'courage' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
1 Kings 19:9-18…“At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” vs. 9 For a moment Elijah was triumphant in his struggle against the paganism that Israel had embraced under King Ahab and his queen, Jezebel. He had defeated her prophets of Baal in a great contest on Mount Carmel, but when she erupted in rage against him and threatened…
Daily Devotions
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 Paul holds nothing back as he outlines the unimaginable extent of God’s power and love. We can almost hear him shouting, “Do you hear me people? There is nothing,…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 10:24-31…“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father…So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” vss. 29-31 When Jesus sent out the newly chosen disciples to expand his mission in Galilee he didn’t pull any punches.. The religious leaders had been hostile to him and he rightly anticipated that they wouldn’t be any kinder to the Twelve. To comfort them…
Daily Devotions
Jeremiah 20:7-13…“If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,’ then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.” vs, 9 Jeremiah had been called to speak the Lord’s word to the rulers of Judah during the last years of the kingdom. What he had to say went squarely against the foreign policy of the king and was…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 50:4-9a…“The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.” vss. 3-4 This section of Isaiah and its description of Israel as the Suffering Servant had a profound impact on the life and ministry of Jesus, and beyond him, on the teachings of…
Daily Devotions
What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.” vs. 27 Matthew 10:24-28 When Jesus sent his disciples on their mission to bring healing and good news to the helpless and the harassed, he knew that there would be difficulties for them. They could expect rejection and even persecution–not everyone would be excited to receive them. It would be easy for them to become timid and adopt risk-averse…
Daily Devotions
Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’” vs. 23 Matthew 27:1-25 According to Matthew, the chief priests and the elders were not able to convince Pilate that Jesus deserved the death penalty. The case they had presented was full of half-truths and malicious gossip, and Pilate believed that they were motivated primarily by jealousy. But they had convinced the crowd, and ultimately that was enough. It’s still easy…
Daily Devotions
The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens—wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.” vs. 4 Isaiah 50:4-9a According to Luke, after Jesus entered Jerusalem he went directly to the temple and raised a ruckus with the money-changers. He then spent his days in the temple precincts teaching the people and debating with the scribes and Pharisees.…