'trust' Tagged Posts (Page 2)
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…
Daily Devotions
Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’” vs. 10 1 Samuel 3:1-5, 10 When Hannah, in her old age, had borne a son, she dedicated him to the Lord, and when the boy Samuel was weaned she brought him to the priest, Eli, and left him to serve in the temple at Shiloh. Each year she would make him a new robe and bring it to…
Daily Devotions
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” vs. 3 Matthew 5:1-6 On this All Saints Sunday we’ll be remembering in a formal way all those we’ve been thinking about this week. Many of those loved departed ones will be mentioned during prayers–sometimes their names will be printed in the bulletin or appear on a screen. They are the saints of our hearts, and not necessarily of the stained glass variety. Of course some of…
Daily Devotions
For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” vs. 28 Romans 3:25-28 Paul is clear that all are made righteous by grace, the free gift of God in Christ Jesus, but he also wrote that each person is made righteous by faith, and sometimes this confuses us. We’re forever trying to remember if justification is by grace through faith or by faith through grace. It’s hard to keep it straight, and…
Daily Devotions
But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless.” vss. 11-12 Matthew 21:11-14 Matthew really didn’t need to add this little addendum to Jesus’ parable. Up to this point the story was straightforward and blunt, and it had a happy ending–the banquet hall was filled. But now…