Posts by Rev. Steve Holm (Page 90)
Daily Devotions
It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;” vs. 31 Mark 4:30-33 Preachers have generally liked Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed. It’s relatively short and seemingly easy to understand–and it provides an opportunity for dragging out a seed or two and talking about how they grow. But still there are questions. Is Jesus talking about the Church? It’s unlikely since there was no Church when he…
Daily Devotions
He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.’” vss. 26-27 Mark 4:26-29 Even though we know that all people are in Christ, equipped with the Spirit of God, and designed to be the light of the world, most of the time we don’t quite know what is going on. And Jesus…
Daily Devotions
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” vs. 17 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 We don’t see many stories of Jesus in the writings of Paul, and there’s a reason for that. He had never known Jesus of Nazareth–he only knew the risen Christ and believed that in Christ all had died and all had been raised. In his words, in Christ there had been a new creation…
Daily Devotions
For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.” vs. 10 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 We find great comfort in the persistent theme of grace in our scriptures. Because we don’t live as we ought, we love hearing that we have forgiveness in Christ, and that our guilt has been taken from us. We’re less excited in hearing about the…
Daily Devotions
The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap…” vss. 12, 14 Psalm 92:12-15 This psalmist had been around the block a few times and knew that folks shouldn’t be discounted just because they had grown old. He believed that there was a connection between righteous living and longevity and that people could flourish and bear fruit even in their…
Daily Devotions
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night…” vss. 1-2 Psalm 92:1-4 The psalmist had a rhythm to his life that strengthened his relationship to the Lord, and many of us could learn from his daily practices. He obviously lived with thanks in his heart and on his lips–he was glad to be alive and knew that…
Daily Devotions
Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.” vs 22 Ezekiel 17:22-24 Ezekiel wrote at a time when it appears that Israel had seen its last days. Jerusalem and the temple had been destroyed and the remnants of the royal…
Daily Devotions
And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’” vss. 34-35 Mark 3:28-35 Promoting the nuclear family wasn’t part of Jesus’ platform as his ministry continued in Galilee. In fact, he realized that what he was teaching could actually threaten family unity–at one point he told his followers, “I have come to set a man against his father and…
Daily Devotions
and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.’” vss. 20-21 Mark 3:20-27 According to Mark it took a while for Jesus’ family to adjust to his popularity as he began his ministry. And that’s probably to be expected. He had had what seems to have been a normal childhood and adolescence in Nazareth–there…
Daily Devotions
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” 16 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1 Whether we like it or not, every day each of us are getting older. Now there is a time in our lives when we appreciate the aging process, and we can hardly wait to get to the next stage, those times of graduation, leaving home, or reaching our physical maturity. But then comes…
Daily Devotions
Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” vs. 15 2 Corinthians 4:13-15 Paul had endured significant suffering in the course of his ministry to the Gentiles. There had been numerous beatings and imprisonments and his body had been worn down–he’d been rejected even by those he’d considered friends. But he never gave up! When he was released from prison in one city,…
Daily Devotions
O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.” vs. 7 Psalm 130 The psalmist was at the end of his rope! Overwhelmed by a deep sense of sin and alienation from God, with all religious resources exhausted, he poured out his heart. Speaking for himself and for his nation, he reminds his readers of two things: with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with the…