'Jesus' Tagged Posts (Page 25)
Daily Devotions
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife…” vs. 24 Matthew 1:21-25 Joseph took dreams seriously! Four different times, Matthew tells us Joseph woke up in the morning and did whatever he had been commanded to do during the night. His obedience was impeccable! Sometimes that’s how it works for us too. We might have been wrestling with a decision for some time, unable to make up…
Daily Devotions
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God….” vs. 1 Romans 1:1-7 Paul actually calls himself a “slave” of Jesus Christ, but since people are uncomfortable with that designation, translators have accommodated and usually substitute the word “servant.” But Paul meant “slave”! He considered himself to be owned, body and soul, by Jesus Christ, with a call to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. Many of us are uncomfortable using…
Daily Devotions
You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.” vs. 5 Psalm 80:1-7 Occasionally we can get some pretty bad cases of the “blues” during this time of year. Even though holiday music is on the air all through the day and neighborhood decorations lighten the darkness, a kind of malaise comes to visit, and it’s hard to maintain the requisite seasonal cheery smile. Sometimes we just feel like crying! Often…
Daily Devotions
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” vs. 14 Isaiah 7:10-16 During the years Isaiah was an advisor to King Ahaz of Judah, Israel and Syria had joined forces and launched an attack against Jerusalem, hoping to overthrow Ahaz. In the midst of the siege Isaiah goes to Ahaz, and when Ahaz refuses to ask God for a sign, gives him…
Daily Devotions
Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” vs. 11 Matthew 11:7-11 Jesus had to be careful in talking about John the Baptist. He was a well-known radical preacher who had gained enormous popularity by speaking truth to power. Large numbers of people had become his disciples, and they had been deeply upset by his arrest and imprisonment.…
Daily Devotions
Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!” vs 9 James 5:9-10 When people are in a waiting mode it’s not unusual for them to become irritated with one another. Even when there are no overt expressions of hostility there is likely to be an undercurrent of grumbling, and that’s what James was facing in his little community. He wanted it to stop, and not surprisingly…
Daily Devotions
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.” vss. 1-2a Isaiah 35:1-4 Isaiah lived in a semi-arid land, right on the edge of the Judean desert, and he annually observed the effects of the rainy season. When the winter rains come in January or February, the desert blooms. Areas that appear to be barren much of the year suddenly are…
Daily Devotions
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” vs. 1 Isaiah 11:1-4 In some homes, a Jesse tree has appeared in the family room right alongside the Christmas trees. Usually Jesse trees are not impressive in themselves; they’re just large dead branches stuck in some sort of non-descript container. They’re not at all like Christmas trees, but they are meant to be decorated. Each day during Advent some sort…
Daily Devotions
But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” vs. 36 Matthew 24:36-39 When Matthew wrote his gospel, many believed that the end times were near. The armies of Rome had destroyed the temple, and many believers were sure that Jesus would surely soon return. But as Matthew recounts Jesus’ words about the end, he makes it clear that all we can know for sure is that God…
Daily Devotions
Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’” vss. 42-43 Luke 23:39-43 It’s possible to get completely sidetracked by this little exchange between two dying men in Luke’s gospel. Because we wonder about the nature of life beyond death, we look here for clues that can help us construct some sort of timetable for what happens once we draw our last breath.…
Daily Devotions
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’” vs.33-34a Luke 23:33-38 These words of Jesus are not recorded in the other gospels, but we can be grateful that Luke included them in his. It’s here that we begin to understand more completely the core of Jesus’…
Daily Devotions
He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” vs. 17 Colossians 1:17-20 Early Christians came to believe that the Christ who had been made visible in Jesus of Nazareth was the incarnate Word of God, described in the prologue to John’s gospel. Through the Christ, present in the Beginning, all things had come into existence, and the writer of Colossians adds that, “in him all things hold together.” In other words, Christ is the…