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Daily Devotions
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee… From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” vss. 12, 17 Matthew 4:12-17 After John had been arrested, Jesus returned to the area where he had grown up to begin his active ministry. At first his message of repentance seems to be an extension of what John had been saying, and that’s not surprising. In any age, those who…
Daily Devotions
Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet…” vss. 5-6 Psalm 8:5-9 As the psalmist meditated on the wonders of the universe and considered what place humans had in the whole scheme of things, he concluded that we are almost like gods on our planet. Crowned with glory and honor, humans have…
Daily Devotions
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” vss. 1-2 Matthew 3:1-6 John felt it inside first. Something new was in the wind and he knew beyond a doubt that God had broken into the world. He’d been railing against the corruption of the temple for years, and had joined the Essenes in the wilderness as a protest. In solitude he had prayed, and now God…
Daily Devotions
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” vss. 9-10 Psalm 51:1-10 Even though most people are acutely aware of their shortcomings, they have different ways of referring to them. Some are comfortable with calling them sins, while others might call them personality defects, addictions, or mistakes. They are those words or actions that haunt us from the past…
Daily Devotions
And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.” vs. 14 Exodus 32:11-14 The Israelites believed that their survival as a people had been dependent on great leaders like Moses who were able to even change the mind of the Lord. Their forefathers had deserved punishment for their disobedience, but the Lord listened to Moses and spared them. It may seem strange for us to think of God as a being whose…
Daily Devotions
For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love…” vs. 8 Philemon 1:8-9 Paul has a favor to ask of his friend Philemon, a leader of the congregation at Colossae. Philemon’s runaway slave, Onesimus, a new Christian, has become a companion to Paul in prison. Paul would like Philemon to welcome Onesimus back as a brother in Christ and to…
Daily Devotions
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” vss. 12-13a John 16:12-13 Jesus had given the disciples the basics; he’d told them to love one another unconditionally. Well enough, but it didn’t take long for them to discover that there were a lot more things to learn about being his followers, especially as they found themselves immersed in the…
Daily Devotions
Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” vs. 12 John 14:12-17 As John recounts Jesus’ words to his disciples during his last evening with them, he makes his wishes and intentions crystal clear. Jesus wants them to continue the works that he began, i.e., to announce good news to the poor, release…
Daily Devotions
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” vs. 4 Acts 2:1-14 Luke tells us that before he left, Jesus had promised his disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them and they would then be his witnesses throughout the earth. After his departure they went into the city of Jerusalem and waited, probably wondering what this experience might be…
Daily Devotions
Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” vs. 4 Romans 6:3-11 For Paul the crucifixion of Jesus was the central part of the gospel, and as he pondered it through his life he realized that unless believers embraced Jesus’ death, their lives would likely remain unchanged. In fact he saw the…
Daily Devotions
He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?’” vs. 2 Luke 13:1-9 Occasionally we catch a glimpse of everyday events in scripture, a little window into what kind of things happened perhaps on a daily basis. In this little fragment saved by Luke we find out that there had been some deaths in the city of Jerusalem, several caused by an act of terror by Pilate,…
Daily Devotions
He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’” vs. 27 Mark 7: 24-30 To escape the bread-seeking crowds Jesus goes to the coastal city of Tyre where he imagines he can remain anonymous. Of course the plan doesn’t work and he is immediately approached by a woman seeking healing for her demon possessed daughter. Because she is a Gentile, Jesus initially denied…