'Redemption' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.” vs. 5 Isaiah 52:12-53:13 As we read these words from Isaiah on this Good Friday, it’s important to remember that the prophet was not writing about Jesus. Rather he was speaking of the Servant Israel, the exiled nation that had undergone great suffering at the hands of the Babylonians. It had been an…
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 Paul tells the Galatians that Jesus had been born in the fullness of time, that all preparations had been made, and all conditions were just as they needed to be. And as we look back at that time,…
Daily Devotions
Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.” vs. 5 Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 Redemption is one of those words that is used regularly by Christians and often connected with Jesus’ death on the cross. It describes the process by which we are made right with God through grace. It’s interesting that the psalmist, long before Jesus, also knew about redemption and claimed it as his own, a gracious gift from his faithful…
Daily Devotions
He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” vs. 30 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Paul sensed that one of the problems in the Corinthian congregation was that some of the people had begun to think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. He reminds them that when they were called to become believers they were all nobodies, and none of them was in any…
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.” vss. 4-5 Galatians 4:4-5 Early Christians had a lot of figuring out to do when it became apparent that the Jesus who had been crucified had been the long-anticipated messiah. Paul had had a personal encounter with the resurrected Christ that had…
Daily Devotions
For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” vss. 22b-24 Romans 3:19-25 For years Martin Luther struggled with his own sinfulness, believing that there had to be some way by which he could, by his own effort, be free from the horrible burden of guilt. But nothing worked, and his anguish continued until…
Daily Devotions
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.” vs. 5 Isaiah 53:4-9 Israel’s exile in Babylon meant a complete overhaul of the nation’s self-understanding. They had seen themselves as special, as God’s Chosen People, but now they had lost wealth and power, along with their standing in the world. The prophet, living with the exiles in Babylon, used the figure of…
Daily Devotions
And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.” vss. 17-18 Acts 3:12-19 According to Luke’s account, after the healing of the crippled beggar, a crowd gathered around Peter and John in the temple precincts. Peter uses the opportunity to confront them with their complicity in the death of Jesus, in whose name the man had…
Daily Devotions
Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” vs. 1 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, traditionally the time for followers of Jesus to receive the imposition of ashes at worship as a sign of repentance. In most congregations the ashes are imposed on the forehead in the shape of a cross with the words, “Remember that…
Daily Devotions: November 4, 2019
November 4, 2019 For full passage click: Job 19:23-27a … “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God” vss. 25-26 Job’s story resonates with anyone seeking to understand the mystery of suffering. Job has done nothing wrong and has lost everything: possessions, wife, family, even his health and reputation, and to top it off…
Daily Devotions: February 18, 2019
February 18, 2019 For full passage click: Genesis 43:3-11, 15 …“I myself will be surety for him; you can hold me accountable for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.” vs. 9 Judah and his brothers had contrived to sell their father’s favorite son, Joseph, into slavery. The story of Joseph’s rise to a position of prominence in Egypt is well-known, as is…
Daily Devotions: June 19 , 2018
June 19, 2018 Psalm 107:1-3…“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble…” vs. 2 Sometimes Christians imply that the only redemption worth talking about is that which comes through Jesus, that only those “washed in the blood of the Lamb” have the salvation of God. Such talk would have certainly surprised the psalmist. In his estimation there were countless examples of redemption in Israel’s history. The people had often fallen away from God and then…