'grace' Tagged Posts (Page 17)
Daily Devotions: September 11, 2019
September 11, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 51:6-10 … “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.” vs. 8 Because we have been created in the image of God for goodness sake, we cannot help but feel terrible when we miss the mark and become conscious of sin’s ugly presence. The experience of sinning leaves us with a heavy weight on our hearts and sometimes the guilt comes close to crushing our spirits.…
Daily Devotions: September 9, 2019
September 9, 2019 For full passage click: Exodus 32:7-14 … “And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.” vs. 14 In this little story from Exodus, it appears that the Lord has flipped a gasket over the idolatrous behavior of the Israelites in the wilderness, and is ready to wipe them all out. Moses, aware of the Lord’s anger, has to use his best debating skills to avert disaster. What stands…
Daily Devotions: July 17, 2019
July 17, 2019 Psalm 15:1-2 … “O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart…” vss. 1,2 For better or for worse, people have high expectations of those who claim to be in a loving relationship with God and who take time each week for worship. Even non-churchgoers sense that such folks should be living exemplary lives and…
Daily Devotions: May 31, 2019
May 31, 2019 For full passage click: Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 …“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.” vs. 17 At the heart of the book of Revelation, mysterious and obscure as it may be, there is a strong and consistent emphasis on grace. Christ Jesus freely offers the water of life to everyone…
Daily Devotions: February 8, 2019
February 8, 2019 To read full passage click: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 …“For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” vs. 9 Paul occasionally drops autobiographical material into his writings, and what he says about himself usually corresponds to what we read about him in Acts. Initially, he had no love for the church and actively participated in the persecution of its members. All that changed with his…
Daily Devotions: February 5, 2019
February 5, 2019 To read full passage click: Isaiah 6:5-8 …“And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’” vs. 5 When Isaiah envisioned the awesome power of the living God, his own inadequacies were exposed and he sensed that his whole being was flawed. He knew himself so very well, and…
Daily Devotions: December 19, 2018
December 19, 2018 To read full passage click: Psalm 80:4-7 …“O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?” vs. 4 The psalmist was very aware of his people’s history. He’d heard the stories and committed them to memory. He knew they were a blessed and privileged people and that God had rescued them out of slavery and given them a fresh start and a new land. He also knew that they had messed…
Daily Devotions: November 9, 2018
November 9, 2018 Hebrews 9:24-28 …“And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” vss. 27-28 Many early Christians were steeped in the imagery of the sacrificial system and used that language to describe what had happened in Jesus. As the…
Daily Devotions: October 22, 2018
October 22, 2018 Jeremiah 31:31-34 …“No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” vs. 34 This is the dream! Jeremiah expressed it well. He was an eye-witness to the fall of Jerusalem and became a refugee in the land of Egypt. In his heart…
Daily Devotions: October 14, 2018
October 14, 2018 Mark 10:28-31 …“Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’” vs. 28 It seems that sometimes the disciples were confused by Jesus’ words and wondered if they’d made the right decision to follow him. In this instance, his comments about the impossibility of salvation had made Peter think that their commitments and sacrifices had been pointless. That’s a common reaction to the gospel of grace. If it’s all God, then what’s…
Daily Devotions: September 26, 2018
September 26, 2018 Psalm 19:7-14 …“Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.” vss. 11-12 Those of us who have been steeped in grace sometimes develop a subtle disdain for the law. We just don’t see the point of all the ordinances and commandments of scripture when salvation comes by grace through faith. The psalmist would have been amazed at our thinking! He…
Daily Devotions: July 13 , 2018
July 13, 2018 Ephesians 1:11-14…“In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;” vs. 13 It’s likely no accident that the words of this verse remind us of what is said following baptism in many of our congregations, “You have been marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit.” From the very beginning…