Blog (Page 130)
Daily Devotions: March 22, 2020
March 22, 2020 John 9:26-41 … “They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.” vs. 34 The Pharisees were not lacking in confidence or knowledge. They had laws for every contingency and explanations for every mystery, and they could not tolerate testimony that contradicted their airtight theological system. We can understand their feelings. Many of us have faith convictions that we’ve nurtured for a lifetime. Pastors and…
Daily Devotions: March 21, 2020
March 21, 2020 John 9:13-25 … “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 Pharisees were throwing all kinds of questions at the man who had once been blind, implying that he hadn’t been blind in the first place, and then claiming that Jesus had been a sinner. The man’s responses are plain and to the point. He doesn’t know…
Daily Devotions: March 20, 2020
March 20, 2020 John 9:1-12 … “Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.’” vs. 3 Some might conclude from this passage that God made the man blind so that Jesus could come along and heal him, which isn’t even close to what the Gospel writer, John, had in mind. God does not randomly assign folks to get dread diseases or cancers so that there…
Daily Devotions: March 19, 2020
March 19, 2020 Ephesians 5:11-14 … “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.” vss. 12-14a Darkness can be a comfortable place to live. Folks can do what they please, not worry about who they hurt, and shamelessly gratify every passion and desire, while living totally for themselves. But the moment light shines in that darkness, everything is up for grabs.…
Daily Devotions: March 18, 2020
March 18, 2020 Ephesians 5:8-10 … “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.” vss. 8-9 The writer of Ephesians knew that it was possible for people to lead good, decent lives, and always tell the truth. It was simply a matter of behaving as we are! As Jesus once put it, “You…
Daily Devotions: March 17, 2020
March 17, 2020 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 Often we think of the Lord as our place of refuge in tough times and our comforter when things get dark, and that’s appropriate, because that’s what shepherds do. And, as the children of God, we are well taken care of in every circumstance. The Psalmist knew that, but he…
Daily Devotions: March 16, 2020
Please accept our apologies. This schedule devotion did not get through our server early this morning. March 16, 2020 1 Samuel 16:1-13 … “The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’” vs.1 One thing is sure! We’ve been grieving about…
Daily Devotions: March 15, 2020
March 15, 2020 John 4:27-42 … “Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.” vs. 35 When the disciples looked around it’s likely they saw little more than villages full of despised Samaritans. They hadn’t even imagined that such folks would be interested in the Gospel of grace being proclaimed by Jesus. But Jesus knew! In his eyes these weren’t Samaritans,…
Daily Devotions: March 14, 2020
March 14, 2020 John 4:14-26 … “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.’” vs. 21 During the time of Jesus’ ministry, it was inconceivable for both Jews and Samaritans that worship would take place anywhere but in Jerusalem or on Mt. Gerazim. That’s the way things had been done for centuries! But with the Roman response to the Jewish insurrection and the destruction…
Daily Devotions: March 13, 2020
March 13, 2020 John 4:5-14 … “The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)” vs. 9 As John tells the story, Jesus doesn’t mess around with the long detour around Samaria that Galileans Jews generally used on their journey to Jerusalem. He takes the direct route and at the well near Sychar, a Samaritan city, gives a Samaritan…
Daily Devotions: March 12, 2020
March 12, 2020 Romans 5:6-11 … “Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.” vs. 7 Some theologian types through the years have put forward the notion that Jesus’ death was a sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world. Now they can certainly find verses in Scripture to back their position; indeed, there are many parallels that can be made between the Jewish sacrificial system and…
Daily Devotions: March 11, 2020
March 11, 2020 Romans 5:1-5 … “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand…” vss. 1-2 Paul realized that there was no point in hammering away at people with words of law and judgment. He’d had enough of that as a Pharisee and it had led him on a violent path of condemnation. He knew that even though…