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Daily Devotions
And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.” vs. 6 Genesis 15:1-6 It’s just a single verse from one of the ancestral stories in Genesis, yet these few words have had an outsized importance as believers have put together their story of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Paul used them as the linchpin of his letter to the Romans in his attempt to show that our salvation doesn’t depend on our obedience to works…
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 3:9-11 It’s true, lying is not one of the Ten Commandments, yet there’s probably nothing more destructive to human relationships! And it comes so naturally to us. It’s one of the first things children learn how to do–and…
Daily Devotions
Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.” vs. 5 Psalm 25:1-5 Humans have always had a sense that there is a way to live that is particularly pleasing to God and that will be of benefit to them. In fact, the great religions of the world have been planted by those who had a sense of what such a life might be like and…
Daily Devotions
My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” vss. 27-28 John 10:25-30 Some of us know the hymn “Blessed Assurance” well. It was a favorite at camps and revivals and was regularly sung in many congregations. The tune is familiar and easy to sing, and many can recall its opening lyrics: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, Oh what…
Daily Devotions
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’” vs. 24 John 10:22-24 Jesus had gotten the attention of large numbers of people in the course of his ministry, and some believed him to be the messiah. But others, even those who had heard and seen the same things, wanted more proof. They had no patience with mystery and wanted a definitive word…
Daily Devotions
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea … Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them…” vss. 1, 5 1 Corinthians 10:1-5 Paul certainly was no Pollyanna. He knew from Hebrew history that most of the people of Israel, rescued from slavery in Egypt, had fallen away from the faith by the time they left the wilderness. Therefore he does not…
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
Happy are those whose hope is in the Lord, who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry, and sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind, he lifts up those who are bowed down; The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow.” vss. 5,7, 8a, 9a Psalm 146:5-10 When the psalmist warned his readers not to trust mortal rulers and to put their hope in God, he…
Daily Devotions
But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’” vs. 38 Mark 4:35-38 The disciples weren’t sleeping during the windstorm on the Sea of Galilee. The boat was bouncing on the waves, and they feared for their lives. But when Jesus was somehow able to sleep, they woke him up, somehow assuming that he didn’t care that they were about to…
Daily Devotions
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” vs. 6 Psalm 1:4-6 The psalmist was certainly no nihilist, i.e. one who believes that life is meaningless and that there are no eternal values. Rather, he had a strong conviction that there is a right way to live, a way that is looked over and protected by the Lord. He also believed that there was another way, one that was pretty…
Daily Devotions
For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” vs. 10 Ephesians 2:4-10 Even though we are sinners, by grace, God has already raised us up and given us new life in Christ. And when we trust that this is true, we can put away our old selves and devote ourselves to a lifetime of good works. It doesn’t make any difference how we…
Daily Devotions
After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” vs. 22 John 2:19-22 As he concludes the story of how an angry Jesus cleansed the temple precincts by chasing off the merchants and the moneychangers, the gospel writer John gives some clues about how the gospels were written. First he reminds us that it was after the resurrection that the disciples remembered…