'forgiveness' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” vss. 11-13 2 Timothy 2:8-13 These verses are thought to be part of an ancient Christian hymn and review some of the basic truths that are important for believers to remember. We are encouraged…
Daily Devotions
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.” vs. 15 1 Timothy 1:15-17 One of the ways that we can tell a saint from a hypocrite is that the saint will make no pretense of being anything but a sinner. If we marvel at the words of St. Paul about his own miserable and broken life, our jaws will drop wide open when we…
Daily Devotions
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.” vs. 1 Psalm 51:1-10 As the various psalms were collected and made available for temple and liturgical use, Psalm 51 became known as a psalm of David, and it’s not hard to understand why. The scriptural accounts of David’s life paint a picture of a man with powerful passions. Not only did he lead the rebellion against King Saul, Israel’s…
Daily Devotions
For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?” vs. 28 Luke 14:28-33 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the martyred German theologian, published a book called The Cost of Discipleship in 1937, and following his death it became perhaps the best known of his writings. In his estimation the gospel had been undermined by what he called “cheap grace,” which he defined as the preaching…
Daily Devotions
If you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord,” vss. 13b-14a Isaiah 58:13b-14 Those who have spent a lifetime worshipping on a weekly basis probably do so for a variety of reasons. For some it’s simply a habit and they don’t really think too much about it. But…
Daily Devotions
God made you alive together with (Christ), when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.” vss. 13b-14 Colossians 2:13-15 Paul assures the Colossians that everything necessary for their salvation has already taken place in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That statement alone has provided great consolation for believers through the centuries. It’s so good to know that there isn’t…
Daily Devotions
Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” vss. 36-37 Luke 10:29-37 Jesus subtly expanded the world of the kingdom seeking lawyer with the short story we know as “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.” The man had asked, “Who is my neighbor?” But after telling the parable, Jesus asked, “Which…
Daily Devotions
Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” vss. 7-8 Galatians 6:7-10 The people to whom Paul was writing were visited by hard-liners from Jerusalem who were insisting that anyone who became a Christian would also need to be circumcised. For Paul, this was a…
Daily Devotions
Daily Devotions
Daily Devotions
During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia…” vss. 9-10a Acts 16:9-12 As Paul traveled through what we know as western Turkey he stopped in the cities where Jews had settled, preached there, and brought the latest news from Jerusalem. Because he did not feel the direction of the…
Daily Devotions
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” vs. 34 John 13:33-35 As it began to be obvious to the disciples that Jesus was going to be leaving them, there was undoubtedly anxiety in their hearts. How could they possibly get along without him? He was their glue. It was because of him that they had come together. Without him wouldn’t they separate and…
Daily Devotions
When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified;’” vs. 31 John 13:31-33 As John wrote his gospel, he treated the departure of Judas from the Passover meal as a sign that the end of Jesus’ brief ministry was near. Death was just around the corner. Jesus knows this but there is no sign of panic and no admission of failure. On the contrary Jesus speaks of this ending…