'identity' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’” vss., 19-20 John 1:19-28 The question of identity was important in the gospels. The priests and Levites asked John the Baptist, “Who are you?” Jesus later asked the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” In those days’ speculation about the Messiah was…
Daily Devotions
Your decrees are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. With open mouth I pant, because I long for your commandments.” vss. 129-131 Psalm 119:126-131 Most people only have a vague notion of what the Law meant to the Jewish people. We’ve heard it disparaged in countless sermons and have come to think of it as a stumbling block, an obstacle to the gospel of grace. But to…
Daily Devotions
Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.” vss. 5-6a Exodus 19:2-8a The ancient Hebrews had what some might call an elevated sense of their importance. They fervently believed that they had been set aside by God for a special purpose. Out of all peoples of the…
Daily Devotions
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more…Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.” vss. 4b, 7 Philippians 3:4b-7 It’s no accident that Paul was a recognized leader in the early Church–he had exceptional qualifications and was brimming with confidence. And he certainly had no ego issues–he was proud of his ancestry and never backed away from controversy. Yet as he sat in prison, thinking…
Daily Devotions
1 John 3:1-3 “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” vs. 1 There is a lot of talk about identity in these times. We’ve learned, sometimes painfully, that it’s possible to have our identity stolen, and that we need to have many layers of protection to be safe. But after the available safeguards have been put in place, many wonder about identity in a more…
Daily Devotions: May 30, 2020
May 30, 2020 John 20:19-20 … “After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” vs. 20 It’s interesting that, according to John, the wounds of Jesus were not obliterated by his resurrection. Indeed, their presence as scars on his body are proof of his identity. The disciples knew who he was for sure only when they saw the marks left by the nails and the spear. That…