'renewal' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” vs. 16 2 Corinthians 4:13-16 Even as the apostle Paul grew older and became more aware of his physical limitations he never once told the Corinthians that he was staying away from carbs, counting his steps, or going to the gym for strength training. But he does tell them that his inner nature was being renewed day by…
Daily Devotions
And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’” vs. 52 Matthew 13:44-52 Jesus closes out this series of parables with an enigmatic saying that can be understood to describe what he had been doing in his teaching. He certainly did not disdain the law and the prophets that were a part…
Daily Devotions
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth…” vss. 10-11a Isaiah 55:10-11 The prophet had made some bold promises to the exiles in Babylon. Speaking for the Lord, he tells them that they will return to their native land…
Daily Devotions
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!” vss. 1-2 Psalm 130 It’s not much fun to live in the depths! The view is terrible and our only companions are depression and despair. But it was a familiar dwelling place for the psalmist–he likely lived in Jerusalem and life there was full of lamentable occasions. Calamity was a regular visitor. On this day,…
Daily Devotions
For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands…” vs. 6 2 Timothy 1:6-14 Confirmation hadn’t been invented yet in the life of the church when this letter was written, but its predecessor was certainly there. Paul says that when Timothy was a youth, he laid hands on him and gave him a precious gift of God. That sounds exactly like what happens when a pastor…
Daily devotions
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.” vss. 9-10 Colossians 3:8-11 Once we have begun to imitate Christ in all that we say and do, it will of course have an effect on our behavior. We’ll put aside anger, malice, and slander and adopt truthfulness as our new…
Daily Devotions
When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” vs. 34 Psalm 104:30-34 The psalmist believed that all living creatures were a part of a constantly changing, always evolving circle of life. Creation wasn’t a once-for-all time event. Rather it occurred on a daily basis as the spirit of God breathed life into what had died and renewed the face of the earth. Death and the return to dust is never God’s…
Daily Devotions
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.” vss. 2-3 Psalm 23 We live in a grimy and confused world, and our souls are easily sapped by the continual pressures of daily living. Bit by bit anxieties and worries chip away at us and fear steps in to take center stage. Before long, joy is a distant memory and we…
Daily Devotions
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” vs. 31 Isaiah 40: 27-31 Let’s face it! There are sometimes massive challenges on our journey to wholeness. We need to make adjustments or changes in the way we’ve been living and we despair at being able to do what needs to be done. Some have become well…
Daily Devotions
Romans 12:1-3 … “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” vs. 2 With the erosion of truth in contemporary society, it has become more and more difficult to discern what is good and acceptable thinking and behavior. Every social media platform is besieged by memes and tweets that are outrageous lies–and too many people…
Daily Devotions: October 21, 2019
October 21, 2019 For full passage click: Jeremiah 31:31-34 … “No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” vs. 34 Jeremiah prophesied during one of the most dismal periods of Israel’s history and watched as Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed and the ruling…
Daily Devotions: August 2, 2019
August 2, 2019 For full passage click: Colossians 3:5-11 … “In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!” vs. 11 Even though we are called to discipline as we move from death to resurrection, the renewal does not depend on our success or failure. To say that it does would remove Christ from the equation, and Paul knows that such can never be…
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