'prayer' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
If you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord,” vss. 13b-14a Isaiah 58:13b-14 Those who have spent a lifetime worshipping on a weekly basis probably do so for a variety of reasons. For some it’s simply a habit and they don’t really think too much about it. But…
Daily Devotions
For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” vs. 10 Luke 11:5-13 Jesus doesn’t seem to have any problems with what we might call “unanswered prayer.” In his estimation, that’s virtually unthinkable. Oh, he’s certainly aware of what it’s like to imagine that somehow God has abandoned us or gone on vacation. He knows what those feelings are like. But he knows something about God that we sometimes…
Daily Devotions
At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.” vs. 33 Acts 16:25-34 There’s a freedom that flows through Luke’s account of the acts of the Apostle’s. The principal actors haven’t been trained in mission development, and they don’t seem to know the rituals that are so significant in our congregations. Paul doesn’t distinguish between infant and adult baptisms, and he fails to give basic…
Daily Devotions
But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.” vs. 19 Acts 16:16-24 Paul had been irritated by a slave girl with the spirit of divination who had kept shouting at them each day as they walked the streets of Philippi. So one day he just stopped in his tracks and ordered the unclean spirit to come out of her–and it did.…
Daily Devotions
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” vs. 27 John 14:27-29 We all have friends and family members who rise to the top of our prayer lists at various times in their lives. And when we’re done praying that they receive healing, reconciliation, or forgiveness, we close with a deep and profound…
Daily Devotions
I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” vss. 23-26 John 14:23-26 As followers of Jesus in a good and broken world we are very conscious of wanting to continue his ministry in whatever way we can. But it’s not always easy to figure out which…
Daily Devotions
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’” vs. 21 Mark 10:17-22 Jesus had been teaching about the cost of discipleship, and now the question of the good rich man gave him a vivid real life illustration. When the man heard Jesus’ words, Mark says, he was shocked and went away grieving. And…
Daily Devotions
Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” vs. 16 James 5:16-20 Because the world is good, and broken, the healing that comes with forgiveness will always be a central part of our life together. That’s why so many of our congregations will take time for confession of sins in each weekly worship service. It’s a moment, scarcely long enough, for…
Daily Devotions
The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffereddistress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’” vss. 3-4 Psalm 116:1-9 It’s hard to believe that 23 years have passed since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. It’s a date that hangs on in our memories as a moment in which our realities were shattered.…
Daily Devotions
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him.” vss. 35-36 Mark 1:35-39 Mark tells his readers that the morning after being besieged by the crowds in Capernaum, Jesus got up early, and went in the dark to a deserted place for prayer. Because the geography of Galilee has changed little in 2000 years we know that he…
Daily Devotions
That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door.” vss. 32-33 Mark 1:29-34 Many congregations now have parish nurses on their staff, and people appreciate having skilled persons who can help them with the myriad of health issues that plague us as we age. Healing services are held regularly as a part of worship and people are glad for the opportunity to receive prayers,…
Daily Devotions
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.” Galatians 4:4-5 Galatians 4:4-5 It has been widely reported that the leaders of the Christian churches in Bethlehem, in order to demonstrate their solidarity with the suffering Palestinians of Gaza, have canceled Christmas. There will be no marching bands, or holiday decorations,…