'scripture' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but is now disclosed,” vss. 25-26a Romans 16:25-27 Paul must have breathed a sigh of relief as he completed his letter to the Romans. He’d laid everything on the line and believed that he had successfully revealed the essence of the gospel. He hadn’t invented anything new,…
Daily Devotions
And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear.” vss. 25-26 Matthew 14:22-26 This story of Jesus walking on the sea is both well-known and mystifying to believers. Thomas Jefferson found it unhelpful for the rational mind and did not include it in his cut-and-paste version of the New Testament. That inclination…
Daily Devotions
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” vs. 5 Psalm 100:4-5 In the midst of the current tumult regarding war, nuclear weapons, climate disaster, and the resurgence of hate speech, we can find amazing consolation in the words of this 2500 year-old psalm. The psalmist, inspired by the Spirit, knew the core of what humans need to flourish. First is a firm conviction that God is good and so is the…
Daily Devotions
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” vss. 1-2 Genesis 1:1-24 Many of those who take the words of the bible literally believe that the earth is only about 6,000 years old, and that it was created in six days in exactly the way described in Genesis 1. They hang…
Daily Devotions
As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” vs. 13 Isaiah 66:13-14 When we get older and start learning new things in school, it’s not unusual to do an assessment of what we’ve been learning in Sunday School. And sometimes the old familiar stories don’t stand up to our scrutiny. We reject entire portions of scripture as being archaic and unscientific, and decide that we are no longer believers. Usually that…
Daily Devotions
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” vs. 5-6 Psalm 1 When the Pharisees that Jesus encountered made distinctions between the sinners and the righteous, and encouraged strict separation, they weren’t just making stuff up. Those ideas had been around for a long time and were even embedded in their holy scriptures.…
Daily Devotions
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day…’” vss. 45-46 Luke 24:44-48 When Matthew and Luke wrote their gospels they weren’t just interested in compiling a narrative of Jesus’ life from beginning to end. They also wanted their readers to know that what had happened in Jesus was a fulfillment of the scriptures. His…
Daily Devotions: April 25, 2020
April 25, 2020 Luke 24:13-27 … “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” vs. 27 Luke makes it clear to his readers that the good news about Jesus was not self-evident even to his disciples after that fateful weekend in Jerusalem. Some women had spread the news of his continuing presence but their reports were not considered authoritative. What the early believers needed was some evidence that…
Daily Devotions: February 21, 2020
February 21, 2020 For full passage click: 2 Peter 1:19-21 … “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” vss. 20-21 Interpretation of Scripture is a notoriously difficult enterprise. Some say it can only be done reliably by trained and skilled biblical scholars, men and women who understand fully…
Daily Devotions: June 15, 2019
June 15, 2019 For full passage click: John 16:12-14 …“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” vs. 12 Some people believe that the Canon of Scripture is closed, that the books currently in the Testaments contain the totality of God’s Word for us. None can be taken out and none can be added. Others are not so sure. They hold that the notion of a closed Canon is a human invention and…
Daily Devotions: October 4, 2018
October 4, 2018 Hebrews 1:1-4 …“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son…” vss. 1-2a The early Christians treasured their scriptures and regarded them as authoritative guides for living. They particularly valued the words of the prophets and saw in them a reflection of God’s wisdom and judgement. But they also believed that God had brought a new word in…
Daily Devotions: April 17, 2018
April 17, 2018 Acts 4:8-12…“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” vs. 12 The disciples were ecstatic! They had such good news for their leaders…and for the entire world. Through the Holy Spirit they had come to believe that Jesus was the Christ and that through him God’s salvation had come to humanity. As they traveled about proclaiming that audacious message it seemed…
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