Daily Devotions by Steve Holm (Page 126)
Daily Devotions
And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” vss. 11-12 Mark 1:9-15 Mark is a “bare bones” gospel. As the first to be written it charts Jesus’ ministry from baptism through resurrection, but leaves the teaching and parables to Matthew and Luke. Here Jesus gets no time at all to bask in the glory of his baptismal experience–immediately he is…
Daily Devotions
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison…” vss. 18-19 1 Peter 3:18-22 As early followers of Jesus reflected on his sacrificial death, it seemed absurd to believe that he had suffered only for the living. Instead they began…
Daily Devotions
Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.” vs. 6 Psalm 25:1-10 The psalmist wanted more than anything to have a solid relationship with God. He wanted to walk in the way of truth and righteousness–but he was wondering if he was going to be undone by past transgressions. Would God ultimately remember the sins of his youth and hold them against him? He’d like God to forget about…
Daily Devotions
When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” vs. 16 Genesis 9:8-17 Humans have a hard time wrapping their heads around the notion that all living creatures have a divine connection. Generally we understand ourselves as being the center of the universe and give little thought to the thousands of other species that also inhabit this beautiful blue…
Daily Devotions
Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” vs. 1 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, traditionally the time for followers of Jesus to receive the imposition of ashes at worship as a sign of repentance. In most congregations the ashes are imposed on the forehead in the shape of a cross with the words, “Remember that…
Daily Devotions
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.” vs. 1 Psalm 51:1-17 Through the years we’ve come up with some creative ways to deal with the problem of sin in our lives. Most recently a sizable number of folks have decided that there’s been too much talk of sin in the church, and that we deserve a break. Some congregations have consequently eliminated the confession from the order…
Daily Devotions
Is not this the fast that I choose: to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them…? vss. 6a-7 Isaiah 58:1-12 The prophet imagines a conversation between God and Israelites who are wondering why their prayers aren’t being heard when they have been so faithful in making their temple sacrifices and keeping their ritual fasts. In the prophet’s estimation, God has a different agenda for them–they’ve…
Daily Devotions
Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.” vs. 8 Mark 9:7-9 Most people have a variety of spiritual and religious experiences as they search for a unitary expression of faith, one that will stand the test of time and withstand the doubts that stalk them. There are days that our faith is strong, buttressed by internal certainties rising from what we perceive to be divine encounters. On those days there’s a…
Daily Devotions
Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’” vs. 5 Mark 9:2-6 When Peter was at a loss for words he usually said something–it was his way of dealing with anxiety, and as an extrovert, it was more comfortable for him to talk than think. So on the mountain of transfiguration, after a powerful vision of Jesus as the…
Daily Devotions
For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” vs. 5 2 Corinthians 4:5-6 Sometimes we encounter people who have a bit of a glow about them, and not because they’ve been drinking. It’s the radiant look in their eyes, a light that we sense comes from deep within them, a light…
Daily Devotions
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” vs. 4 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 Paul uses dualistic language here to describe those forces present in the world that contrive to keep us from recognizing the presence of Christ, either in ourselves or in the world. While we might not call those powers the…
Daily Devotions
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.” vs. 2 Psalm 50:1-6 For the psalmist God was anything but hidden. He believed that the Lord daily summoned the people of Israel, from the rising of the sun to its setting, to acts of worship and sacrifice. And more than that, he was convinced that Jerusalem itself, holy Zion, home to the temple of Solomon, was the dwelling place of God on earth. True worship took place there, and…