Blog (Page 146)
Daily Devotions: July 27, 2020
July 27, 2020 Isaiah 55:1-5 … “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” vs. 1 The prophet is ecstatic about the good news that he has for Israel. The country had virtually ceased to exist–Jerusalem had been destroyed–everything people had held dear was gone. Even the temple lay in ruins! And he’s so overflowing with joy and excitement that…
Daily Devotions: July 26, 2020
July 26, 2020 Matthew 13:44-52 … “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” vs.44 All the riches that God has for us–the peace and joy, the forgiveness and hope–all those blessings are present for us all the time! But too many of us don’t even sense their nearness. We pass through life, oblivious to the…
Daily Devotions: July 25, 2020
July 25, 2020 Matthew 13:31-33… “He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’” vs. 33 From time to time we’re blessed to get a glimpse of how other people live in our world. It could happen in the course of travel but most of the time it happens randomly as we navigate between television, social media, movies, and…
Daily Devotions: July 24, 2020
July 24, 2020 Romans 8:33-39… “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” vss. 38-39 As the days begin to blur together and we continue to be confused and frightened by contradictory reports of how long COVID-19 will impact our…
Daily Devotions: July 23, 2020
July 23, 2020 Romans 8:26-32… “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” vs. 26 There are times when prayer seems easy. We know exactly what is on our minds and find no difficulty in laying out our petitions of joy and thanksgiving, while also letting God know what we’d like to have happen. But on other occasions…
Daily Devotions: July 22, 2020
July 22, 2020 Psalm 119:133-136 … “My eyes shed streams of tears because your law is not kept.” vs. 136 As the psalmist surveyed the lives of those around him, his heart often overflowed with sadness at the mess some folks were making of the precious days that God had given them. We know that feeling! Sometimes it’s members of our own families who continually make wrong choices and who regularly experience brokenness in daily living. Sometimes those choices have…
Daily Devotions: July 21, 2020
July 21, 2020 Psalm 119:129-132 … “With open mouth I pant, because I long for your commandments.” vs. 132 The psalmist loved the law and was ecstatic as he pored over its commandments and savored its precepts. We who have been raised on a diet of grace and forgiveness might have some difficulty understanding that unabashed, almost amorous, delight in the law of the Lord. Often that’s because we think of law in terms of judgment rather than instruction. Paul…
Daily Devotions: July 20, 2020
July 20, 2020 1 Kings 3:1-12 … “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” vs. 9 Solomon’s biographer described him as the wealthiest king on earth. His armies were undefeated, his building projects unmatched, and he spared no expense in providing for himself and his wives. Even the Queen of Sheba came to see him and he lavished her with gifts.…
Daily Devotions: July 19, 2020
July 19, 2020 Matthew 13:36-43 … “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” vss. 41-42 The disciples asked Jesus to explain the parable of the weeds in the field—it was tough for them to understand. And now we’d like someone to explain his explanation! For…
Daily Devotions: July 18, 2020
July 18, 2020 Matthew 13:24-30 … “And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’” vs. 27 From the beginning it has been apparent in the Church that not everyone is on the same page. While there have been countless saints and pillars, people who have taken the words of Jesus to heart and borne fruit in every area, there have…
Daily Devotions: July 17, 2020
July 17, 2020 Romans 8:19-25 … “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” vss. 24-25 Paul regularly spoke of hope as he wrote to early Christians. He knew that the glories of which he spoke were not readily apparent to them and that they wondered if they would experience resurrection.…
Daily Devotions: July 16, 2020
July 16, 2020 Romans 8:12-18 … “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” vs. 18 Unlike many Christians of our day. the early followers of Jesus expected that there would be suffering along the Way. That’s what had happened to Christ Jesus and there was no reason to expect that it wouldn’t also happen for them. It isn’t that they enjoyed the suffering or looked…