Blog (Page 151)
Daily Devotions: May 26, 2019
May 26, 2019 For full passage click: John 14:25-29 …“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” vs. 27 According to the world’s standards, peace is the absence of overt warfare and it comes at a cost. Lives are lost and cities and towns are destroyed as dominating forces duke it out…
Daily Devotions: May 25, 2019
May 25, 2019 For full passage click: John 14:22-24 …“Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’” vs. 23 Those who work with the public in any capacity have often noted that people can be, and often are, downright nasty and mean. They say and do hurtful things and seem to have no regard for the feelings of those…
Daily Devotions: May 24, 2019
May 24, 2019 For full passage click: Revelation 22:1-5 …“And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” vs. 5 It’s hard not to think of death as we look toward the future. All of us have had loved ones die, and we know that one day our time will come, too. It’s inevitable! No matter how hard we…
Daily Devotions: May 23, 2019
May 23, 2019 For full passage click: Revelation 21:10, 22-27 …“I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” vss. 22-23 John’s vision of the new Jerusalem would have been hard for faithful Jews to comprehend. The temple had been the…
Daily Devotions: May 22, 2019
May 22, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 67 …“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.” vss. 1-2 The psalmist’s words remind us of the benediction that is frequently said at the close of our worship services. For some pastors it’s the highlight of the day, a final chance to ask that God’s face would shine…
Daily Devotions: May 21, 2019
May 21, 2019 For full passage click: Acts 16:14-15 …“When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.” vs. 15 We don’t know much about Lydia, only that she was a prosperous businesswoman in Philippi, and a worshipper of God. She had encountered Paul along the river on the Sabbath and had been moved by the…
Daily Devotions: May 20, 2019
May 20, 2019 For full passage click: Acts 16:9-13 …“On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.” vs. 13 Paul didn’t have much of an itinerary for his missionary journeys. He simply went wherever the Spirit guided him and he paid attention to dreams! When a man appeared in a vision imploring him to…
Daily Devotions: May 19, 2019
May 19, 2019 For full passage click: John 13:34-35 …“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” vs. 35 During those exciting first centuries of the Church’s existence, apostles and evangelists went all over the Mediterranean world and beyond, proclaiming the powerful message of God’s universal grace and unconditional love. Thousands were convicted by the Spirit and were baptized into the Body of Christ. And then the leaders of these fledgling…
Daily Devotions: May 18, 2019
May 18, 2019 For full passage click: John 13:31-33 …“When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.’” vs. 31 Typically, the word “glorified” is used to describe something that has been elevated beyond its natural state. To achieve glory, to be honored and acclaimed in the sight of our peers, and is something that many of us seek. John tells us that Jesus was glorified by…
Daily Devotions: May 17, 2019
May 17, 2019 For full passage click: Revelation 21:1-6 …“And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” vs. 2 In the final sequence of his vision, John speaks of a glorious future, not one in which humans go to heaven to be with God, but one in which God comes to dwell with us. Quite simply, “the dwelling place of God is with mortals”—…
Daily Devotions: May 16, 2019
May 16, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 148:7-14 …“Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!” vss. 7, 9, 10, 11 The psalmist hadn’t likely studied theology or anthropology, but he did have a strong conviction that all things had been brought…
Daily Devotions: May 15, 2019
May 15, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 148:1-6 …“Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.” vs. 5 The psalmist knew that all things in the universe have their origin in God: stars, planets, angels, sun, moon–all things! By the word of the Lord they were created, and in the name of the Lord they offer praise and thanksgiving. Our eyes have become dulled to the connection between God and the stuff…