'faith' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Philippians 3:8-14..“Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” vss. 13-14 Paul knew that no matter how much he had accomplished, he wasn’t yet what he one day would be. It wasn’t that he lacked perfection and somehow had to clean…
Daily Devotions
Philippians 3:4b-11..“Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.” vs. 7 Paul had impressive credentials. Not only was he a proud member of the tribe of Benjamin, he had the best education possible for an up and coming religious leader. He was a member of the Pharisees, the strictest branch of Judaism, and he’d made a name for himself by hunting down and terrorizing Christians. His zeal was unmatched! But a chance…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 80:12-15…“Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.” vss. 12-13 After Martin Luther had published the 95 Theses in Wittenberg in October of 1517, a firestorm erupted all across Europe. There were scholarly debates and conferences as various scholars weighed in and attempted to refute Luther’s teachings. Rome was aware of…
Daily Devotions
Isaiah 5:1-7.. “Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.” vs. 1 Isaiah imagines the Lord singing a love-song for the nation of Israel and it’s rather like a country western. It starts with an image of a vineyard, one planted with care on a very fertile hill, but the refrain turns dark in a hurry, “when I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 20:1-9… “When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.” vss. 3-4 There really aren’t any words that are adequate to describe the kingdom of heaven, and Jesus doesn’t even try. Instead he tells parables, stories that paint a picture of what life in the kingdom is like. He’s not talking…
Daily Devotions
Philippians 1:27-30…“Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit…” vs. 27a Paul had been invited to come to Macedonia to proclaim the good news of Christ in a dream. Trusting in the Spirit, he found a ship that would take him across the Aegean Sea to Philippi. Knowing no…
Daily Devotions
Philippians 1:21-26…“For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer.” vss. 21-22 Paul had reached an age, perhaps 55-60 years old, when he had begun to think of himself as aged. And since he was in prison, with plenty of time on his hand, he was considering his own mortality. He reported to the Philippians that he…
Daily Devotions
Romans 14:7-12…“Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” vs. 10 Paul couldn’t understand how the faithful could harbor such hatred against other members of their community simply because they had different ways of practicing what they believed. It seemed bizarre to him that they would expend such energy in judging others–ultimately that wasn’t even their job!…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 103:8-13..“As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.” vs. 13 Scripture regularly uses the metaphor “father” to describe the relationship of God to humanity. And because most people have extensive experience with fathers, the metaphor is useful. Here the psalm describes God’s compassion as being like that of a father for his children, and, because we may have experienced a father’s compassion, we have a general sense of what…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 18:18-20..“Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” vs. 19 Because some passages in the bible are obscure, they have been subject to a variety of interpretations. This verse, for example, has led to the belief that if two people agree completely on any prayer request, it’s going to happen! God will do it for them, no questions asked! It…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 18:15-17..“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.” vs. 15 Matthew is likely thinking of his own community of believers as he recalls these words of Jesus about reconciliation. Because life is communal it’s been natural for humans to find their identity as families, clans, tribes, and nations. So when the Spirit called the…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 16:24-28…“For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose theirlife for my sake will find it.” vs. 25 While these challenging words of Jesus have sparked countless debates among his followers, they also touch on the essential teachings of all the major religions. Humans know intuitively that the divine spark is the essence of life and that it resides in the heart of every person. Through the centuries authentic spiritual leaders from many…