'faith' Tagged Posts (Page 9)
Daily Devotions
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” vss. 5b-6 Revelation 1:4b-8 While it’s unlikely that the writer of Revelation was the apostle John, it did come from a church leader bearing that name and living in the mid to late first century at a time of intense persecution. The…
Daily Devotions
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord;I have no good apart from you.’” vss. 1-2 Psalm 16:1-6 There are times in life when it’s good to just take stock of who we are, and perhaps more importantly, whose we are. The psalmist is doing just that. There doesn’t seem to be any particular crisis and he’s not pleading with the Lord to do an intervention. In fact, he’s…
Daily Devotions
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.’” vss. 8-9 1 Kings 17:8-12 Elijah lived in Israel during the time of King Ahab, and had announced that, because of Israel’s great idolatry, there would be a three-year drought. Because the king saw him, not as a prophet, but as an enemy, Elijah had to spend the period…
Daily Devotions
Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.’” vs. 39 John 11:38-44 Ever the pragmatist Martha objected when Jesus ordered the stone to be rolled away. She knew how long Lazarus had been dead, and she knew that his body would have begun to decompose. The stench would have been overwhelming. That’s how it was with death and Martha…
Daily Devotions
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.” vss. 3-4 Psalm 24 The psalmist had some high standards for those he adjudged to be fit for admission to the sanctuary of the Lord. His reasoning was logical. Since the Lord was the epitome of holiness, those who came…
Daily Devotions
For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” vs. 28 Romans 3:19-23 Paul believed that all people had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But he also held that they had all been justified by God’s grace as a gift, through the redemption that had occurred in Christ Jesus. He further adds that the benefits of this great gift are made effective in faith. Paul’s add-on has frequently…
Daily Devotions
Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations; I am exalted in the earth.” vs. 10 Psalm 46:6-10 More than once in this election season many have felt like echoing this psalm and wishing that the politicians would just be still. If only we could have even a moment’s relief from the ongoing diatribes and accusations, it would be wonderful. But even when we turn off our social media, the loud voices interrupt our…
Daily Devotions
Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” vs. 16 Hebrews 4:12-16 Through the centuries humans have come to believe that there will be a final judgment. And though some now disparage that notion, they need to recognize that eliminating judgment will also pretty much do away with any sense of accountability for how we live our lives. In fact, the major reason…
Daily Devotions
Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.” vs. 16 Psalm 90:4-7 The psalmist is praying that the wondrous work of God would be manifest to all the congregation. There really is nothing better than to be a part of a community that recognizes the goodness of the world, and who are working together to bring healing and restoration to its brokenness. So we like it when our friends can see the fingerprints…
Daily Devotions
They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.” vs. 10 Amos 5:6-7, 10 If Amos could somehow be transported to our time, and given a chance to observe our economic and political practices, he would feel right at home! Behaviors haven’t changed a whit since he marched into the land of Israel to bring a word from the Lord. Liars abound and the economy favors the rich. Money can buy…
Daily Devotions
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.” vs. 13 Mark 10:2-12 It’s hard to know what the disciples were thinking. We do know that Jesus was heavily involved in teaching and perhaps they considered the children to be a distraction. Perhaps they were like ushers in our worship services who advise mothers to take their crying babies to the nursery so the preacher’s every word can…
Daily Devotions
Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” vs. 9 Mark 10:2-12 The Pharisees regularly accused Jesus of being lax about matters of the law, but Jesus wasn’t really lax about anything. Of course he thought their rules about healing on the sabbath were malarkey, but he maintained that the law itself was corrupt. In the case of marriage Deuteronomy allowed a man to divorce his wife if he found something objectionable about her. Jesus told the Pharisees…