'Cleansing' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.” vss. 11-12 Psalm 51:6-11 For a couple of generations these verses were regularly sung as a part of liturgical worship in many congregations. We probably didn’t intentionally memorize them, but they became embedded in our brains nonetheless. For many they were a reminder that one of the main…
Daily Devotions
After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” vs. 22 John 2:19-22 As he concludes the story of how an angry Jesus cleansed the temple precincts by chasing off the merchants and the moneychangers, the gospel writer John gives some clues about how the gospels were written. First he reminds us that it was after the resurrection that the disciples remembered…
Daily Devotions
They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.” vss. 27-28 Mark 1:25-28 The gospels all report that the casting out of demons was a part of Jesus’ healing ministry. In fact, encounters like the one Mark describes here caught people’s attention and boosted his reputation. We don’t…
Daily Devotions
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” vs. 3 1 Corinthians 1:3-6 Paul began his letters to the congregations by wishing them God’s grace and peace and his words have found their way into worship liturgies as an ultra-familiar part of the ritual. Preachers frequently begin their sermons in the same way, almost as a signal to folks in the pews to settle down and start listening because the homily is about to…
Daily Devotions
But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” vs. 10 Romans 8:6-11 Through the centuries, humans all over the world have celebrated God’s indwelling presence in their various religions and have developed whole systems of thought devoted to the accessing of that Divine Spirit. Paul taught that this indwelling presence was Christ, and his words are a source of enormous good news to all who take them…
Daily Devotions
[Jesus] went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.” vss. 19b-20 1 Peter 3:18-22 Noah’s ark was one of the favorite symbols of early Christians, and is featured in crude drawings on the walls of many ancient worship sites. For them the ark was…
Daily Devotions
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.” vs. 15 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Paul wasn’t a half-way sort of guy. By his own estimation he was a brilliant scholar, far more zealous for the law than any of his peers, blameless in all of his words and actions. But after his encounter with the Risen Christ, he came to see that he was also…
Daily Devotions
So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” vs. 18 Luke 3:15-18 After recounting John’s vivid description of the brood of vipers and the burning of chaff Luke concludes by calling John’s message “good news” for the people. Now some might wonder how such harsh language could be good news for anyone, mostly because religious folks have gotten used to a less costly notion of grace. We’ve been so anxious to get to forgiveness and…
Daily Devotions
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” vs. 10 Psalm 51:6-12 Some of us have sung this psalm in worship for as long as we can remember…and that’s a good thing! These ancient words pretty much articulate the rhythm of life in Christ for all of God’s people. Like our hands our hearts need daily cleansing to keep them free of disease and guilt buildup. One of the positive byproducts…
Daily Devotions: September 4, 2019
September 4, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 1:4-6 … “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” vs. 4 The imagery used by the Psalmist calls to mind the hilltop threshing floors used by farmers to separate the wheat from the chaff at harvest time. As they tossed the separated grain into the air, the chaff would be blown away by the wind while the heavier wheat would fall back to the earth. The…
Daily Devotions: September 4, 2019
September 4, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 1:4-6 … “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” vs. 4 The imagery used by the Psalmist calls to mind the hilltop threshing floors used by farmers to separate the wheat from the chaff at harvest time. As they tossed the separated grain into the air, the chaff would be blown away by the wind while the heavier wheat would fall back to the earth. The…