Blog (Page 179)
Daily Devotions: June 14 , 2018
June 14, 2018 Corinthians 5:6-10…“For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.” vs. 10 As followers of Jesus pick and choose their favorite passages of scripture, they often skip over verses like this one from Paul. Those who bask in the grace freely offered by God are troubled by intimations that there might one day be a time…
Daily Devotions: June 13 , 2018
June 13, 2018 Psalm 92:12-15…“In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap, showing that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” vss. 14-15 The psalmist has noticed that the righteous will often seem to live forever. He compares them to a cedar or palm tree planted in the courts of God. They live on and on as faithful servants and continue to bear fruit even…
Daily Devotions: June 12 , 2018
June 12, 2018 Psalm 92:1-4…“For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.” vs. 4 There are some days that seem better than others. We wake in the morning with a smile on our faces, and through the day we are alert to the blessings of our lives and the pure wonder of being alive in this spectacular spot in the universe. The psalmist was having one of…
Daily Devotions: June 11 , 2018
June 11, 2018 Ezekiel 17:22-24…“Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.” vs. 22 Ezekiel writes from Babylon at a time of crisis and turmoil in Jerusalem. The expected military help from Egypt had not arrived and the last Davidic…
Daily Devotions: June 10 , 2018
June 10, 2018 Mark 3:31-35…“And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” vss. 34-35 We get mixed messages from scripture about Jesus’ relationship with his family. John and Luke indicate that by the end of his life, Mary and his brother, James, were on board with his mission, but Mark tells us there was a disconnect early on.…
Daily Devotions: June 9 , 2018
June 9, 2018 Mark 3:20-30…“When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’” vs. 21 It’s disheartening sometimes to realize how many naysayers there are among us. As soon as someone attains some measure of notoriety, background investigations are launched and inevitably dirt begins to appear in the news. We hear all the old stories of past indiscretions and unsubstantiated accusations–and some of us love it. We…
A Special Feeling for Veterans
When Richard and Nancy Christiansen of Ann Arbor, Michigan built a winter condo in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2000, they were introduced to Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center in Carefree by Pastor Bob Hutson. Over the years Richard and Nancy have attended day lectures at the retreat center, and during one Christmas, their entire family were guests at the center for a special family Christmas celebration. Richard said, “Spirit in the Desert is a special place for renewal and healing…
Daily Devotions: June 8 , 2018
June 8, 2018 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1…“So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” vs. 16 Our situation is very different from that of the Thessalonians, yet our concerns are similar. Paul had assured them that the Day of Lord was at hand, that Jesus would be returning soon, but nothing had happened. Instead, they were getting older and some of them had died. So he…
Daily Devotions: June 7 , 2018
June 7, 2018 2 Corinthians 4:13-15…“But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—’I believed, and so I spoke’ —we also believe, and so we speak,…” vs. 13 It’s hard to know exactly what has generated faith in any believer. With some, it seems to have been there since childhood. They can’t remember any particular moment in which they first believed. With Paul, it was an encounter with the Risen Christ on the…
Daily Devotions: June 6 , 2018
June 6, 2018 Psalm 130…“If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.” vss. 3-4 There are those who believe that God keeps a detailed record of our entire lives, and has therefore taken note of all our sins and indiscretions from the times of our youth until the present. The psalmist notes that if that were indeed the case all of us would be doomed.…
Daily Devotions: June 5, 2018
June 5, 2018 Genesis 3:11-15…“The man said, ’The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.’” vs. 12 This story’s truth nails us. Oh, how we love to blame others for our sins! The man manages to blame both God and the woman for his disobedience. “She did it, God! And if you hadn’t made her, things would be just fine. So it’s really all your fault, God!” Over and…
Daily Devotions: June 4, 2018
June 4, 2018 Genesis 3:8-10…“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” vs. 8 These stories from the Genesis 2 and 3 are amazing for the breadth of their understanding of human nature. In them, we see a down-to-earth God who forms and shapes the man from clay…