'faith' Tagged Posts (Page 21)
Daily Devotions
He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’” vss. 26-27 Matthew 15:25-28 Most of the time in the gospels we read that Jesus outsmarted his adversaries and left them speechless. None of his opponents could stand up against his clever use of logic and scripture. But in his encounter with the Canaanite woman he…
Daily Devotions
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.” vss. 1-2 Psalm 67:1-3 The psalmist hoped that when other nations saw how God had graciously blessed Israel they too would come to know the Lord as a source of saving power. These words remind us of Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, “Let your light so…
Daily Devotions
for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.” vss. 7b-8 Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 As the prophet revisited God’s plans for Israel after the return from exile in Babylon, he realized that the old exclusive vision had to be revamped. Israel’s God had been too small. Now the prophet looked toward a new Israel that…
Daily Devotions
But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” vs. 14 Romans 10:12-15 Paul believed with all his heart in universal salvation, that there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, and that God’s love extends to all. But he also feared that until people believed this, they would not…
Daily Devotions
because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” vs. 9 Romans 10:5-11 Paul taught that the righteousness of God comes as a gift through faith, and not through obedience to the law. To make this clear, he describes the content of faith as confession of Jesus as Lord and belief in the resurrection. Those who have faith, as thus defined, will…
Daily Devotions
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.” vs. 8 Psalm 85:8-13 All of the prophets felt a call to bring the word of the Lord to the people of Israel and Judah. Most of the time it came as a warning of impending doom if idolatrous behavior didn’t come to an end. Again and again the prophet would…
Daily Devotions
Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” vs. 19 Matthew 14:18-21 The miracle of Jesus feeding the multitude with a few loaves of bread was a favorite of the gospel writers, appearing six times in all, twice in Matthew and Mark. And while…
Daily Devotions
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh.” vs. 3 Romans 9:1-5 Midway through his letter to the Romans, after having described justification by faith in excruciating detail, Paul offers a section on Israel’s election as the chosen people of God. He tells the church in Rome that it breaks his heart that so many of his kindred, according to the…
Daily Devotions
“The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.” vs. 20 Psalm 145:14-21 When we read our scriptures we are tempted to take to heart the verses that we agree with and totally discount those with which we have issues. And we’re not alone. Nearly all people are adept at cherry picking as they study the bible, loving the parts that support positions they already hold, and ignoring those that don’t. The psalmist who…
Daily Devotions
And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’” vs. 52 Matthew 13:44-52 Jesus closes out this series of parables with an enigmatic saying that can be understood to describe what he had been doing in his teaching. He certainly did not disdain the law and the prophets that were a part…
Daily Devotions
He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’” vs. 33 Matthew 13:31-33 Jesus was not only familiar with the ways of farmers; he evidently knew his way around the kitchen too. At least he knows the properties of yeast and uses this simple single-celled micro-organism to teach an important lesson about the kingdom of heaven. So often as the…
Daily Devotions
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 Romans 8:31-39 Paul began this ending paragraph of chapter 8 in his letter to the Romans by writing “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Martin Luther…