotions
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 Ephesians 1:11-23 “You have been sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” We hear these words regularly in the baptism rituals of our congregations. They are said following the washing with water and are a precious reminder of the grace…
Daily Devotions
But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever—for ever and ever.” vs. 18 Daniel 7:15-18 Daniel reported that his spirit had been troubled and that his dreams had terrified him. In other words, he had tossed and turned in bed much like we do after an evening of watching the events of the day recounted in all their gory detail. And if you have the nerve to take a deep…
Daily Devotions
I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.” vs. 2-3 Daniel 7:1-3 The sages of old recognized that there was much that we could not know about God, and even less that we could know about the future. And some believed that the way we could at least glimpse the unknown was through our dreams. So,…
Daily Devotions
So, if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” vs. 36 Romans 8:34-36 Jesus had a sense that people weren’t nearly so free as they thought they were. Not all prisons have bars, and we can be captive in a whole variety of ways. He said it plainly, “Anyone who commits sin is a slave to sin,” and that includes pretty much all of us. Like Paul said some years later, “All have sinned and fall short…
Daily Devotions
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’” vss. 31-32 John 8:31-33 We live in a time when truth doesn’t seem to matter. As AI makes it possible to put out media posts that are not only digitally enhanced but pure inventions we can no longer have confidence in what we see or…