'forgiveness' Tagged Posts (Page 9)
Daily Devotions
Matthew 18:21-22 … “Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’” vs. 21 Peter has had some ups and downs in his role as messianic advisor and wants Jesus to know that he has been paying attention. Following a conversation about forgiveness, he posits a plausible question, along with what he considers to be a generous possible answer. Poor guy! He…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 18:18-20 … “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” vs. 18 As the early Christian communities began to deal with internal disputes, Matthew laid out some guidelines based on his remembrance of Jesus’ teachings. They followed a logical progression, beginning with one on one conversations and ending with possible dismissal from the community. In other words, this was no small matter,…
Daily Devotions: May 1, 2020
May 1, 2020 1 Peter 2:22-25 … “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” vs. 24 In recent years there are many who have become uncomfortable with the traditional atonement theories. In particular, they don’t like the notion that Jesus took our punishment upon himself by dying on the cross, that somehow his death was the payment required for…
Daily Devotions: February 11, 2020
February 11, 2020 For full passage click: Psalm 119:1-4 … “Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.” vs. 1 Psalm 119 is a carefully composed poem of 22 stanzas, each of which begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Its 176 verses are intended to glorify the law and encourage readers to obey its commandments and ordinances. The Psalmist begins by observing that the reward for blamelessly walking in…
Daily Devotions: January 25, 2020
January 25, 2020 For full passage click: Matthew 4:12-17 … “From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” vs. 17 Soon after Jesus’ time in the wilderness, John the Baptist was arrested and imprisoned in Herod’s fortress at Machaerus, just east of the Dead Sea. When Jesus got word of John’s arrest he went north, back to Galilee where he’d come from, and he began his ministry. Initially, his message was identical…
Daily Devotions: January 10, 2020
January 10, 2020 For full passage click: Acts 10:39-43 … “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” vs. 43 The book of Acts gives us a sense of the early Christian message through sermonic vignettes from Peter and Paul. In this one from Peter, we learn that the chief gift available to believers was the forgiveness of sins through the name of Jesus. Most of us have no…
Daily Devotions: December 15, 2019
December 15, 2019 For full passage click: Matthew 11:6-11 … “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” vs. 11 In Matthew’s estimation, there is a great divide between John and Jesus. John was the best and the greatest of the prophets; he was articulate and spoke the truth to those in power. He announced that the kingdom…
Daily Devotions: December 13, 2019
December 13, 2019 For full passage click: James 5:9-10 … “Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!” vs. 9 James was fed up with the grumbling among the local followers of Jesus and he wasn’t above using scare tactics to straighten them out. He mentions that the Judge is near at hand and if they don’t want to be judged, they should stop the squabbling.…
Daily Devotions: November 23, 2019
November 23, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 23:33-38 … “Then Jesus said, ’Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they cast lots to divide his clothing.” vs. 34 Those of us who watch the Netflix series called “The Crown” have gotten a pretty good idea of what it’s like to sit on the throne of England. We know the glory, wealth, and prestige that comes from being a king or queen. In the…
Daily Devotions: October 25, 2019
October 25, 2019 For full passage click: Romans 3:22b-28 … “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” vss. 22b-24 Through the centuries, as believers have read Paul’s letter to the Romans, they’ve taken verse 23 of chapter 3 to heart, and have used it as the great leveler. Yes, indeed, all of…
Daily Devotions: October 5, 2019
October 5, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 17:1-4 … “Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive.” vs. 3 Luke had access to many sayings of Jesus, some of which weren’t connected to any particular time and place, and he chose to group those isolated sayings in sections by themselves. Some seem to have been chosen because they related to issues that were coming up in…
Daily Devotions: September 13, 2019
September 13, 2019 For full passage click: 1 Timothy 1:15-17 … “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 During his ministry, the Gospels report that Jesus had a passion for sinners, those people who had been systematically excluded from full participation in religious activities. He regularly ate with them and didn’t hesitate to offer them healing and hope. Sometimes he told…