'belonging to Christ' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Psalm 89:1-4…“I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. “ vs. 2 In this world of social media influencers and ubiquitous YouTube channels we can find thousands of conflicting testimonies about the nature of God and God’s relationship to humanity. Occasionally what we see and hear in these videos sounds vaguely scriptural, like it could even conceivably be true. But most of the time the information is bogus, a kind of…
Daily Devotions
Romans 5:6-8…“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” vs. 8 Some folks struggle with the meaning of the cross, especially as it relates to a satisfaction theory of the atonement. We can’t get our heads around the notion that the death of one person could atone for the sins of all humanity. And that’s okay! All those theories were developed by early Christians as they tried to make sense…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 100…“For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” vs. 5 There are some religious folks in our time who are claiming that God hates evil and rejoices in the annihilation of our enemies. They base their tirades on passages from the Hebrew scriptures that describe the invasion of Canaan by the Hebrew tribes, where God is said to have ordered the deaths of all inhabitants, including women and children. Those…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 9:9-13…“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.” vs. 9 There is a painting in the Contarelli Chapel in Rome by the Italian master, Caravaggio, called “The Calling of St Matthew.” It shows Jesus, having entered a room, standing and pointing with an outstretched arm at one of five shadowy figures sitting at a table counting money.…
Daily Devotions
John 17:6-11…“And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” vs. 11 For the people of Norway this is Syttende Mai or Constitution Day, their national day of celebration. It’s a big day, the Norwegian equivalent of the Fourth of July, and many Americans of Norwegian…
Daily Devotions
1 Peter 2:4-10…“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house…” vss. 4-5a A verse in Psalm 118, “the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” is quoted in each of the gospels as referring to Jesus. It was considered the perfect metaphor to describe what had happened to him in his death and resurrection. Peter too,…
Daily Devotions
My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” vss. 27-28 John 10:25-30 Some of us know the hymn “Blessed Assurance” well. It was a favorite at camps and revivals and was regularly sung in many congregations. The tune is familiar and easy to sing, and many can recall its opening lyrics: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, Oh what…
Daily Devotions
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” vss. 5b-6 Psalm 93 This psalm is known as an enthronement psalm, a hymn that was sung as part of the temple worship at one of the fall festivals to give glory to God as the Sovereign King. We know from scripture…
Daily Devotions
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” vss. 5b-6 Revelation 1:4b-8 While it’s unlikely that the writer of Revelation was the apostle John, it did come from a church leader bearing that name and living in the mid to late first century at a time of intense persecution. The…
Daily Devotions: July 9, 2020
July 9, 2020 Romans 8:1-6 … “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” vss. 1-2 Paul’s argument—as he lays out the Gospel to the Romans, can seem convoluted and cumbersome; it certainly isn’t as simple as we might like it. But he’s very clear about the essence of the Good News…