'values' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Daily Devotions
Daily Devotions
Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!” vss. 11-12 Psalm 97:8-12 Jesus wasn’t comfortable with people being labelled as being either “sinners” or “righteous.” In fact, when people insisted on using those terms, he showed by his actions that he preferred the company of sinners, which is one of the reasons people of faith really love Jesus. But even if we…
Daily Devotions
The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.” vss. 1-2 Psalm 97:1-9 Our experience of kings is very different from that of the psalmist. We think of them mainly in the context of wealthy and scandal-ridden royal families. For the psalmist kings were the most powerful people on earth, mortals who commanded single-minded devotion and loyalty. So,…
Daily Devotions
At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.” vs. 33 Acts 16:25-34 There’s a freedom that flows through Luke’s account of the acts of the Apostle’s. The principal actors haven’t been trained in mission development, and they don’t seem to know the rituals that are so significant in our congregations. Paul doesn’t distinguish between infant and adult baptisms, and he fails to give basic…
Daily Devotions
But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.” vs. 19 Acts 16:16-24 Paul had been irritated by a slave girl with the spirit of divination who had kept shouting at them each day as they walked the streets of Philippi. So one day he just stopped in his tracks and ordered the unclean spirit to come out of her–and it did.…
Daily Devotions
But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority.’” vs. 29 Acts 5:27-32 After initial disbelief, Luke reports that Peter and the other disciples, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, began to proclaim the resurrection boldly throughout Jerusalem. Unafraid of anything, they even preached in the temple precincts and incurred the wrath of those who had so recently killed Jesus. It was a difficult choice but they were compelled to obey God…
Daily Devotions
And Nehemiah…and Ezra the priest and scribe,… said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.” vs. 9 Nehemiah 8:8-10 When the words of the long-forgotten law were read to the Jews of Jerusalem their initial reaction was one of deep sadness—and they began to weep. We can only guess that their sadness came with the recognition…
Daily Devotions
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.” vs. 26 Luke 6:20-31 Most of us have an enormous need to be liked, a character flaw that the social media giant Facebook has exploited to generate traffic on its pages. People will go to any lengths to post pictures and comments that will get them “likes” from their hundreds of make-believe “friends.” The vulnerable among us, particularly the young…
Daily Devotions
Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” vs. 7 Hebrews 13:6-8, 15-16 We like to imagine that we make our own decisions about life without any outside influences, but the truth is that all of us are strongly influenced by leaders, both inside and outside of the church. The writer of Hebrews has in mind faith leaders, those who have been our guides…
Daily Devotions
I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that did not call on my name.” vs. 1 Isaiah 65:1-7 The prophet was amazed at the attitude of the returned people of Israel. They had been set free from captivity, but showed little interest in returning to their Lord. Instead they sought out exotic gods…
Daily Devotions: July 4, 2019
July 4, 2019 – Independence Day For full passage click: Galatians 6:7-10 …“If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” vs. 8 Most world religions subscribe to a principle similar to that laid out by Paul in his letter to the Galatians. Human beings reap whatever they sow! Whether as nations or as individuals, there are always consequences for…
Daily Devotions: May 29, 2019
May 29, 2019 For full passage click: Psalm 97 …“Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.” vs. 2 The psalmist didn’t wonder in his heart whether or not there was a god. For him such a notion was beyond question. But he also knew that God was cloaked in mystery and was often obscured by the clouds and darkness of our lives. We know that feeling, too. Those of us…
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