Blog (Page 142)
Daily Devotions: September 2, 2019
September 2, 2019 For full passage click: Deuteronomy 30:15-20 … “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live…” vs. 19 The Israelites had been set free from their bondage in Egypt by the grace of God, and had been formed into a people by their experience in the wilderness. Now they faced a critical moment–ahead lay…
Daily Devotions: September 1, 2019
September 1, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 14:12-14 … “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” vss. 13-14 Every organization or community is guided by sets of unwritten rules that govern social connections. Often these expectations will be obscure to outsiders, but those on the inside know them intimately–we…
Daily Devotions: August 31, 2019
August 31, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 14:1, 7-11 … “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host;” vs. 8 Jesus had been invited to dinner on the Sabbath at the home of a leader of the Pharisees and people were watching him carefully–and he was watching them. He was particularly amused at how they…
Daily Devotions: August 30, 2019
August 30, 2019 For full passage click: Hebrews 13:8,15-16 … “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” vs. 8 The writer of the book of Hebrews knew the history of his people as far back as the Scriptures recorded it. He was familiar with the stories of the matriarchs and patriarchs and believed that the many examples of their faithfulness could both inspire and console. But the most important truth he passed on was his insight regarding…
Daily Devotions: August 29, 2019
August 29, 2019 For full passage click: Hebrews 13:1-7 … “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” vss. 1-2 It’s a given that followers of Jesus are called to love one another. According to John, it was his final commandment. Early believers learned that this mutual love was one of the most impressive attributes of their faith communities, and it’s been that way ever…
Daily Devotions: August 28, 2019
August 28, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 81: 1, 10-16 … “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.” vs. 10 From the Psalmist’s perspective, the Lord was responsible for Israel’s existence as a people. Once they had been slaves. The fact that they had a land of their own was totally due to the Lord’s intervention. Not only had the Lord…
Daily Devotions: August 27, 2019
August 27, 2019 For full passage click: Jeremiah 2:9-13 … “for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.” vs. 13 Jeremiah’s descriptive image tells the whole story. In forsaking the Lord, Israel had replaced the fountain of Living Water with cracked cisterns of their own construction that couldn’t even hold water. It’s a familiar tale for the people of…
Daily Devotions: August 26, 2019
August 26, 2019 For full passage click: Jeremiah 2:4-8 … “Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.” vs. 4 We find the phrase “Hear the word of the Lord” regularly from Jeremiah as he lived out his life as a prophet in Jerusalem. God had given him words for the people and he could not rest until they were spoken. Often, the words were condemning. Israel had failed to…
Daily Devotions: August 25, 2019
August 25, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 13:15-17 … “When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.” vs. 17 Public opinion was solidly on the side of Jesus in the Sabbath-healing controversy. Jesus had broken the proscription about healing, but he had won the hearts of the crowd. The religious authorities had been humiliated. Jesus had pounced on their hypocrisy, implying…
Daily Devotions: August 24, 2019
August 24, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 13:10-14 … “But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath day.’” vs. 14 For the leader of the synagogue and other religious authorities, obedience to the Sabbath commandment was at the heart of what it meant to be…
Daily Devotions: August 23, 2019
August 23, 2019 For full passage click: Hebrews 12:22-29 … “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe…” vs. 28 Jesus came announcing the presence of the kingdom of God and taught his followers to pray for its coming on earth as well as in heaven. Mostly though, the best we’ve been able to do is catch periodic glimpses of…
Daily Devotions: August 22, 2019
August 22, 2019 For full passage click: Hebrews 12:18-21 … “You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest…” vs. 18 The writer of the book of Hebrews, writing to people who were familiar with Scripture, found inspiration in the faith of the ancestors, but also pointed to the limitations of their stories. Here he compares the experience of the Israelites at Mt. Sinai with the new covenant mediated…