'unity' Tagged Posts (Page 3)
Daily Devotions: March 13, 2020
March 13, 2020 John 4:5-14 … “The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)” vs. 9 As John tells the story, Jesus doesn’t mess around with the long detour around Samaria that Galileans Jews generally used on their journey to Jerusalem. He takes the direct route and at the well near Sychar, a Samaritan city, gives a Samaritan…
Daily Devotions: October 8, 2019
October 8, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 111:1-5 … “Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” vs. 1 The Psalmist wasn’t thanking the Lord for any answered prayer or a particular blessing that had come to him. Instead, he was reflecting on the goodness and mercy of God throughout all the generations–and he didn’t hold back! His song of thanksgiving came from the…
Daily Devotions: June 3, 2019
June 3, 2019 For full passage click: Genesis 11:1-5…“Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” vs. 9 Those who composed the story of the tower of Babel realized how confusing the multiplicity of languages was for human cooperation. They claimed that the confusion was divinely inspired, that it was done to keep humans from doing the…
Daily Devotions: June1, 2019
June 1, 2019 For full passage click: John 17:20-23 …”I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us…” vss. 20-21a As John recounts Jesus’ final prayer with his disciples, his language can seem repetitious and obscure. As a result, we can easily miss an…
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: 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: January 24, 2019
January 24, 2019 To read full passage click: 1 Corinthians 12:12-19 …“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” vs. 12 Paul uses the human body as a metaphor to help the Corinthians understand the nature of the church, which is, in turn, the Body of Christ. It’s a simple illustration, one easily understood by most readers. We know that…
Daily Devotions: August 25, 2018
August 25, 2018 John 6:56-61 …“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’” vs. 60 Many people are attracted to the person of Jesus. His teachings point us to a way of life that is admirable. We can all agree on how important it is to love others and give ourselves in humble service. But there are some teachings that have been contentious from the very beginning, and one of those…
Daily Devotions: July 19 , 2018
July 19, 2018 Ephesians 2:11-14…“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” vs. 14 The earliest division in the Body of Christ was between the circumcised and the uncircumcised, and it took years of debate and argument before the issue could reach even an initial stage of reconciliation. The circumcised were so proud of their identity as the children of…
Daily Devotions: May 12, 2018
May 12, 2018 John 17:9-13…“And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” vs. 11 While we often speak of Jesus living among us in this world, it is also true that we live apart from him. John speaks of Jesus’ absence and the fact that…
Daily Devotions: April 22, 2018
April 22, 2018 John 10:16-18…“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” vs. 16 John knew that Jesus was more than a tribal Christ with negligible interest in people outside of Judaism. Even though his mission had begun among the Jews and was initially directed to them, the divine intention had always been universal. John reports that…