Blog (Page 158)
Daily Devotions: February 19, 2019
February 19, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 37:1-11 …“Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.” vss. 7-8 The psalmist speaks from experience. He’s likely had a lifetime of walking in the way of the Lord and he’s learned some things about the journey. As we overhear…
Daily Devotions: February 18, 2019
February 18, 2019 For full passage click: Genesis 43:3-11, 15 …“I myself will be surety for him; you can hold me accountable for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.” vs. 9 Judah and his brothers had contrived to sell their father’s favorite son, Joseph, into slavery. The story of Joseph’s rise to a position of prominence in Egypt is well-known, as is…
Daily Devotions: February 17, 2019
February 17, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 6:24-26 …“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” vs. 24 A series of warnings immediately following a list of blessings is not unusual in the Hebrew scriptures. The prophets used that tactic regularly in delivering their oracles. But Luke is the only gospel that has Jesus using this method. In his Sermon on the Plain, Jesus follows his favorable assessment of the poor with cutting…
Daily Devotions: February 16, 2019
February 16, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 6:20-23 …“Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” vs. 20 The beatitudes that open the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew are well-known to most Christians. There’s a beautiful symmetry in his account of Jesus’ description of his followers and it’s a favorite text for All-Saint’s Day. Luke also makes reference to the beatitudes as he…
Daily Devotions: February 15, 2019
February 15, 2019 To read passage click: Luke 6:17-19 …“They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.” vs. 18 During his ministry, Jesus functioned both as a teacher and a healer. Luke says that great multitudes of people gathered to hear him speak and to seek healing from various diseases, and he didn’t let them down. They eagerly received his words of insight and wisdom…
Daily Devotions: February 14, 2019
♥ February 14, 2019 For full passage click: 1 Corinthians 15:16-20 …“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” vs. 17 For Paul, God’s greatest act of love was forgiveness, and he often speaks of Jesus’ death on the cross as the atoning sacrifice that removed our sins. In this passage however, he links forgiveness to resurrection and says that, if Christ had not been raised, we would still be in our…
Daily Devotions: February 13, 2019
February 13, 2019 For full passage click: 1 Corinthians 15:12-15 …“and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” vs. 14 Paul had had an encounter with the resurrected Christ. It was the realest thing he had ever experienced and he couldn’t believe that there were some who insisted that there was no such thing as resurrection! When he heard that some such folks were tickling the ears…
Daily Devotions: February 12, 2019
February 12, 2019 To read full passage click: Psalm 1 …“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” vss. 5-6 This psalmist lived in a black and white world, rigidly divided between the righteous and the wicked. It’s a way of thinking familiar to us. We love to make distinctions and, while we…
Daily Devotions: February 11, 2019
February 11, 2019 To read full passage click: Jeremiah 17:5-10 …“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.” vss. 7-8a Jeremiah understood that faith is trust and more particularly, trust in the Lord. He based his declaration on his observation of the people he was encountering in his ministry. Those whose trust was in the Lord and not…
Daily Devotions: February 10, 2019
February 10, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 5:6-11 …“But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’” vs. 8 When Simon Peter catches a glimpse of the Divine Presence in Jesus, his immediate response is to ask him to go away, a request that reminds us of Isaiah’s call-story some centuries before. It’s a reaction that many can understand, especially if we have…
Daily Devotions: February 10, 2019
February 10, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 5:6-11 …“But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’” vs. 8 When Simon Peter catches a glimpse of the Divine Presence in Jesus, his immediate response is to ask him to go away, a request that reminds us of Isaiah’s call-story some centuries before. It’s a reaction that many can understand, especially if we have…