'death' Tagged Posts (Page 6)
Daily Devotions: July 19, 2019
July 19, 2019 For full passage click: Colossians 1:21-23 …And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him—” vss. 21-22 The Church has done a good job of proclaiming the death of Jesus as the means of our reconciliation to God. We’ve heard that story year after year in our worship. It’s the core…
Daily Devotions: June 2, 2019
June 2, 2019 For full passage click: John 17:24-26 …“Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” vs. 24 Jesus is conscious that the love that sustains him has been present from before the foundations of the world. As John puts it in other places, Christ is the Alpha, and through…
Daily Devotions: May 24, 2019
May 24, 2019 For full passage click: Revelation 22:1-5 …“And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” vs. 5 It’s hard not to think of death as we look toward the future. All of us have had loved ones die, and we know that one day our time will come, too. It’s inevitable! No matter how hard we…
Daily Devotions: May 10, 2019
May 10, 2019 For full passage click: Revelation 7:9-17 …“for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” vs. 17 One of the visions John shared with his readers has given believers of every time and place a measure of comfort in their encounters with death. He describes a great white robed choir standing…
Daily Devotions: May 4, 2019
May 4, 2019 For full passage click: John 21:1-14 …“Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.” vs. 4 There was nothing about the appearance of the man on the beach that reminded the disciples of Jesus; but when their nets were filled with fish after following his instructions, one of them shouted out, “It is the Lord!” When they came ashore and found the man preparing breakfast they were…
Daily Devotions: April 6, 2019
April 6, 2019 For full passage click: John 12:1-3 …“Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” vs. 3 Both Luke and John tell us that Mary and Martha are friends of Jesus and that they lived in the village of Bethany, about two miles from Jerusalem. Because they show up regularly in our gospel readings and preachers…
Daily Devotions: November 3, 2018
November 3, 2018 John 11:32-37 …“But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’” vs. 37 When dread disease comes to someone in our network of acquaintances, out of love and concern, we offer prayers for the miracle of healing. And sometimes there is a cure and the joy is intense. But other times, too often it seems, there isn’t a healing. We all know what that…
Daily Devotions: October 29, 2018
October 29, 2018 Isaiah 25:6-9 …“And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.” vs. 7 A long, long time ago the prophet had the sense that there was more to the cycle of life than meets the eye. It wasn’t just a matter of being born, living for a time, and then dying. There just had to be more…
Daily Devotions: July 1 , 2018
July 1, 2018 Mark 5:35-43…“He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum,’ which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.” vss 41-42 On the surface, this is another miracle story, the raising of a little girl from the dead. There are other instances of things like this in the gospels and sometimes they leave…
Daily Devotions: April 17, 2018
April 17, 2018 Acts 4:8-12…“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” vs. 12 The disciples were ecstatic! They had such good news for their leaders…and for the entire world. Through the Holy Spirit they had come to believe that Jesus was the Christ and that through him God’s salvation had come to humanity. As they traveled about proclaiming that audacious message it seemed…
Daily Devotions: April 16, 2018
April 16, 2018 Acts 4:5-7…“When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’” vs. 7 When the religious authorities in Jerusalem heard that the disciples were preaching that Jesus had been raised from the dead and were actually healing the sick, they ordered them to be arrested. They weren’t an impressive group–just a few Galilean fishermen and some hangers-on. When the wealthy, well-educated priestly types saw…
Daily Devotions: April 15, 2018
April 15, 2018 Luke 24:44-48…“Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,” vs. 45 Being familiar with the scriptures wasn’t enough for the disciples to have a clue about what had happened in Jesus. Nowhere was there a straightforward indication that the promised messiah would suffer, be crucified as a criminal, and then die. One option would have been for them to completely abandon the Hebrew scriptures and focus on building a new faith tradition–something no one ever seriously…