'joy' Tagged Posts (Page 4)
Daily Devotions: December 1, 2019
December 1, 2019 For full passage click: Matthew 24:42-44 … “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” vs. 44 Today we start the season of Advent. Some will be lighting the first candle on their wreath; children are perhaps opening the first surprise on an Advent calendar. Our text is from a section of Matthew’s Gospel dealing with the last days. We are being warned, it seems, to be ready,…
Daily Devotions: November 12, 2019
November 12, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 98:1-5 … “O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.” vs. 1 The people of Israel regularly offered praise and thanksgiving to the Lord as they traveled to worship in the temple. Special songs were composed by the Levites and if the country had been enjoying success on the battlefield, the rituals were particularly festive.…
Daily Devotions: September 11, 2019
September 11, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 51:6-10 … “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.” vs. 8 Because we have been created in the image of God for goodness sake, we cannot help but feel terrible when we miss the mark and become conscious of sin’s ugly presence. The experience of sinning leaves us with a heavy weight on our hearts and sometimes the guilt comes close to crushing our spirits.…
Daily Devotions: May 7, 2019
May 7, 2019 For full passage click: Acts 9:40-43 …“Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.” vs. 40 The book of Acts tells the story of the exciting spread of Christianity from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. The ministry of Jesus was continuing–apostles and disciples were caring for the poor, healing…
Daily Devotions: April 8, 2019
April 8, 2019 For full passage click: Luke 19:28-40 …“As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen…” vs. 37 The crowd of disciples that had accompanied Jesus from Galilee could not contain itself as they crested the Mount of Olives and the Holy City came into view. As they…
Daily Devotions: April 5, 2019
April 5, 2019 For full passage click: Philippians 3:10-14 …“Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” vs. 12 Suffering and death were not obstacles for Paul. In fact, he saw them as the means by which he might identify totally with Christ Jesus, and then experience the power of resurrection. While those things lay in the…
Daily Devotions: December 13, 2018
December 13, 2018 To read full passage click: Philippians 4:4-5 …“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” vs. 4 Most of us believe that rejoicing is something we do when wonderful things happen in our lives. Our team wins the big game, a long awaited child is born, we get the raise we’ve been waiting for–the list could go on. There are many occasions for pure joy in the course of a lifetime. But Paul told the…
Daily Devotions: December 10, 2018
December 10, 2018 To read full passage click: Zephaniah 3:14-20 …“Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!” vs. 14 For once, something had gone well in Israel and the prophet encourages the people to sing for joy with all of their heart. Because they had acted against corruption and injustice they could be confident of the Lord’s presence among them. Zephaniah even says that the Lord will join their…
Daily Devotions: June 27 , 2018
June 27, 2018 Psalm 30:1-7…“For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” vs. 5 The psalmist was in a good mood as he composed these words of thanksgiving and praise. There had been a crisis, perhaps an illness that had brought him to death’s door, but then he had experienced healing, and he wanted everyone to know how happy he was. He…
Daily Devotions: May 17, 2018
May 17, 2018 Psalm 104:31-35…“I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.” vs. 33 The psalmist felt a calling to continually praise God for the wonder and majesty of creation. Everywhere he looked, from dawn to dusk, he saw the signs of God’s creative and renewing spirit. How often we miss out on the joy of that kind of living! We tend to get so immersed…