'Power' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” vss. 22-23 Ephesians 1:15-23 From the beginning, the church formed by the followers of Jesus has been understood to be the Body of Christ. We’ve grown accustomed to that designation and have come to take it for granted, but it really is an audacious claim. We…
Daily Devotions
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.” vs. 10 Psalm 111 For centuries there wasn’t much question about the primacy of the Lord. Pretty much everyone, at least in the Judeo-Christian heritage, would have agreed with the psalmist–the Lord was in control and showered blessings over the entire earth. Our awesome God had power and might and was also gracious and merciful. But somewhere…
Daily Devotions
The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;” vs. 1 Psalm 93:1-2 As the psalmist searched for ways to describe the power and majesty of the Lord he ended up using the word “king.” It meant something different in those days than it does now. For us it simply designates the head of the royal family in those few countries…
Daily Devotions
But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.” vss. 43-44 Mark 10:41-45 If the Christian Church had a constitution and by-laws, these verses would likely be found under the heading “Leadership” as Article I. Jesus understood that greatness according to the world’s standards involved the accumulation of power and wealth. And we know that too! We…
Daily Devotions
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’” vs. 35 Mark 10:35-45 According to Mark, the disciples were obsessed with greatness and glory. They’d been nothing when Jesus called them, but after a few months on the road they began vying for corner offices in the executive suite. At first this was an internal competition, something discussed privately, but before…
Daily Devotions
Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.” vss. 3-4 Psalm 146 The psalmist had been around the block a time or two and he knew better than to get caught up in the promises of religious or political leaders of any kind. He’d likely heard and seen it all, and understood the ebb and flow of…
Daily Devotions
for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.” vs. 20 Mark 6:14-20 Herod ruled over Galilee and Perea (a territory east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea) on behalf of the Romans and was involved in a series of clashes with the king of Nabatea. He had arrested John because of his comments about…
Daily Devotions
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” vs. 18 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 Paul quickly discovered that both Jews and Gentiles had a tough time wrapping their minds around the cross as the central image in the message he was proclaiming. They simply couldn’t believe that the path to salvation ran through excruciating suffering and death. Messiahs were supposed to triumph over…
Daily Devotions
John 1:10-14 “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” vss. 12-13 John the Gospel writer seems to be saying here that people are not the children of God unless they have received Jesus, that only after believing in him do they truly receive the power to…
Daily Devotions: February 18, 2020
February 18, 2020 For full passage click: Psalm 2:1-6 … “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision.” vs. 4 The Psalmist was absolutely convinced that Israel was God’s chosen nation and that the king was God’s anointed. Any other nation then, that conspired against Israel or sought to overthrow the king was doomed to failure–no earthly ruler could possibly subvert the will of the Lord. Of course the psalmist was mistaken. There were…
Daily Devotions: October 4, 2019
October 4, 2019 For full passage click: 2 Timothy 1:8-14 … “This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” vss. 9b-10 The message proclaimed by Paul was centered–not on the works of our hands–but on the grace and the power of God. What’s amazing is the conviction of…
Daily Devotions: August 6, 2019
August 6, 2019 For full passage click: Isaiah 1:16-20 … “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” vss. 16-17 Isaiah not only railed against the political and religious leaders in Jerusalem, he told them in no uncertain terms what God required of them. It couldn’t have been hard for them to understand,…
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