Blog (Page 8)
Daily Devotions
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.” vs. 8 Hebrews 11:8-16 Since Abraham and Sarah are mentioned first among the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Hebrew people, it’s not strange that the writer of Hebrew makes them prime models of faithfulness for his readers. In fact, they get top billing! But as he refers to…
Daily Devotions
By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.” vs. 3 Hebrews 11:1-3 Most ancient peoples have wild and convoluted stories about the creation of the world. In these tales’ gods and goddesses engaged in mythic struggles for power and position and in the process all things now seen came into existence. By contrast the Hebrew creation stories seem tame and orderly.…
Daily Devotions
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” vs. 22 Psalm 33:17-22 There is a lot of talk about love among people of faith. After all Jesus commanded his disciples to love both God and neighbor, and from the beginning his followers have done their best to do just that. And even John Lennon jumped on the bandwagon with his hit single, “All We Need Is Love.” There’s probably not a sermon that…
Daily Devotions
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.” vs. 12 Psalm 33:12-17 The psalmist believed that the children of Israel were God’s chosen people. This sentiment appears regularly in the Hebrew scriptures and has continued to be the foundation of Judaism. Even today the nation of Israel sees itself as having that special relationship to the Lord, and there is a credible scriptural basis for that belief. Of course, those…
Daily Devotions
And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.” vs. 6 Genesis 15:1-6 It’s just a single verse from one of the ancestral stories in Genesis, yet these few words have had an outsized importance as believers have put together their story of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Paul used them as the linchpin of his letter to the Romans in his attempt to show that our salvation doesn’t depend on our obedience to works…
Daily Devotions
I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you.’” vss. 19-20a Luke 12:16-21 If any of the people in the crowd around Jesus were familiar with the book of Ecclesiastes, they would have realized that the truths contained in his parable on greed were found in its pages. While some of…
Daily Devotions
And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’” vs. 15 Luke 12:13-15 Jesus had narrowly avoided getting involved in a family dispute about an inheritance, an issue that’s been around ever since children began to wonder how their parents’ possessions would be distributed after their deaths. Of course, there are a myriad of laws to cover such occasions and thoughtful estate…
Daily Devotions
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.” vss. 9-10 Colossians 3:9-11 It’s true, lying is not one of the Ten Commandments, yet there’s probably nothing more destructive to human relationships! And it comes so naturally to us. It’s one of the first things children learn how to do–and…
Daily Devotions
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” vs. 7 Colossians 3:1-7 It’s easy to get confused about the writer’s intention in verses like this. Some presume that he’s telling believers to set their minds on heaven, that place up in the sky where angels live. Indeed, for long periods of time that’s what Christians have done, and it’s not…
Daily Devotions
Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?” vss. 5-6 Psalm 49:1-12 The psalmist was feeling persecuted by rich folks, those who trust in their wealth and in the abundance of their riches. We know what such people are like. Their names are always before us and we can’t escape the reports of their profligate spending and ostentatious…
Daily Devotions
I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me—and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish?” vss.18-19a Ecclesiastes 2:18-23 The Teacher’s words will resonate with many in our accumulation-driven society. Many people devote long years of their lives to building their portfolios and establishing retirement funds, and often they don’t even like the work that they’ve been doing! And then when they…
Daily Devotions
I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.” vs. 14 Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14 Hebrew people, and its writer, self-described as Koholoth or Teacher, takes on the persona of Solomon, a man described in the first book of Kings as the wisest person in the world. He says that he “applied (his) mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven.” What…