Blog (Page 159)
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 9, 2019
February 9, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 5:1-5 …“He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.” vs. 3 After being run out of his hometown, Jesus goes to Capernaum, a town on the Sea of Galilee not too far from Nazareth. Again, people are very interested in what he has to…
Daily Devotions: February 9, 2019
February 9, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 5:1-5 …“He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.” vs. 3 After being run out of his hometown, Jesus goes to Capernaum, a town on the Sea of Galilee not too far from Nazareth. Again, people are very interested in what he has to…
Daily Devotions: February 8, 2019
February 8, 2019 To read full passage click: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 …“For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” vs. 9 Paul occasionally drops autobiographical material into his writings, and what he says about himself usually corresponds to what we read about him in Acts. Initially, he had no love for the church and actively participated in the persecution of its members. All that changed with his…
Daily Devotions: February 7, 2019
February 7, 2019 To read full passage click: Psalm 138:5-8 “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” vs. 8 We have a tendency to obsess about God’s will for our lives, imagining perhaps that God has some special plan that we’re not seeing, a purpose that will elevate our status in the kingdom. The psalmist doesn’t seem to be troubled by such a notion;…
Daily Devotions: February 6, 2019
February 6, 2019 To read full passage click: Psalm 138:1-4 …“On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.” vs. 3 Even though countless books have been written about prayer and its efficacy, we still wonder from time to time if it really makes any difference. Often we pray for God’s intervention and nothing seems to happen. Answers are unsatisfying and we question whether God has even heard. Presumably, the psalmist had similar experiences; but…
Daily Devotions: February 5, 2019
February 5, 2019 To read full passage click: Isaiah 6:5-8 …“And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’” vs. 5 When Isaiah envisioned the awesome power of the living God, his own inadequacies were exposed and he sensed that his whole being was flawed. He knew himself so very well, and…
Daily Devotions: February 4, 2019
February 4, 2019 To read full passage click: Isaiah 6:1-4 …“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple.” vs. 1 Isaiah gifts us with a description of his call to prophetic ministry and even gives us the year, somewhere around 740 BC. He was in the temple and had a vision of God’s presence. It was overwhelming and changed his life.…
Daily Devotions: February 3, 2019
February 3, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 4:24-30 …“When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage.” vs. 28 At first glance the response of Jesus’ hometown congregation seems out of proportion to what had been said. It almost appears that we’re only getting fragments of the conversation, and that could be the case. The gospels are frequently pretty sketchy and at best we’re getting a brief summary of all that Jesus did and said.…
Daily Devotions: February 2, 2019
February 2, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 4:21-23 …“All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’” vs. 22 When Jesus returned to his hometown after his experience with the Spirit in the wilderness, he was invited to speak in the synagogue. He was the “hometown boy made good” and people were proud of the reputation that had preceded him. Initially the response…
Daily Devotions: February 1, 2019
February 1, 2019 To read full passage click: 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 …“Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.” vs. 8 Christianity is known for its trends. Every few years there is a major breakthrough of some sort and we become obsessed with the newest and the latest worship practices and doctrinal statements. At those moments, there are endless debates…
Daily Devotions: January 31, 2019
January 31, 2019 To read full passage click: 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 …“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” vs. 2 Occasionally we meet the people who Paul describes so well. Sometimes they’re the pillars of congregations, steeped in biblical knowledge and able to answer any theological question. They’re clever and gifted people, generous in their…