Blog (Page 105)
Daily Devotions
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” vs. 2 Daniel 12:1-3 Written at a time when the remnant of Israel was facing enormous persecution from their Greek overlords, the book of Daniel uses apocalyptic language to describe the onslaught and the bloodshed. The temple had been desecrated and the sacrificial system threatened–the people were looking for deliverance. For its audience the images made…
Daily Devotions
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. 44 John 11:41-44 What happened with Lazarus was not a resurrection–Lazarus emerged from the tomb, lived out his life with his sisters, and then died. Even so this story has touched our hearts like none other, and has been a favorite of Jesus followers for centuries. It shouts…
Daily Devotions
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.” vs. 33 John 11:32-39 When Lazarus died, his sisters and friends did for him according to the customs of their people. They washed his body, wrapped it in cloth, and then put it in a tomb. And then their friends came by the house with hot dishes and hugs–and they cried a lot! Only a few of…
Daily Devotions
And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ …Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.’” vss. 5-6a Revelation 21:4-6a In the beginning was the Word–and in the end will be the Word. All that exists is bookended by the Mystery in whom all was created and in whom all will be brought to completion. In the meantime we…
Daily Devotions
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” vs. 2 Revelation 21:1-3 Apocalyptic writings emerge in times of fear and dread, those moments when nations are on the move and catastrophes loom. It should be no surprise then, that our age teems with apocalyptic thinking. A glance at the trailers of current movies shows a huge interest in science fiction (the new apocalyptic) and…
Daily Devotions
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.” vss. 3-4 Psalm 24 These verses are likely a fragment of a liturgy that was used at the door of the temple as Israelites came for worship. A priest would ask a question, “Who shall stand in the holy place?”…
Daily Devotions
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” vs. 8 Isaiah 25:8-9 Sometimes when death comes to a loved one, particularly after a long and painful illness, we’re surprised to feel an almost guilty sense of relief that the struggle is over. A burden has been lifted. Only later do the tears come. At other times, when…
Daily Devotions
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.” vs. 6 Isaiah 25:6-7 For a long time, back in the days when pot-lucks were regularly held at churches, a familiar table prayer would be sung before the meal. “Be present at our table, Lord, be here and everywhere adored. These mercies bless, and grant that we,…
Daily Devotions
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” vs. 36 John 8:31-38 In Christ we live by grace and truth and not by the law–and this is all a gift, not our own doing. Therefore, John tells us, we have been set free, and furthermore as Paul told the Galatians, since we have been set free, we should never again submit to the slavery of the law. These are important truths, ones that we learn to…
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 There are countless people in our world who have, at one time or another in their lives, made some sort of commitment to Jesus. Perhaps they went through the rite of baptism or confirmation, or maybe at a revival they made…
Daily Devotions
whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.” vss. 25-26 Romans 3:25-29 While we can’t know the mind of Paul, it is likely that he intended his words to…
Daily Devotions
For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” vss. 22b-24 Romans 3:19-24 Paul was a clever man and had come to believe that in Christ all things had changed. No longer would sinners need to battle against the unyielding demands of the Law–that was a hopeless struggle. All the Law did was reveal…