'Jesus' Tagged Posts (Page 2)
Daily Devotions
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” vss. 8-9 2 Corinthians 4: 8-13 Paul and his friends did not have an easy time of it as they brought the good news of Jesus to the cities of Greece and Asia Minor. Their message seemed to always stir controversy and they endured beatings and arrests wherever they went. But they never lost heart. They were…
Daily Devotions
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you; O Israel, if you would but listen to me! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.” vss. 8-9 Psalm 81:6-10 When the people of Israel gathered for worship they were regularly admonished by their leaders to avoid worshiping foreign gods. This was a particular problem for the Hebrews because the Lord, their god, was invisible! There was no statue that could be…
Daily Devotions
Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work.” vss. 12-13 Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Of all the commandments that made the Top Ten in Israel’s scripture, the one establishing the Sabbath day as holy has arguably received the most attention and caused the most controversy. The commandment itself is direct, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work,” but the problems arose as…
Daily Devotions
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” vs. 16 John 3:13-17 Most people have at least a passing familiarity with this most famous verse from John’s gospel. Even those who don’t know the words can recall having seen the chapter and verse. With that kind of notoriety, it’s unlikely that we’re going to discover anything new in its words. This…
Daily Devotions
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” vs. 12 John 16:8-15 While the situation is certainly different, Jesus sounds very much like a savvy parent as he says good-bye to the disciples and sends them off into the world. He could have said a lot more to them, but they wouldn’t understand until they had lived into a place where their ears would be opened. Some of us have had the same…
Daily Devotions
Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” vs. 7 John 15:26-27, 4b-7 This text is from a part of John’s gospel known as the final discourses. Set in the context of the last supper, after the departure of Judas, they are a summary of what Jesus wanted his…
Daily Devotions
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” vs. 26 Romans 8:26-27 Praying can be easy! It doesn’t take much planning or thought to pick a table prayer to use before each meal, and often at other times we have our regular list of people–we pray for them every day, often in the same order. Occasionally we even…
Daily Devotions
As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” vs. 18 John 17:14-19 Even though the world can be dangerous and is continuously trying to confuse and entrap us with its seductive ways, this is exactly where followers of Jesus have been sent to love and serve. In fact, if it weren’t for the presence of people of faith it’s hard telling what dreadful conditions would exist. Moral corruption would be rampant and…
Daily Devotions
And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” vs. 11 John 17:11-13 In this story John pictures Jesus at the end of his ministry, meeting with his disciples for one final moment of communion and instruction. Earlier in the gospel it had been made clear…
Daily Devotions
for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.” vs. 8 John 17:6-10 The gospel of John does a masterful job of connecting the Creator of the Universe directly to Jesus of Nazareth. In his familiar prologue, the gospel writer makes the claim that the Word through whom all things came into being is…
Daily Devotions
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” vs. 13 1 John 5:9-13 The gospel of John was written so that readers might come to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, so that through believing they might have eternal life. It seems that many people did become believers, and it is to these persons that this epistle is…
Daily Devotions
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” vs. 6 Psalm 1:4-6 The psalmist was certainly no nihilist, i.e. one who believes that life is meaningless and that there are no eternal values. Rather, he had a strong conviction that there is a right way to live, a way that is looked over and protected by the Lord. He also believed that there was another way, one that was pretty…