Blog (Page 157)
Daily Devotions: March 10, 2019
March 10, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 4:1-13 …“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.” vss. 1-2 Our forty days of Lent are intended to replicate the time Jesus spent in the wilderness following his baptism. It may even be…
Daily Devotions: March 9, 2019
March 9, 2019 For full passage click: Romans 10:8b-13 …“For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” vs. 10 Everything that is necessary for universal salvation has already been done, and it’s all a gift from God. God’s love and forgiveness is by grace and it is for everyone–no exceptions. That does not mean however, that everyone is currently enjoying the good gifts of God. In fact, too…
Daily Devotions: March 8, 2019
Excuse our lateness on this; our internet was down last night so this is a few hours late this morning. Thanks for your patience! March 8, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 …“Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.” vss. 9-10 The psalmist was clearly confident in the benevolence of the Lord. He believed that when we make God…
Daily Devotions: March 7, 2019
March 7, 2019 For full passage click: Deuteronomy 26:1-11 …“you shall make this response before the Lord your God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.’” vs. 5 Sometimes Christians have a negative reaction to creeds and some congregations don’t use them in their liturgies. They don’t want any human devised doctrinal statement to stand in the…
Daily Devotions: ASH WEDNESDAY – March 6, 2019
March 6, 2019 For full passage click: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 …“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” vs. 21 Today is the first day of Lent, the 40 day liturgical season set aside for reflection on the suffering and death of Jesus. It’s a time for special worship services and maybe even some experimentation with spiritual disciplines. Some of us will be thinking about discipleship and what it really means to take up the cross and…
Daily Devotions: March 5, 2019
March 5, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 51:1-17 …“The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” vs. 17 The news that we are created in the image of God and are by nature the crown of creation, oozing with goodness, has long been stifled in the proclamation of the church. Instead, our leaders have focused on an opposite metaphor, a picture of a fallen and depraved…
Daily Devotions: March 4, 2019
March 4, 2019 For full passage click: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 …“Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.” vs. 13b A plague of locusts had descended upon Israel and Joel believed that they were a sign that the day of judgment was near. He pleads with the people to return to God with genuine repentance and not empty ceremonies. He wants them to know…
Daily Devotions: March 3, 2019
March 3, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 9:33-36 …“While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.” vs. 34 The disciples had seen Jesus in all his transfigured glory and they were stunned; they didn’t know what to make of the experience. Sometimes that’s what it’s like when we glimpse the Divine Presence in the course of journeying with Jesus. We’re befuddled and struggle to find a…
Daily Devotions: March 2, 2019
March 2, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 9:28-32 …“And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.” vs. 29 Jesus had invited the inner core of his disciples to join him on the mountain for prayer, but it appears they came more as observers than participants. The kind of meditation that Jesus practiced was intense and involved more than going through a list of friends and family that were having problems.…
Daily Devotions: March 1, 2019
March 1, 2019 For full passage click: 2 Corinthians 3:1-2 …“Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.” vs. 1 We live in a time when many are lamenting the decline of the Christian church. All across the land congregations are losing members and closing, seminaries are declining in enrollment, and the percentage of people calling themselves religious is becoming smaller every year. In some places, there is almost…
Daily Devotions: February 28, 2019
February 28, 2019 For full passage click: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 …“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” vs. 18 Paul had come a long way from his days as a zealous Pharisee. As he reflected on the old story from Exodus where Moses had veiled his…
Daily Devotions: February 27, 2019
February 27, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 99:6-9 …“O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.” vs. 8 The psalmist had a strong appreciation for the ancient leaders of Israel; Moses, his brother Aaron, and Samuel the prophet. They were in regular communication with the Lord and often cried out to God on behalf of the people. And the Lord God answered their prayers, and sometimes there…