Daily Devotions by Steve Holm (Page 158)
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…
Daily Devotions: January 30, 2019
January 30, 2019 To read full passage click: Psalm 71:1-6 …“Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.” vs. 6 For the psalmist, the Lord was not some divine being who existed apart from creation and who periodically checked in to see how he was doing. Not at all! The God he loved and worshipped was intimately present to him. The Lord was a…
Daily Devotions: January 29, 2019
January 29, 2019 To read full passage click: Jeremiah 1:8-10 …“Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, ‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.’” Jeremiah’s call experience was so vivid! He could literally feel the touch of the Lord’s hand on his mouth. The vision changed his life, and from that point on he proclaimed the word of the Lord to all who would listen and even to…
Daily Devotions: January 28, 2019
January 28, 2019 To read full passage click: Jeremiah 1:4-7 …“But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you.’” vs. 7 The story of Jeremiah’s call gives a perfect example of the special connection that some people of faith have to God. According to his own testimony, Jeremiah knew from his youth that God wanted…
Daily Devotions: January 27, 2019
January 27, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 4:17b-21 …“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,” vs. 18 After his encounter with the Spirit in his baptism Jesus had gone into the wilderness for 40 days of meditation while he wrestled with his…
Daily Devotions: January 26, 2019
January 26, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 4:14-17a …“Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.” vs. 14 When the Spirit connected with Jesus in a divine epiphany on the day of his baptism, it wasn’t just a momentary experience. This dove had come to hang around! The power of the Spirit remained and continued to give support during the time in the…
Daily Devotions: January 25, 2019
January 25, 2019 To view full passage click: 1 Corinthians 12: 20-31a …“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.” vs. 26 Contemporary culture, particularly in the Western World, is marked by a strong preference for rugged individualism, an attitude that has crept into the way we articulate our faith. Often we hear talk of personal relationships with Jesus and the resulting individual salvation that is ours. It’s…
Daily Devotions: January 24, 2019
January 24, 2019 To read full passage click: 1 Corinthians 12:12-19 …“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” vs. 12 Paul uses the human body as a metaphor to help the Corinthians understand the nature of the church, which is, in turn, the Body of Christ. It’s a simple illustration, one easily understood by most readers. We know that…
Daily Devotions: January 23, 2019
January 23, 2019 To read full passage click: Psalm 19 …“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” vss. 1,3-4 Pastors, jealous of nature’s hold on our imagination, will often disparage those who would rather go to the mountains than sit in…