'hope' Tagged Posts (Page 5)
Daily Devotions
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.” vs. 8 2 Peter 3:8-10 Climate change has been accelerating in recent years and there is continuing debate around the world about what needs to be done. Some say that the survival of humanity is at stake, and that unless drastic steps are taken to eliminate the use of fossil fuels there will…
Daily Devotions
See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him…He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” vss. 10a, 11 Psalm 85: 1-2, 8-13 In spite of Israel’s ongoing dysfunction, the psalmist was optimistic about her future, not because the people were behaving so well, but because God had freely showered forgiveness on them. We too live…
Daily Devotions
So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” vs. 29 Mark 13:24-31 We don’t need to be particularly alert to know that Christmas is near. Black Friday with all its sales and promotions has come and gone. All the best trees have already disappeared from the well-lit lots on the strategic corners near shopping centers. Yards are being decorated with blow-up sleighs and reindeer–men and women are risking their…
Daily Devotions
O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.; vss. 4-5 Psalm 80:1-7 The psalmist believed that Israel was God’s chosen people. In fact, most people with any degree of familiarity with the bible would likely agree. For generations this is what we’ve taught our children. For the most part it can be a helpful teaching,…
Daily Devotions
And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” vs. 40 Matthew 25:37-45 There are a growing number of believers around the world who are beginning to refer to themselves as Matthew 25 Christians. For them that closing parable in chapter 25 of Matthew’s gospel is the defining teaching of Jesus’ entire ministry. In their estimation…
Daily Devotions
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ… may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you…” vss. 7-8a Ephesians 1:15-23 Paul doesn’t seem to have known the people that he was writing to, but he has certainly heard of their faith, and he regularly includes them in his prayers…
Daily Devotions
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.” vs. 16 Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 Ezekiel describes the Lord as a loving shepherd who one day will seek out the lost and strayed sheep, and bind up the injured and the weak. But then he adds these disquieting words, “the…
Daily Devotions
Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.” vs. 11 1 Thessalonians 5:6-11 Paul knew that all would be well with that little congregation in Thessalonica because they understood that life is communal. We’re not on our own in this world, a bunch of singles laboring toward a celestial goal, but we are one body in Christ. The Holy Spirit has called us into a community of faith, and for better or worse, we…
Daily Devotions
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 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 Like other followers of Jesus in the mid-first century Paul was looking for the Day of the Lord, which he understood as the imminent return of Jesus. But as he wrote to his friends in Thessalonica, he described…
Daily Devotions
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” vss. 1-2 Psalm 90: 1-6 From the beginning star-gazers have pondered the origins of the universe and have wondered how all things have come into being. Probably every ethnicity and ancient culture had their own perspectives on creation and early religious groups adopted these stories as a…
Daily Devotions
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 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15 Paul seems to have believed in the imminent return of Jesus, (it’s a common theme of his early letters), and that he would not die before that happened. But as the years passed, people in the congregations he had started began to die, and their…
Daily Devotions
But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!” vs. 5 Psalm 70 Sometimes we get tired of waiting for the Lord! It’s nice to say to ourselves and to others, “Oh, I have plenty of time, and God has given me the gift of patience, so it doesn’t matter when my deliverer shows up.” That’s a good attitude to have, since it seems we spend…