Blog (Page 141)
Daily Devotions: September 11, 2019
September 11, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 51:6-10 … “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.” vs. 8 Because we have been created in the image of God for goodness sake, we cannot help but feel terrible when we miss the mark and become conscious of sin’s ugly presence. The experience of sinning leaves us with a heavy weight on our hearts and sometimes the guilt comes close to crushing our spirits.…
Daily Devotions: September 10, 2019
September 10, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 51:1-5 … “Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.” vs. 5 According to Hebrew tradition, this psalm was David’s response when Nathan, the prophet, confronted him after his dalliance with Bathsheba. Even if the writer wasn’t David, it was surely a person struggling with deep and profound feelings of shame and guilt. Many of us know what that’s like. For one reason or another we manage to…
Daily Devotions: September 9, 2019
September 9, 2019 For full passage click: Exodus 32:7-14 … “And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.” vs. 14 In this little story from Exodus, it appears that the Lord has flipped a gasket over the idolatrous behavior of the Israelites in the wilderness, and is ready to wipe them all out. Moses, aware of the Lord’s anger, has to use his best debating skills to avert disaster. What stands…
Daily Devotions: September 8, 2019
September 8, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 14:31-33 … “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” vs. 33 Jesus regularly reminded his followers that discipleship was a costly undertaking and not something that could be taken lightly. Here he tells them that it will include the abandonment of all their possessions. Following his death and resurrection, it seems those who became disciples were willing to do exactly that.…
Daily Devotions: September 7, 2019
September 7, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 14:25-30 … “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” vs. 26 Sometimes Jesus’ words are harsh and difficult to understand. We wonder if he could possibly mean what he seems to be saying and search for ways to make his hard statements palatable. Or maybe there’s another way to translate Luke’s Greek—perhaps an…
Daily Devotions: September 6, 2019
September 6, 2019 For full passage click: Philemon 8-25 … “Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for ever, no longer as a slave but as more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.” vss. 15-16 Slavery was commonplace in the Roman Empire. It had an institutional presence and was unquestioned by…
Daily Devotions: September 5, 2019
September 5, 2019 For full passage click: Philemon 1-7 … “I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.” vs. 7 The letters of Paul give us amazing snapshots of life in the early Christian communities. In one way or another in dozens of cities, the good news of Jesus had been proclaimed and passed on. Hundreds of people had become believers and were meeting…
The Spiritual Practice of Hospitality
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Have you ever been offered a place to stay at a time of need in your life? Has a kind word or thoughtful presence helped you…
Daily Devotions: September 4, 2019
September 4, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 1:4-6 … “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” vs. 4 The imagery used by the Psalmist calls to mind the hilltop threshing floors used by farmers to separate the wheat from the chaff at harvest time. As they tossed the separated grain into the air, the chaff would be blown away by the wind while the heavier wheat would fall back to the earth. The…
Daily Devotions: September 4, 2019
September 4, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 1:4-6 … “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” vs. 4 The imagery used by the Psalmist calls to mind the hilltop threshing floors used by farmers to separate the wheat from the chaff at harvest time. As they tossed the separated grain into the air, the chaff would be blown away by the wind while the heavier wheat would fall back to the earth. The…
Daily Devotions: September 3, 2019
September 3, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 1:1-3 … “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.” vs.3 The world of this Psalmist was not particularly complicated. There were good people and bad people, those who had their act together and those who didn’t. Most of us would probably agree–that’s what we see too. There are those who…