'hope' Tagged Posts (Page 11)
Daily Devotions: January 20, 2020
January 20, 2020 For full passage click: Isaiah 9:1-4 … “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.” vs. 2 Light and darkness are familiar metaphors in Scripture! In this instance, Isaiah is using them to describe the hope that has filled the hearts of the people of Judah with the coronation of a new king. Darkness, in the form of the Assyrian…
Daily Devotions: October 21, 2019
October 21, 2019 For full passage click: 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 Jeremiah prophesied during one of the most dismal periods of Israel’s history and watched as Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed and the ruling…
Daily Devotions: October 1, 2019
October 1, 2019 For full passage click: Habakkuk 2:1-4 … “For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.” vs. 3 Even though Habakkuk saw nothing hopeful in the injustice and the turmoil that surrounded him and cried out in complaint to the Lord, he did not give up hope. We, who are his…
Daily Devotions: August 15, 2019
August 15, 2019 For full passage click: Hebrews 11:29-40 … “Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised…” vs. 39 The writer of Hebrews was well aware of the proud history of his people. He could recount the stories of judges, prophets, and kings in great detail. And it wasn’t only the notable folks who had caught his attention. There had been countless others, too, who had been faithful to the Lord,…
Daily Devotions: June 14, 2019
June 14, 2019 For full passage click: Romans 5:1-5 …“and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” vs. 5 Paul is able to tell the Romans that people of faith can even boast in their sufferings, not because they are masochists, but because God’s love, the very presence of God, has been poured into their hearts. His insight has stood the test of…
Daily Devotions: April 20, 2019
April 20, 2019 For full passage click: Ezekiel 37:1-14 …“Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.”’” vs. 11 The Israelites living in Babylon had given up hope. They and their descendants would die in the land of captivity and they would never know the land of promise. The prophet Ezekiel paints another picture for them. The…
Daily Devotions: March 28, 2019
March 28, 2019 For full passage click: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 …“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” vs. 17 Being a disciple of Jesus is far more than believing in him and walking in his way. While those things are important Paul describes discipleship as more of a mystical union, an entering into Christ that allows us to experience the pulsating energy of God that is…
Daily Devotions: March 4, 2019
March 4, 2019 For full passage click: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 …“Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.” vs. 13b A plague of locusts had descended upon Israel and Joel believed that they were a sign that the day of judgment was near. He pleads with the people to return to God with genuine repentance and not empty ceremonies. He wants them to know…
Daily Devotions: November 26, 2018
November 26, 2018 To read full passage click: Jeremiah 33:14-16 …“In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” vs. 15 For centuries, the people of Israel and Judah had lived with the conviction that they were children of the promise. They believed with all their hearts that God had brought them to the land they occupied and that God would…
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: September 3, 2018
September 3, 2018 Isaiah 35:4-7a … “then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;” vs. 6 Isaiah hadn’t been reading the latest reports on the long-term effects of climate change–he had something else on his mind. He knew that the people of Judah were frightened and discouraged. Their enemies were very real and their country was on the…
Daily Devotions: June 25 , 2018
June 25, 2018 Lamentations 3:22-26…“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” vss. 22-23 The writer of Lamentations had endured the total destruction of Jerusalem and experienced first-hand the raw brutality of a powerful conqueror. The temple had been destroyed along with all the palaces and fine homes of the city. The people had experienced famine and starvation. The promised Day of the Lord…