'high standards' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.” vss. 3-4 Psalm 24 The psalmist had some high standards for those he adjudged to be fit for admission to the sanctuary of the Lord. His reasoning was logical. Since the Lord was the epitome of holiness, those who came…
Daily Devotions
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” vss. 1-2 Proverbs 9:1-3 Those who wonder how they shall relate to others in these cantankerous times have an abundance of guidance from scripture. These words from Ephesians capture perfectly the actions and attitudes that will govern our words and behavior. Paul says, “Be imitators of God…and live in love, as Christ…
Daily Devotions
If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;” vs. 6 1 John 1:5-7 Evidently there were some folks in the communities John was writing to who believed that our behavior as disciples of Jesus really didn’t make that much difference. They reasoned that perfection, walking in the light, was too high a standard and that people shouldn’t beat themselves up if they wandered from…
Daily Devotions
The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” vs. 9 Romans 13:8-10 Most people have at least a vague sense of familiarity with the Ten Commandments. Occasionally we’ll hear about some new plan to have them engraved on monuments on courthouse lawns or posted on the wall of public school classrooms. There is a…
Daily Devotions
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.” vs. 5 1 Corinthians 10:1-5 Paul was anxious to remind the Corinthians that just because they were baptized and gathered regularly for Holy Communion they didn’t need to worry about leading lives pleasing to God. He points out that their Hebrew ancestors had all passed through the sea and had eaten manna in the wilderness and had still managed to screw up…