Blog (Page 113)
Daily Devotions
Philippians 4:6-9 … “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” vs.8 Over the last few weeks, as we’ve dealt with the pandemic and the presidential election campaign, many have become despondent at the tone and the mood of social discourse. As rhetoric grows more harsh and divisions solidify it gets…
Daily Devotions
Philippians 4:1-5 … “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” vss. 4-5 Paul tells the Philippians in the closing part of his letter that the “Lord is near.” Most often we read these words as a kind of warning–Paul wants the Philippians to be on their best behavior when Jesus returns–and it could be that this is what he has in mind. But it’s more likely…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 23 …“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” vs. 5 The psalmist was familiar with the banqueting table image that is so dear to our hearts as we consider our future life in Christ. In this familiar psalm he expands that vision in an unexpected way, and assures us that one day we will be at table in the presence of our enemies. Some have…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 25:6-9 … “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 As the people of God have looked toward the future, prophets like Isaiah have painted vivid pictures of the magnificent banquet that will be prepared for us by the Lord. This feast of victory will provide the best food imaginable, rich goodies…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 25:1-5 … “For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.” vs. 4 Isaiah has nothing but praise and thanks for God, saying “I will exalt you; for you have done wonderful things,” and this time he doesn’t have in mind great victories in battle or economic gain for the nobility. On this occasion, perhaps after famine or forced migration,…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 21:42-46 … “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.” vs. 45 The religious leaders of the Jews were not lacking in intelligence–they got the point of Jesus’ parables and knew that he had been talking about them. But it made absolutely no difference in their behavior. They did not repent of their foolish ways and become his followers. Instead they began to plot about how they might arrest…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 21:33-41 … “They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’” vs. 41 The religious leaders were quick to give Jesus the right answer when he asked them about the parable of the vineyard. The tenants had acted in such a despicable way that they deserved the wrath of the landowner. What the Pharisees didn’t get was that…
Daily Devotions
Philippians 3:10-14 … “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” vss. 13-14 There are some who believe that life in this world is a kind of qualifying test for the new life that has been promised to us in Christ…
Daily Devotions
Philippians 3:4b-9 … “More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ…” vs. 8 When Paul, the zealous credentialed Pharisee, was encountered by the Risen Christ, the trajectory of his life changed completely. It wasn’t that he’d been a shameful sinner, he’d in fact lived a…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 80:7-15 … “Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” vs. 7 The psalmist didn’t understand why Israel had fallen on hard times. From his perspective the Lord had gone to a lot of work to insure its prosperity. Using the metaphor of a vine he describes how God brought the root out of Egypt and planted it deep in good ground so that it would grow and fill the land. But…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 5:5-7 . . . “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!” vs. 7 Our leaders regularly describe our country as a defender of religious freedom and rightly protest when there is evidence that believers of any kind are being persecuted in our world. There have too many instances when nations have stood by…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 5:1-4 … “He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.” vs. 2 Isaiah’s little love song describes God as a lover, one who lavished care and attention on his vineyard, clearing away stones, planting choice vines, and even hewing out a wine vat in it. The…