Blog (Page 141)
Daily Devotions: November 13, 2019
November 13, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 98:6-9 … “Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord…” vss. 7-9a The Psalmist understood that all creation had been called into being by a word from God. So when he talks about making a joyful noise to the Lord he naturally assumes that…
Daily Devotions: November 12, 2019
November 12, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 98:1-5 … “O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.” vs. 1 The people of Israel regularly offered praise and thanksgiving to the Lord as they traveled to worship in the temple. Special songs were composed by the Levites and if the country had been enjoying success on the battlefield, the rituals were particularly festive.…
Daily Devotions: November 11, 2019
November 11, 2019 For full passage click: Malachi 4:1-2a … “But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings…” vs. 2a Some prophets of Israel looked for the coming Day of the Lord, a final intervention by God in which the evil would punished and the good rewarded. There are still many who look for such a Day. Their hope is that the really bad people who are such a scourge…
Daily Devotions: November 10, 2019
November 10, 2019 For full passage: Luke 20:34-38 … “Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.” vs. 36 Like the Pharisees, Jesus believed in the resurrection. He knew that there was life after death and that it was significantly different from life in this world. As to how it is different he doesn’t have a lot to say, just that there will be no such thing as…
Daily Devotions: November 9, 2019
November 9, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 20: 27-33 … “Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, ‘…the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.’” vs. 27, 32-33 The Pharisees and Sadducees, the two major parties among the Jews, disagreed about the resurrection. For the Sadducees, since it wasn’t mentioned in the Torah, it couldn’t be true.…
Daily Devotions: November 8, 2019
November 8, 2019 For full passage click: 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 … “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.” vss. 16-17 Paul has so much to say to this little congregation. He wishes he could be there to give them instruction and keep them connected to the true Gospel. Sometimes his letters…
Daily Devotions: November 7, 2019
November 7, 2019 For full passage click: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 … “As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you…not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter…to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here.” vss. 1-2 Even though we have a grasp of history and understand that human beings have been around for a long time,…
Daily Devotions: November 6, 2019
November 6, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 17:6-9 “Guard me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who despoil me, my deadly enemies who surround me.” vss. 8-9 We live in a dangerous world and the Psalmist knew it. Likely he’d experienced the pain and suffering that can come our way. He craved the assurance of God’s protection in time of danger and so do we all! We know…
Daily Devotions: November 5, 2019
November 5, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 17:1-5 … “If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress.” vs. 3 Some of us are quite accustomed to feeling guilty! We know that we sin against God and one another in countless ways, and are regularly reminded of our shortcomings when we worship. Over and over we’ve said the self-condemning words in…
Daily Devotions: November 4, 2019
November 4, 2019 For full passage click: Job 19:23-27a … “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God” vss. 25-26 Job’s story resonates with anyone seeking to understand the mystery of suffering. Job has done nothing wrong and has lost everything: possessions, wife, family, even his health and reputation, and to top it off…
Daily Devotions: November 3, 2019
November 3, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 6:27-31 … “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” vss. 27-28 Many congregations celebrate the Sunday nearest to November 1, All Saint’s Day, as All Saint’s Sunday, and use it to remember the Church Triumphant–those who have died in Christ who now rest from their labors. The Gospel text for that…
Daily Devotions: November 2, 2019
November 2, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 6:20-26 … “Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” vs. 20 At first, Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain–as remembered by Luke–seems similar to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, but it soon becomes apparent that the message is radically different. Not only does Jesus modify his description of those who are blessed, he adds a series of woes…