'Gifts' Tagged Posts

'Gifts' Tagged Posts

Daily Devotions

For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” vs. 19 Romans 5:12-19 Paul had loved the ancient stories of the Hebrews and had tucked them away in his memory bank. And now as he attempted to explain the righteousness of God to the Romans, he drew on one of those stories to make sense of his message. He explained that the disease of…

Daily Devotions

Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” vss. 18-19 Psalm 80: 17-19 As we look over the shoulder of the psalmist, we see the prayer that he put in the mouths of worshipers for a time of crisis. It’s not much different from the kind of prayer that many of us might use…

Daily Devotions

Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together. To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.” vss.3-4 Psalm 122 The ancient Israelites were convinced that God was responsible for their existence as a nation, and enshrined regular festivals of thanksgiving in their law codes. And the people were grateful! Ordinary folks recognized their dependence upon a benevolent God for survival and sustenance,…

Daily Devotions

I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.” vs. 19 Zephaniah 3:17-20 In the course of his hopeful reassurances Zephaniah returns to a familiar theme, one that runs through all of the prophetic writings of our scripture. He believed, beyond question, that the Lord had a particular concern for the needy and the outcast,…

Daily Devotions

Matthew 25:14-18 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.” vss. 14-15 Essentially, all that we do in life is stewardship. Every person on the planet has been entrusted with gifts and abilities that are the legacy of our Creator. No one has been exempted and each has been blessed…

Daily Devotions

Psalm 34:1-6 “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.” vss. 1, 3 Sometimes we have so much on our minds and are so troubled by events in our country and in the world that we forget how wonderful it is to have life and be surrounded by the presence of God. All of the most precious things in…

Daily Devotions

Romans 12:4-8 … “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” vss. 4-5 Paul’s words about the body of Christ are familiar. We’ve understood from the beginning that the many members of the Church have different functions, and that together we make up the one body. Even though we’ve had to fight…

Daily Devotions: January 6, 2020

January 6, 2020 For full passage click:  Matthew 2:1-12  …  “In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’” vss. 1-2 Matthew’s little tale of the wise men from the East is a familiar part of most Sunday School…

Daily Devotions: September 2, 2019

September 2, 2019 For full passage click: Deuteronomy 30:15-20 … “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live…” vs. 19 The Israelites had been set free from their bondage in Egypt by the grace of God, and had been formed into a people by their experience in the wilderness. Now they faced a critical moment–ahead lay…

Daily Devotions: September 1, 2019

September 1, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 14:12-14 … “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” vss. 13-14 Every organization or community is guided by sets of unwritten rules that govern social connections. Often these expectations will be obscure to outsiders, but those on the inside know them intimately–we…

Daily Devotions: July 3, 2019

July 3, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 66:6-9 …“Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.” vss. 8-9 Life at its best can be precarious; we never know when our footing will be lost and our dreams dashed. Even when we live prudentially and carefully, we can’t control everything; the unexpected is always close at hand. Natural disasters, accidents, shootings,…

Daily Devotions: June 21, 2019

June 21, 2019 For full passage click: Galatians 3:27-29 …“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Paul is ecstatic at the good news he has for the Galatians. They’d long been bound by restrictions and limitations. From birth they had learned to categorize people and make distinctions. There was a rigid hierarchy and not much wiggle room.…
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