'Restoration' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” vs. 5 Psalm 32:1-6 Because the world is both good and broken, humans have been conscious of their need for forgiveness from the beginning. And while it should be a relatively easy matter to offer an expression of remorse to the one we have offended, and then receive a…
Daily Devotions
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” vss. 11-12 Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 Most of us are, familiar with these verses from Psalm 91, not because we’ve read them in scripture, but because we’ve heard them sung as one of the verses in “On Eagles’ Wings.” That devotional hymn, dating back to about 1979, has…
Daily Devotions
O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.” vss. 4-5 Psalm 80:4-7 It’s not unusual to hear people complain about God. Many cannot understand how a good God could have created a world in which so many ugly things are going on, seemingly without end. We’ve heard those promises about a peaceable kingdom and restoration,…
Daily Devotions
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” vs. 3 Psalm 80:1-3 Ever since the beginning humans have been deeply aware of the brokenness that is a part of life in this incredibly good world. We can easily grasp the magnificence of the creation with our senses. We see how everything fits together and how each little thing has its place. The beauty of sunrises and sunsets continues to amaze, and the scents of blossoming…
Daily Devotions
But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” vs. 2 Micah 5:2-3 Micah lived near Jerusalem during the time Judah was being threatened by the massive Assyrian Empire. Their armies had already ravaged the northern kingdom of Israel and thousands of refugees had fled south. As a prophet Micah not…
Daily Devotions
Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.” vs. 19 Romans 3:19-23 At one time humans put a lot of trust in the law. They really believed that the brokenness of this good world could be resolved if people would be obedient to the extensive set of ordinances and commandments found in their sacred…
Daily Devotions
Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.” vs. 16 Psalm 90:4-7 The psalmist is praying that the wondrous work of God would be manifest to all the congregation. There really is nothing better than to be a part of a community that recognizes the goodness of the world, and who are working together to bring healing and restoration to its brokenness. So we like it when our friends can see the fingerprints…
Daily Devotions
Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” vss. 40-41 Mark 9:38-41 Jesus wasn’t nearly so fussy about boundaries as his disciples seem to have been. John had gotten all bent out of shape because he had seen an outsider casting out demons in Jesus’ name. It was as though this interloper was…
Daily Devotions
With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.” vss. 9-10 James 3:6-12 As James continues his discussion of the tongue, he indicates that our use of it for both blessing God and cursing our neighbor is a travesty. And he’s right! And we would be hard-pressed to find…
Daily Devotions
For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle.” vs. 2 James 3:1-6 In a moment of candid reflection our old friend James hints that perhaps even he makes mistakes in the course of living a Christ-centered life. His problem, as with so many of us, seems to have been his mouth, but his own struggle with his tongue doesn’t keep him…
Daily Devotions
Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.” vs. 22 Ezekiel 17:22-24 Ezekiel knew the sorry saga of Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem. He was familiar with the king’s futile attempt to make a treaty with Egypt. He’d likely been part…
Daily Devotions
He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.” vs. 5 Mark 3:1-6 Standing with a crippled man in front of the Pharisees in the synagogue, Jesus asked them a straightforward question, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” And the Pharisees were silent.…