Daily Devotions by Steve Holm (Page 189)
Daily Devotions: January 14, 2018
John 1:47-51 “Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’” vs. 50 Nathaniel was expecting to meet a carpenter’s son from Nazareth when he went with Philip. Instead he encountered Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, the king of Israel and he was blown away, turned from a doubter to a believer within moments of their introduction. Nathaniel’s faith story is the first…
Daily Devotions: January 13, 2018
John 1:43-46 “Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’” vs. 46 Nathanael knew Nazareth. It was a sleepy little town in the hills and had no history to speak of…it wasn’t even mentioned in any of the Hebrew scriptures. From his perspective it seemed unlikely that it would produce the long-awaited messiah and his answer to Philip reveals his scepticism. But Philip doesn’t argue…this wasn’t the sort of issue…
Daily Devotions: January 12, 2018
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” vss. 19-20 The Corinthians were permissive folks and had pretty much lowered the bar for personal behavior in their congregation. They’d taken to heart Paul’s words about grace and had concluded that all things were lawful…
Daily Devotions: January 11, 2018
Psalm 139:13-18 “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.” vs. 14 There’s a lot of talk these days about artificial intelligence and the possibility that one day we’ll be able to manufacture robots that can outperform humans. The psalmist would roll his eyes at such presumption…and we should too! Even though many of us occasionally call ourselves “idiots” and are quick to disparage our own capabilities, the truth…
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Daily Devotions: January 10, 2018
Psalm 139:1-6 “O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.” vss. 1, 3, 6 The psalmist wanted the world to know that God is more involved with our lives than we can even imagine. There is no part of daily living that does not include God…there is nothing…
Daily Devotions: January 9, 2018
1 Samuel 3:7-10 “Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’” vs. 10 Three times Samuel heard the voice of the Lord and thought it was the priest, Eli, calling to him. The fourth time, having been prompted by Eli, he figured out that it was the Lord, and he listened. That conversation was the beginning of Samuel’s long and illustrious career as a judge and prophet…
Daily Devotions: January 8, 2018
1 Samuel 3:1-6 “Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” vs. 1 Samuel’s mother, Hannah, had dedicated him to the service of the Lord in grateful thanksgiving for his birth and he’d been living at the sanctuary in Shiloh under the tutelage of the priest, Eli. It wasn’t a happy time for Eli…his sons were scoundrels and he had gone blind. He…
Daily Devotions: January 7, 2018
Mark 1: 9-11 “And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’” vs. 11 The season of Epiphany begins with a celebration of Jesus’ baptismal call to ministry. We don’t know why Jesus came from Nazareth to the Jordan to be baptized by John, but we do know that the experience had a deep and lasting impact on his life. The Holy Spirit came upon him and he heard the…
Daily Devotions: January 6, 2018
Matthew 2:1-12 “When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.” vs. 10 Taken on its own, the story of the Wise Men from Matthew’s gospel strains our credulity. Today we would quickly label it as being “fake news,” a story that reasonable people simply can’t believe…it just doesn’t ring true. But taken in context, purposefully chosen by Matthew to begin his narrative, it has come to have enormous significance. Today the Wise Men’s journey is…
Daily Devotions: January 5, 2018
Mark 1:4-8 “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” vs. 8 Not much was going on in Nazareth, a sleepy hamlet just west of the Sea of Galilee, during the years that Jesus made it his home. Most of the action was happening in Judea and particularly in the area around the Dead Sea. A group called the Essenes had gathered in the wilderness at a place we call Qumran and had…
Daily Devotions: January 4, 2018
Acts 19:1-7 “Then he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ They answered, ‘Into John’s baptism.’” vs. 3 When we read the little vignettes from the life of Jesus that we find in the gospels we tend to think we’re getting the whole story, and really we’re not! Those were traumatic and confusing years and tensions were rising in the Holy Land. There was a lot of movement as Jews begun to search for safety and stability…soon there were pockets…