'Holy Spirit' Tagged Posts (Page 5)
Daily Devotions
Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.” vs. 19 Romans 3:19-23 At one time humans put a lot of trust in the law. They really believed that the brokenness of this good world could be resolved if people would be obedient to the extensive set of ordinances and commandments found in their sacred…
Daily Devotions
Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.” vs. 16 Psalm 90:4-7 The psalmist is praying that the wondrous work of God would be manifest to all the congregation. There really is nothing better than to be a part of a community that recognizes the goodness of the world, and who are working together to bring healing and restoration to its brokenness. So we like it when our friends can see the fingerprints…
Daily Devotions
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.” vs. 13 Mark 10:2-12 It’s hard to know what the disciples were thinking. We do know that Jesus was heavily involved in teaching and perhaps they considered the children to be a distraction. Perhaps they were like ushers in our worship services who advise mothers to take their crying babies to the nursery so the preacher’s every word can…
Daily Devotions
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.” vss. 1-4 Hebrews 1:1-4 After Jesus’ death and resurrection, it took a couple of generations for his followers to sort out their differences and arrive at some sort of common understanding of his significance. Initially the greatest conflict…
Daily Devotions
Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” vss. 40-41 Mark 9:38-41 Jesus wasn’t nearly so fussy about boundaries as his disciples seem to have been. John had gotten all bent out of shape because he had seen an outsider casting out demons in Jesus’ name. It was as though this interloper was…
Daily Devotions
Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.” vs. 14 James 5:13-15 When we feel sick we will likely go to an Urgent Care Center or to an emergency room for treatment, and usually some sort of healing will follow, sometimes quickly, but often after a period of time. James presented his readers with another option. Since medical…
Daily Devotions
He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’” vs. 35 Mark 9:33-37 We can only imagine how disheartening it must have been for Jesus to pour out his heart to his disciples about the cost of discipleship, and then have them engage in a great debate about which of them was the greatest. They had completely missed the point of his teaching! The only…
Daily Devotions
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days’ rise again.” vs. 31 Mark 8:27-33 Mark reports in his gospel that when the disciples tell Jesus that they believed he was the messiah; he gave them a glimpse of what was to come. There would be a period of great suffering and rejection and finally…
Daily Devotions
The Lord God helps me; therefore, I have not been disgraced; therefore, I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame…” vs. 7 Isaiah 50:6-9a The prophet had likely been exposed to a shame-based culture, a society that seeks to regulate behavior by heaping shame and disgrace on any person who doesn’t live up to the cultural norms. Some of us know what that’s like too. For some perverted reason some…
Daily Devotions
Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.” vs. 14 Psalm 34:9-14 Most people have a curiosity about their ancestors. Some spend years in genealogical research to figure out their family tree. Others send in saliva samples to testing companies like 23andme or Ancestry to find out what an analysis of their DNA can tell them about…
Daily Devotions
Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.” vs. 57 John 6:54-58 Some of us can remember a time when the celebration of Holy Communion was infrequent in some of our congregations. There was a sense that what really counted was a good sermon, and direction on how believers ought to live in this broken world. And at the same time, in the majority of…
Daily Devotions
Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table.” vss. 1-2 Proverbs 9:1-3 Many are familiar with the ode to the capable wife that is found in Proverbs 31 but some don’t like it very much. They claim that it perpetuates a patriarchal attitude toward women. That may be true, but it’s also true that Proverbs also implies that the source of…