'good' Tagged Posts

'good' Tagged Posts

Daily Devotions

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” vs. 28 Romans 8:26-30 Those who pray and meditate regularly know that there are times when the problems of this broken world pile up for us, and prayer becomes difficult. We don’t particularly know what to pray for, and the words we do choose seem repetitive and trite. Paul knew those feelings from his own life, and knowing that…

Daily Devotions

But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” vs. 4-5 Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 The ancient Hebrews used the story of temptation in the Garden of Eden to explain the presence of evil in the world–when not taken literally it contains profound truths about human nature and our relationship to God. Often we think…

Daily Devotions

Isaiah 45:5-7 … “I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things.” vs. 7 We don’t know if Cyrus, the king of Persia, ever received the message that the Lord sent him through the prophet. If he did, there’s little chance he took note of it–the gods of Persia were likely sufficient for his purposes. But since the time of Cyrus millions of people have taken note of these words–and…

Daily Devotions

Genesis 50:19-21 … “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” vs. 20 Joseph’s brothers had initially intended to kill him, but at the last minute sold him into slavery, and then lied to their father, saying wild beasts had taken their beloved younger brother. After Jacob’s death, they conjure up one more lie, saying that their father’s dying wish was for…

Daily Devotions: July 3, 2020

July 3, 2020 Romans 7:15-25a … “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” vs. 24-25a Paul had gotten caught up in what we might call ‘dualistic thinking’ and it was driving him crazy. He describes himself as being caught between the law of God, which was what he wanted to do, and the law of sin, which dictated his actions. When he wanted to…

Daily Devotions: August 22, 2018

August 22, 2018 Psalm 34:15-22…“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles.” vs. 17  The psalmist was convinced that the Lord was just and would make sure that the righteous would ultimately be vindicated. He recognizes that good people will sometimes have bad things happen to them, but firmly believes that God will listen to their cries for help and rescue them. We applaud such convictions and want badly to affirm them,…

Daily Devotions: May 1, 2018

May 1, 2018 Psalm 98:1-4…”O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.” vs. 1  Periodically, in the context of sharing news about the latest happenings in their lives, people will say “God is good.” By that, they generally mean that life is going well, that there has been healing or reconciliation. Maybe they’ve gotten a good job or gotten an unexpected financial windfall.…