'strength' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!” vs. 11 Psalm 29 Technologically speaking, we are the most advanced civilization ever! Many people could never have dreamed of the devices and tools that they have at their daily disposal, and it’s hard for them to even imagine that life could get any better. Yet given the recent history of our country and the deep divisions in the world, even those who live…
Daily Devotions
The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens—wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.” vs. 4 Isaiah 50:4-9a According to Luke, after Jesus entered Jerusalem he went directly to the temple and raised a ruckus with the money-changers. He then spent his days in the temple precincts teaching the people and debating with the scribes and Pharisees.…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 29 “May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!” vs. 11 The psalmist had no doubt about the sovereignty of God, and believed that every part of creation reflected the power and majesty of its creator. Earthquakes, winds, thunder, and lightning were all a part of the earth’s posturing before the Almighty One–and as one caught up in the turmoil and messiness of it all, he cried out, “May the Lord…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 46:1-5 … “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” vs. 1 In the 1520’s as Martin Luther was facing increased resistance to his reformation writings and the forces of the Empire were poised to eliminate the fledgling Lutheran movement, he found great comfort in the words of Psalm 46. In fact it became the inspiration for his greatest song, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” a tune sometimes called “The Battle Hymn of the…
Daily Devotions: August 21, 2019
August 21, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 71:1-6 … “Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.” vs. 6 What a blessing it is to have a life-long connection with God and be aware of it! Most of us know that we were born and that we have mothers, but not so many know God as the sustainer and protector of their lives. The Psalmist…
Daily Devotions: July 23, 2019
July 23, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 138:1-5 …“On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.” vs. 3 This psalmist was a man of faith. He believed that there were many gods but he had made worship of the Lord a part of his daily life. Wherever he was, he would take time to turn toward the Jerusalem temple and offer his prayers of thanksgiving and praise. And he felt the benefits! Many…
Daily Devotions: May 17, 2019
May 17, 2019 For full passage click: Revelation 21:1-6 …“And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” vs. 2 In the final sequence of his vision, John speaks of a glorious future, not one in which humans go to heaven to be with God, but one in which God comes to dwell with us. Quite simply, “the dwelling place of God is with mortals”—…
Daily Devotions: February 15, 2019
February 15, 2019 To read passage click: Luke 6:17-19 …“They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.” vs. 18 During his ministry, Jesus functioned both as a teacher and a healer. Luke says that great multitudes of people gathered to hear him speak and to seek healing from various diseases, and he didn’t let them down. They eagerly received his words of insight and wisdom…
Daily Devotions: January 26, 2019
January 26, 2019 To read full passage click: Luke 4:14-17a …“Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.” vs. 14 When the Spirit connected with Jesus in a divine epiphany on the day of his baptism, it wasn’t just a momentary experience. This dove had come to hang around! The power of the Spirit remained and continued to give support during the time in the…
Daily Devotions: January 25, 2019
January 25, 2019 To view full passage click: 1 Corinthians 12: 20-31a …“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.” vs. 26 Contemporary culture, particularly in the Western World, is marked by a strong preference for rugged individualism, an attitude that has crept into the way we articulate our faith. Often we hear talk of personal relationships with Jesus and the resulting individual salvation that is ours. It’s…
Daily Devotions: December 11, 2018
December 11, 2018 To read full passage click: Isaiah 12:2-3 …“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.” vs. 2 Sometimes we get tentative when we think and talk about our salvation, and almost give the impression that it somehow depends upon what we have said or done. Of course, such a notion is pure foolishness and has nothing to…
Daily Devotions: October 23, 2018
October 23, 2018 Psalm 46:1-5 …“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” vs. 1 Martin Luther loved Psalm 46 and used it as the inspiration for his famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. For him, the psalm was a source of comfort in a time of conflict and challenge. And doubtless that’s what it was for its writer too. Jerusalem was a tough place to live, constantly beset by enemies, and full of…
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