Blog (Page 149)
Daily Devotions: June 7, 2019
June 7, 2019 For full passage click: Acts 2:14-21 …“Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” vs. 21 Peter was so excited that he could not contain himself. The Holy Spirit had exploded on the scene in spectacular fashion and he was convinced that the things that were happening were a fulfillment of what had been written by the prophet Joel many centuries before. This was the pouring of the Spirit upon all flesh,…
Daily Devotions: June 6, 2019
June 6, 2019 For full passage click: Acts 2:1-13 …“And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.” vs. 6 We love our own native languages. In fact, many of us would prefer that everyone in our country would be forced to learn English as the official language. There are even some who become angry and suspicious when they hear other languages spoken in their presence. Such…
Daily Devotions: June 5, 2019
June 5, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 104:31-34, 35b …“May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.” vs. 34 Meditation is a foreign notion to many followers of Jesus. Often, they have associated the practice with eastern religions and aren’t comfortable dabbling in that which is not familiar. Obviously that was not the case with the psalmist. He’s been meditating on the wonders of creation and trusts that the Lord will be pleased. His…
Daily Devotions: June 4, 2019
June 4, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 104:24-30 …“When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” vs. 30 According to the psalmist, all creatures of the earth and sea, great and small, including the great Leviathan, were made and are sustained by God. More than that, none of them could survive apart from the presence of God’s spirit. In other words, the universe itself has an intimate connection to God…
Daily Devotions: June 3, 2019
June 3, 2019 For full passage click: Genesis 11:1-5…“Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” vs. 9 Those who composed the story of the tower of Babel realized how confusing the multiplicity of languages was for human cooperation. They claimed that the confusion was divinely inspired, that it was done to keep humans from doing the…
Daily Devotions: June 2, 2019
June 2, 2019 For full passage click: John 17:24-26 …“Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” vs. 24 Jesus is conscious that the love that sustains him has been present from before the foundations of the world. As John puts it in other places, Christ is the Alpha, and through…
Daily Devotions: June1, 2019
June 1, 2019 For full passage click: John 17:20-23 …”I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us…” vss. 20-21a As John recounts Jesus’ final prayer with his disciples, his language can seem repetitious and obscure. As a result, we can easily miss an…
Daily Devotions: May 31, 2019
May 31, 2019 For full passage click: Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 …“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.” vs. 17 At the heart of the book of Revelation, mysterious and obscure as it may be, there is a strong and consistent emphasis on grace. Christ Jesus freely offers the water of life to everyone…
Daily Devotions: May 30, 2019
May 30, 2019 For full passage click: Acts 1:1-11 …“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” vs. 8 After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples still had the parochial notion that his mission had been simply a prelude to the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. That was as much as they could comprehend.…
Daily Devotions: May 29, 2019
May 29, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 97 …“Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.” vs. 2 The psalmist didn’t wonder in his heart whether or not there was a god. For him such a notion was beyond question. But he also knew that God was cloaked in mystery and was often obscured by the clouds and darkness of our lives. We know that feeling, too. Those of us…
Daily Devotions: May 28, 2019
May 28, 2019 For full passage click: Acts 16:25-34 …“At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.” vs. 33 When the Philippian jailer, in the aftermath of an earthquake, asked what he needed to do to be saved, Paul was quick with a response, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.” Some have used Paul’s answer…
Daily Devotions: May 27, 2019
May 27, 2019 For full passage click: Acts 16:16-24 …“She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour.” vs 18 At first, Paul did nothing when the slave girl persisted in taunting him as he walked through the streets of Philippi. He doubtless recognized her instability but he chose not…