Daily Devotions by Steve Holm (Page 209)
Daily Devotions: July 28, 2017
Romans 8:31-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” vss. 38-39\ For many these words from Paul are the most precious in all of scripture. Often we hear them quoted at funerals or memorial services to give hope and…
Daily Devotions: July 27, 2017
Romans 8:26-30 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” vs. 26 As followers of Jesus we should never imagine that we know everything or that we know all the answers. Nor should we believe that we will always be strong and confident in every situation. The truth is that our weakness will regularly be on display and…
Daily Devotions: July 26, 2017
Psalm 119:133-136 “Keep my steps steady according to your promise, and never let iniquity have dominion over me.” vs. 133 As we make our way through life we can never be certain about what lies ahead on the journey. There twists and turns aplenty and veterans among us know better than to speak confidently about future plans. There will always be surprises and often more mystery than we would like. We do know that there is value in having plan…
Daily Devotions: July 25, 2017
Psalm 119:120-133 “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” vs. 130 Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the entire bible and is devoted to the exaltation of the law. The psalmist obviously loves the decrees of the Lord and has crafted every verse with great care and attention to detail. Some followers of Jesus aren’t quite sure what to do with this kind of devotion. We’ve been told that the law kills and…
Daily Devotions: July 24, 2017
I Kings 3:5-12 “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” vs. 9 Those who made the final edition of our scriptures didn’t bother to whitewash the heroes of faith. For instance we know that King Solomon in his glory years raised taxes on the poor and accumulated great wealth for himself, along with a massive harem of wives and mistresses. But…
Daily Devotions: July 23, 2017
Matthew 13:36-43 “Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’” vs. 36 One way to deal with the mystery of a parable (a story with one main point), is to turn it into an allegory (a story with many hidden meanings.) That’s what Jesus does here, and he does a fine job. The allegorized parable explains why there are good and…
Daily Devotions: July 22, 2017
Matthew 13:24-30 “He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.” vss. 24-25 Jesus began his ministry by announcing the coming of the kingdom of heaven, and then continued to speak of it as he addressed the crowds who gathered to hear his teaching. The kingdom wasn’t a thing…
Daily Devotions: July 21, 2017
Romans 8:19-25 “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” vss. 24-25 Hope is such a precious commodity. Really, it’s what keeps us going through tough times. Without it we’re tempted to throw in the towel and give up. Without it some even give up on living…they see no point in…
Daily Devotions: July 20, 2017
Romans 8:12-18 “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” vs. 18 Folks who have remained followers of Jesus for a lifetime are often admired for their faithfulness, for their steady commitment to a life of worship and service. There’s a kindness about them…and a gentleness that is enviable and somewhat contagious. In conversation they express gratitude for the blessings they have received from the hand…
Daily Devotions: July 19, 2017
Psalm 86:14-17 “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” vs. 15 Again and again scripture reminds us that God is merciful and gracious…abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. It’s a constant theme, and one that we regularly need to hear. But often we crave even more assurance. It’s just not enough to hear that God loves us! Sometimes those words “God loves you” can sound like a…
Daily Devotions: July 18, 2017
Psalm 86:11-13 “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.” vs. 11 As the years roll by our changing bodies remind us that we are not immortal and that our time on this sweet sphere is limited. Of course we try to fight these changes with diets and exercise but birthdays keep coming…time moves inexorably on. In response some of us make “bucket lists” and, as…
Daily Devotions: July 17, 2017
Isaiah 44:6-8 “Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.” vs. 8 The people of Israel were captive in Babylon and the Babylonian gods were beginning to look pretty good. It seems that some Israelites were thinking about switching their loyalty to the winning team…like beaten down sports fans they were tired…