'hope' Tagged Posts (Page 16)
Daily Devotions
1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 “But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.” vss. 4-5 These are not easy days for any of us. We’re still dealing with the fall-out from the elections, and while some are satisfied with the results, others are not. Certainly nothing has been done to address the deep…
Daily Devotions
1 Thessalonians 4:13-15 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” vs. 13 Early followers of Jesus expected him to come again to usher in the promised eternal reign of God, and when that much anticipated return was delayed, some began to worry about those who were dying. Were they out of luck? Would they miss out on…
Daily Devotions
Revelation 7:13-17 “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” vss. 16-17 Humans have an insatiable curiosity about the afterlife, and would love to have a satisfactory definitive description of what that life might…
Daily Devotions
Revelation 7:9-17 “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.” vs. 9 There is within the human heart a deep love for apocalyptic imagery, something we see regularly in the unending series of blockbuster movies with science fiction and end of the world themes. Audiences seem…
Daily Devotions
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 … “We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” vss. 2-3 This letter of Paul to the Thessalonians is the oldest section of the New Testament and gives a glimpse into the inner life and concerns of the earliest Greek followers of Jesus. As such,…
Daily Devotions: August 5, 2020
August 5, 2020 Psalm 85:11-13 … “The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.” vss. 12-13 Some days it feels good to engage with “relentless optimism” like that exhibited by the psalmist as he surveyed the scene in Jerusalem so many years ago. There was really no historical basis for what he said, and the geo-politics of his time was anything…
Daily Devotions: July 17, 2020
July 17, 2020 Romans 8:19-25 … “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” vss. 24-25 Paul regularly spoke of hope as he wrote to early Christians. He knew that the glories of which he spoke were not readily apparent to them and that they wondered if they would experience resurrection.…
Daily Devotions: June 11, 2020
June 11, 2020 Romans 5:1-5 … “And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…” vss. 3-4 Most of us can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like for Africans to have been sold into slavery and hauled across the seas to spend their lives in hard labor on American plantations. Not only were beatings and abuse common, husbands, wives, and children…
Daily Devotions: April 18, 2020
April 18, 2020 John 20:19-25 … “When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” vs. 19 The words of this verse seem eerily appropriate for many of us as we continue in this uncertain state we’ve come to call “social-distancing.” Because of fear we’ve isolated…
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…