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Daily Devotions
Psalm 27:1… “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? vs. 1 There are those who have it all together as far as faith is concerned, and the psalmist seems to be such a person. It isn’t that everything has always gone well for him, but as far as the center is concerned, he has no complaints. As he puts it, “The…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 9:1-4… “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.” vs. 2 Today many businesses and schools are closed to acknowledge Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a national holiday established by congress to honor and remember King’s life and achievements. Dr. King, a Baptist pastor, was a disciple of Gandhi and was an advocate of non-violent resistance to racial oppression and bigotry. His…
Daily Devotions
John 1:29-36… “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” vs. 29 John the gospel writer begins the story of Jesus’ ministry, not with his baptism at the hands of John the Baptizer, but with John’s testimony concerning Jesus. John the Baptizer is the first witness, the first to recognize that the Spirit rested on Jesus, and he quickly spreads that good news…
Daily Devotions
1 Corinthians 1:5-9… “He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” vss. 8-9 Paul regularly encouraged people to prepare for the imminent return of Jesus so that they might be ready when that time came. Here he gives the impression that it will be possible for them to…
Daily Devotions
1 Corinthians 1:1-4… “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus…” vss. 3-4 Paul had worked as a tentmaker in Corinth for about 18 months during his second missionary journey. During that time he had also proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ in every venue that was open to him. He…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 40:1-11… I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” vss. 1-2 We’ve probably all imagined what it would be like to be caught in a pit of quicksand. Maybe we’ve seen a movie or video showing some person slowly sinking out of sight. It’s the source material for nightmares!…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 49:5-7… “He says, ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’” vs. 6 As the prophet considered the mission of Israel he had come to believe that the Lord had a larger vision for his Servant. He tells the people…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 49:1-4… “And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’ But I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.’” vss. 3-4 Even as the people of Israel languished in their Babylonian exile, their prophet continued to assure them that collectively, they are still the servant of the Lord. So in…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 3:15-17… “And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’” vs. 17 Jesus’ baptism was likely quite routine. We don’t know John’s method but it was likely full immersion. That was the tradition in Judaism, and many homes would have had a mikvah or bathtub for use in purification rituals. Since John wouldn’t have had a mikvah handy, he likely just used a pool in the river. But what happened…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 3:13-15… “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’” vss. 13-14 All the gospels begin their accounts of Jesus’ ministry with the story of his baptism in the Jordan River at the hands of John the Baptizer. John was already well-known and his baptismal ministry had attracted widespread attention. Even King Herod was…
Daily Devotions
Acts 10:34-43… “Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” vss. 34-35 It’s a new Peter that speaks to Cornelius and his family in Caesarea–he’s been converted to a brand-new way of understanding the salvation of God. He’d grown up as a devout Jew and had an extremely narrow sense of who was included within the…
Daily Devotion
Psalm 29… “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.” vss. 2-3 According to Genesis 1 God spoke the universe into existence. Again and again we see the repeated phrase, “And God said…and it was so.” And the gospel writer John, agreeing with Genesis, wrote, “All things came into being through the Word.”…