Daily Devotions by Steve Holm (Page 116)
Daily Devotions
The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’” vs. 4 Ezekiel 2:3-5 Ezekiel’s call was to be a prophet to the rebellious nation of Israel and he believed that he spoke for God as he addressed them. He wouldn’t be just expressing his opinions in his sermons, he would be the voice of God! That’s an audacious claim, and we can be fairly confident that…
Daily Devotions
He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you.” vs. 1 Ezekiel 2:1-3 UFO enthusiasts believe that the vision described by Ezekiel in chapter one of his book is the account of his encounter with an alien spacecraft around the year 597 BCE. Of course that’s not how Ezekiel interpreted it–for him it was an encounter with the Lord, an experience that changed his life. Whatever it was that he saw and…
Daily Devotions
When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’” vs. 39 Mark 5:35-43 What Jesus said to the mourners at the synagogue leader’s home was crazy–and they knew it! That’s why they laughed at him! They knew the difference between death and sleep, and so do we. That’s why we mourn when someone dies–it’s the natural thing to do. Of course Jesus paid no attention, went…
Daily Devotions
She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’” vss.27-28 Mark 5:21-34 The woman’s condition made her ritually impure so she had a dual purpose in seeking out Jesus. She hoped that if she touched his clothes she would be both healed and cleansed. In our world we think of healing primarily in physical terms. We seek out…
Daily Devotions
I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need…” vss. 13-14a 2 Corinthians 8:11-15 It seems that some people in the Corinthian congregation were reluctant to share their hard-earned money with the needy folks in Jerusalem. Such feelings are quite common, even in the family of faith. And the more material goods we’ve managed to accumulate the more…
Daily Devotions
Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.” vs. 7 2 Corinthians 8:7-11 There had been a massive famine in the area of Jerusalem and the Jewish Christians there were struggling mightily. When Paul heard he launched a massive disaster response effort in the congregations he had started. Instructions were sent out to gather a collection that could…
Daily Devotions
You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,” vs. 11 Psalm 30:6-12 The psalmist had a strong sense of having lived in the Lord’s favor through his entire life. There had been times when things had not gone well for him but he didn’t doubt that the Lord had his back. He knew that ultimately God’s underlying love would lift him up, and that hope never abandoned him when times…
Daily devotions
For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” vs. 5 Psalm 30:1-5 The psalmist was intimately aware of the Divine Presence; he knew that the Lord was connected to him in every conceivable way. There would never be a time when God was absent. It’s natural in such a relationship to have feelings of regret and sadness about words or deeds, and…
Daily Devotions
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” vss. 22-23 Lamentations 3:22-33 These are words one might expect from a lottery winner, someone who has been the beneficiary of a sudden windfall. In reality they come from a prophet who has seen and experienced the complete devastation of city and country, a person familiar with starvation and lingering death. And that’s how it has…
Daily Devotions
And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” vs. 41 Mark 4:39-41 Mark closes his little story with a question that he knew most every devout Jew should be able to answer. Who is it that even the winds and the waves obey? It was in their psalms–they sang about it regularly. It was the Lord who wielded such control over the forces…
Daily Devotions
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’” vs. 38 Mark 4:35-38 Mark’s little story raises a big question for a literalist reader. How could Jesus sleep through a windstorm that was swamping the boat? Answers for our question could vary–perhaps he was an introvert and had gotten exhausted with all the extroverting involved in ministry, and had collapsed like…
Daily Devotions
We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours.” vss. 11-12 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 Even though Paul mounts a spirited defense of his ministry to the Corinthians he does not expect that their relationship will be destroyed, and there is no hint that he holds any animosity. He loves them very much and even though they’ve expressed some negativity about his teachings, it has…