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Daily Devotions
John 11:33-45…“The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.” vs. 45 John tells us that when Lazarus emerged from the tomb at the command of Jesus, he had new life, but there was a problem. His hands and feet were bound and he could not see. Here in a few words John laid out a metaphor that…
Daily Devotions
John 11:17-32…“When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’” vs. 32 When Jesus came to Bethany each of the sisters, first Mary, and then Martha, greeted him in the same way, acknowledging him as Lord, but also implying that he could have kept their brother from dying. We’re familiar with such reactions, especially among those who have been…
Daily Devotions
John 11:1-16…“But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” vs. 4 As John chose stories of Jesus’ life for his gospel he deliberately picked ones that would bring glory to Jesus. He had done it with the man who had been born blind and he did the same with Lazarus’ illness. His readers, at this point, can…
Daily Devotions
Romans 8:10-11…“But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” vs. 10 The longer we dig around in the scriptures the more likely we are to strike gold in the most unlikely places. Those familiar with the bible know that there is an abundance of passages that are less than edifying. But there are also many sections of scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments, that lift…
Daily Devotions
Romans 8:6-9…“To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” vs. 8 Paul recognized that mind control is essential for believers who desire peace and serenity in their lives. The problem is that it’s not easy to do, particularly in an age like ours when influencers, politicians, and liars of every stripe are doing everything possible to control our minds. Sometimes it gets so bad that we don’t…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 130…“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!” vs. 1 We live in strange and bewildering times. On the one hand our country has been involved in an attack on Iran, the consequences of which are still to be seen. And yet, aside from an uptick in gasoline prices at the pump, it’s as though nothing has happened. We see videos and…
Daily Devotions
Ezekiel 37:1-14…“Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” vs. 11 From Israel’s perspective, hunkered down in captivity in Babylon, the future was pretty dismal, and Ezekiel doesn’t pull any punches. The nation had appeared to him in a vision as a valley of dry bones, a country that had completely lost its way. While we typically…
Daily Devotions
John 9:28-38…“They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.” vs. 34 It’s hard for educated and highly trained professionals to listen to the ramblings of the illiterate and unlearned. The religious leaders had zero respect for the insights of a beggar or his parents. And when the man claimed that Jesus had come from God they silenced him. He had no credentials! The standards have not changed…
Daily Devotions
John 9:13-27…“He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’” vs. 25 The man who had been blind in John’s story didn’t have a satisfactory answer for anyone who questioned him. The whole community, from religious leaders to his own parents, wondered how he had recovered his sight, and all he could do was tell his simple story. When they pressed him further he gave…
Daily Devotions
John 9:1-12…“The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’” vss.8-9 In John’s story the people had gotten used to the blind man sitting and begging in the street. They saw him every day, and they were comfortable with his…
Daily Devotions
Ephesians 5:12-14…“For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light.” vs. 12-14a In recent months, as the files and papers related to the crimes of a wealthy andinfluential financier who made his fortune providing tax and estate services to billionaires, have been released to the public, dozens of his friends and acquaintances have resigned their positions. It seems that they knew what…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 23…“For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.” vss. 8-10 As the called disciples of Jesus we have heard since the day of our baptisms that we are the light of the world, and that we are to let that light shine before…