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Daily Devotions
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.” vs. 39 Acts 8:36-40 Jesus had twelve disciples but Luke doesn’t say much about the majority of them in his Acts of the Apostles. The Acts stories are mostly about Peter, John and Paul–and Paul wasn’t even one of the Twelve. But the story Luke tells about Philip is a gem. Out…
Daily Devotions
So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.” vss. 30-31 John 12:16-18 There has been a Jewish presence in Ethiopia for thousands of years, and some of them regularly traveled to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. Luke here recounts how an official of Queen Candace…
Daily Devotions
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” vs. 16 John 12:16-18 We can’t be sure what is intended by this reference to sheep of another fold. Like other obscure verses in scripture though, people have had a field day making various speculations. Some say it refers to the original inhabitants of North America, an idea popular…
Daily Devotions
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.” vss. 14-15 John 10:11-15 Even though most of us know very little about shepherds and even less about sheep, there’s something about the image of Jesus as the good shepherd that resonates in our hearts and minds. Put simply, we love thinking of Jesus as our…
Daily Devotions
All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.” vs. 24 1 John 3:19-24 While there is nowhere that God is not, sometimes individuals wonder whether God dwells within them. They yearn for some kind of proof that the Divine Presence is in their hearts. For such folks John indicates that there is an external sign that God…
Daily Devotions
How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?” vs. 17 1 John 3:16-19 A couple of weeks ago, on Easter Day, we celebrated the sacrificial love of God with hymns of thanksgiving and praise. For John this is the only true love, and in imitation of God, John teaches that believers will gladly lay down their lives for one another. This is a teaching…
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 Not every day is filled with green pastures and still waters! No matter how carefully we walk the paths of righteousness, sooner or later we’re going to enter the valley of the shadow of death, and it’s going to be scary. And guess what, our Shepherd Lord plunges into…
Daily Devotions
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” vs. 12 Acts 4:5-12 According to Luke, all the leaders of the Jerusalem hierarchy were present at the trial of Peter and John. And when Peter is questioned about his authority, unlike Jesus, he does not remain silent before his accusers. Instead, he doubles down and makes an assertion so audacious that many contemporary followers of…
Daily Devotions
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” vs. 33 Jeremiah 31:33-34 Laws have a life of their own. As soon as they are established they begin to be amended and to proliferate. Soon every area of human behavior and enterprise…
Daily Devotions
Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” vs. 2 1 John 3:1-3 Much to our chagrin, many of us have discovered that as we grow older, we begin to resemble our parents. In fact, it’s not unusual for a person who has known our father or mother, and who…
Daily Devotions
You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound. I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.” vss. 7-8 Psalm 4 The psalmist was content. Even though the people around him were yearning for a glimpse of light and some sign of good, he had all that his heart could desire. The Lord had put gladness in his heart and he was…
Daily Devotions
And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.” vss. 17-18 Acts 3:16-19 By the time Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts, the community of believers had figured things out. Initially the disciples had been puzzled by the crucifixion of Jesus. Since they had believed him to be the messiah, they didn’t understand…