'understanding' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.” vs. 12 1 Kings 3:9-12 After Solomon had ordered the death of his older brother and thus consolidated his power, the ancient court history recounts in a scene reminiscent of the Arabian Nights that the Lord, like a genie, appears to him in a dream and offers to give him whatever he wants. Solomon…
Daily Devotions
But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.” vss. 8-9 Romans 5:6-11 Sometimes it’s hard to understand how the death of Jesus fits into the whole scheme of salvation. We know what we’ve been taught, namely that the death of Jesus saves us from our sins,…
Daily Devotions
For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.” vs. 10 Psalm 31:9-16 We don’t know what was going on with the psalmist, he doesn’t give any details about whatever it was that had been tormenting him. We can only imagine–and make some guesses based on our own periods of dismal existence as we’ve made our way from spring to winter in the course of…
Daily Devotions
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.” vs. 9 Psalm 32:6-11 In recent months many have marveled at the divergent thinking that can emerge in times of crisis. Because all have access to multiple news and information sources, we have the opportunity to consider opposite points of view on just about every subject. And because some have declared that all…
Daily Devotions: December 28, 2019
December 28, 2019 For full passage click: Hebrews 2:10-18 … “Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” vs. 18 Suffering is one of the realities of life in the world. No matter how much we might want to avoid it, sooner or later it’s going to come to us or someone we love. We might even know that it’s coming, and still find ourselves totally unprepared for the…
Daily Devotions: December 14, 2018
December 14, 2018 To read full passage click: Philippians 4:6-7 …“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” vs. 7 Peace is one of those multi-faceted words that is used in a multitude of ways in scripture. Sometimes it’s simply a greeting, a shalom extended to a friend. Often, peace refers to an absence of warfare, a time when humans put away weapons and live together in harmony. Here…
Daily Devotions: March 11, 2018
March 11, 2018 John 3:19-21 … “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” vs. 19 The contrast between light and darkness was an important one in the gospel of John. In his prologue he describes the Word as the light of the world, a light which darkness was not able to overcome. In this section, he tells his readers that even though…
Daily Devotions: March 10, 2018
March 10, 2018 John 3:14-18 …“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” vss. 14-15 We can wonder a lot about the writers of the gospels, who they were and why they were motivated to write. Obviously they never guessed that the simple stories they put together would face the unrelenting scrutiny of Greek scholars around the world. But…
Daily Devotions: March 9, 2018
March 9, 2018 Ephesians 2:6-10 … “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 God hasn’t given us all of these amazing gifts of grace as an exercise in generosity; but—because God is madly in love with us, and there’s a method to God’s madness. In Christ Jesus, specifically in his resurrection, there’s been a new creation in which we were…
Daily Devotions: March 8, 2018
March 8, 2018 Ephesians 2:1-5 … “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—” vss. 4-5 All humans are pretty much the same. We all have strong passions, what the writer of Ephesians calls the desires of the flesh. And those passions aren’t intrinsically good or bad, that’s just the way we’re…
Daily Devotions: March 7, 2018
March 7, 2018 Psalm 107:17-22 … “Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.” vss. 17-18 The psalmist was a realist. As he looked at his people’s history and saw the way so many suffered, it was obvious that they were reaping the consequences of their careless decisions. That continues to be the way it is for so many.…
Daily Devotions: March 6, 2018
March 6, 2018 Psalm 107:1-3 …“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” vs. 1 As we move on in the season of Lent, it’s good to see how the psalmist regarded God. We spend so much time in speculation about the Lord’s identity that it’s easy to forget the essential truth that is at the core of God’s being. Not only is God omnipotent, majestic and holy, God is good!…