Daily Devotions by Steve Holm (Page 172)
Daily Devotions: October 14, 2018
October 14, 2018 Mark 10:28-31 …“Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’” vs. 28 It seems that sometimes the disciples were confused by Jesus’ words and wondered if they’d made the right decision to follow him. In this instance, his comments about the impossibility of salvation had made Peter think that their commitments and sacrifices had been pointless. That’s a common reaction to the gospel of grace. If it’s all God, then what’s…
Daily Devotions: October 13, 2018
October 13, 2018 Mark 10:23-27 …“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” vs. 25 It’s funny how upset folks get when their pastors talk about money. They might tolerate a few words on giving come Consecration Sunday, but at other times of the year pastors are expected to talk about spiritual stuff. Unfortunately, no one ever got the word to Jesus!…
Daily Devotions: October 12, 2018
October 12, 2018 Mark 10:17-22 …“Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’” vs. 21 The man in our text was craving more from life than he had been getting and he interrupts Jesus with his plea, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer he got shocked him and he…
Daily Devotions: October 11, 2018
October 11, 2018 Hebrews 4:12-16 …“Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” vs. 16 Occasionally we run into folks who carry a heaven burden of sin. They’ve done or said things, mostly known only to themselves, that have left them with a giant dose of guilt. They know about forgiveness, but have the sense that it doesn’t apply for them; that somehow…
Daily Devotions: October 10, 2018
October 10, 2018 Psalm 90:12-17 …“Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil.” vs. 15 The psalmist isn’t asking for the moon here, his request is simple, “O Lord, may we at least have as many good days as bad days in life.” We can understand his thinking because sometimes it seems as though things have gotten out of balance. So, if we’ve had a string of years…
Daily Devotions: October 9, 2018
October 9, 2018 Amos 5:12-15 …“Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time; for it is an evil time.” vs. 13 These words from Amos seem a bit strange in their context. He’s been railing against injustice and taking shots at the excesses of the wealthy. We’d expect that he would encourage his listeners to speak up and join the crusade. But he doesn’t do that. Instead, he says that the prudent will keep silent in such a…
Daily Devotions: October 8, 2018
October 8, 2018 Amos 5:6-7, 10-12…“Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.” vs. 6 King Jeroboam II, of the tribe of Ephraim, one of Joseph’s sons, was riding high. The country of Israel was enjoying a period of unprecedented prosperity and the wealthy were getting even richer. They were hard-pressed to think of what to spend their money on…
Daily Devotions: October 7, 2018
October 7, 2018 Mark 10:13-16 …“But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.’” vs. 14 The disciples didn’t want kids around Jesus. In our day, they would empathize with the stern-faced congregants who turn around in their pews to give the evil eye to parents struggling with noisy little ones. They wanted…
Daily Devotions: October 6, 2018
October 6, 2018 Mark 10:2-12 …“He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’” vss. 11-12 When this text is read in our worship services it often triggers feelings of guilt. Many followers of Jesus have been divorced and struggle to align their experience with his teachings. Even those who were in abusive relationships wonder if they should have simply endured. Others…
Daily Devotions: October 5, 2018
October 5, 2018 Hebrews 2:5-12 …“It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” vs. 10 The writer of the letter to the Hebrews was confident that Jesus was every bit as human as anyone else, otherwise, the things that he did and the hope that he brought would have no meaning to mortals. But, since Jesus did share in…
Daily Devotions: October 4, 2018
October 4, 2018 Hebrews 1:1-4 …“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son…” vss. 1-2a The early Christians treasured their scriptures and regarded them as authoritative guides for living. They particularly valued the words of the prophets and saw in them a reflection of God’s wisdom and judgement. But they also believed that God had brought a new word in…
Daily Devotions: October 3, 2018
October 3, 2018 Psalm 8 …“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” vss. 3-4 Twenty-five hundred years ago the psalmist was fully aware of the wonders of the universe. Even without a space telescope, he sensed that the earth was but a puny speck among the thousands of stars filling the…