'Blessing' Tagged Posts (Page 2)
Daily Devotions
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.” vss. 1-3 Psalm 23 When Samuel’s one-person pastoral search committee led him to select the boy-shepherd, David, as the next king of Israel, he established a job description for godly leaders that will persist for all time. The prophets regularly described the kings…
Daily Devotions
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” vs. 2 Genesis 12:1-4a Israel’s ancient origin story begins with Abram and Sarai, the intrepid pair who left home and family in favor of a wandering nomadic life that took them all the way from Mesopotamia to Egypt. They became revered, not because of their wealth or station, but because they lived by faith–they trusted…
Daily Devotions
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” vss. 24-26 Numbers 6:22-27 In most of our congregations the pastor’s last words to the gathered people are some form of the Aaronic Benediction. And while for some this is a welcome signal that the end is in sight, most worshippers are touched by this familiar blessing.…
Daily Devotions
Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” vss. 27-28 Romans 3:25b-28 We know that our salvation is by the grace of God and not through our works, but Paul also says that we are justified by faith, and sometimes that gets confusing. Some folks focus on faith and…
Daily Devotions
As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” vss.6-7 2 Timothy 4:6-8 The timing and the circumstances of our birthing are presumably out of our control. One day, in the fullness of time, we plop out into the world with a resounding cry, and from that point on it’s one adventure after…
Daily Devotions
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” vs. 1 Psalm 103:1-8 The word “bless” is familiar to us. Some use it as a closing in their letters to friends and family, while others might use it as a quick response to a sneeze, as in “bless you.” In those instances it’s a prayer for the person addressed, a desire that good things might come to them. But the psalmist uses it…
Daily Devotions
Thus says the Lord: As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all.” Isaiah 65:8-9 As the prophet considered the nation’s behavior following their return from Babylon, he was stunned at the way they rejected the Lord and adopted pagan practices. If he had been their God he would have washed his hands of…
Daily Devotions
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” vs. 45 Luke 1:43-45 Elizabeth speaks from experience. In the first of Luke’s nativity stories she had been the heroine. Even though her husband Zechariah doubted, in her old age she had conceived and was very pregnant when Mary showed up at her doorstep. The story as Luke tells it is touching. Two women, one very old and one…
Daily Devotions
I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” vs. 16 Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Judaism was for the most part a patriarchal system. Men ruled their families and called the shots–faithful men would pray each day, “Thank God that I was not born a Gentile, a slave, or a woman.” When Jesus began his ministry he intentionally…
Daily Devotions: September 8, 2019
September 8, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 14:31-33 … “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” vs. 33 Jesus regularly reminded his followers that discipleship was a costly undertaking and not something that could be taken lightly. Here he tells them that it will include the abandonment of all their possessions. Following his death and resurrection, it seems those who became disciples were willing to do exactly that.…
Daily Devotions: December 15, 2018
December 15, 2018 To read full passage click: Luke 3:7-14 …“In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’” vs. 11 The crowds were shaken by John’s pointed words. He wasn’t impressed by piety and good intentions and preached that true repentance required fruits. And when the people asked him what he thought they should do, he told them plainly. And it wasn’t rocket science!…
Daily Devotions: November 22, 2018
November 22, 2018 Thanksgiving Day! To read full passage click: Matthew 6:25-33 …“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” vs. 25 Today is the one day of the year when it’s more than likely that everyone in our country will have plenty to eat. All across the land…