Daily Readings – Articles – Devotions
Posts tagged Jesus Christ
Purpose (Matthew 21
Jesus – the center – the pivot point in history. The current study is reflecting on the Gospel of Matthew. My desire is that we grow closer to Jesus throughout these weeks … that we know him better … that we love him more deeply. Join us, won’t you? In times of chaos and confusion, of turmoil and trouble, we need an anchor, a stability point … and that anchor is Jesus.
Micah 6:9 – 7:7 (Week 3
Today, read Micah 6:9 – 7:7 as we continue to hear, and to think about, Micah’s final sermon.
Micah once again paints the bleak picture of corruption and darkness that permeates the land and the people of God. We can so easily make the parallels with our own country and cities … where corruption and greed and dishonesty and bribes seem to carry the day.
What does one do? If you “hear” this message from Micah and long to respond to the God who is merciful enough to send out the warning … what do you do?
Yes, we confess our More >
God Builds His Case (Week 3
Micah 6 – 7 make up the third and final message of this little book. Micah sets up a court room scene. God, the plaintiff, brings a case against His people. We will consider this message in three parts.
Read Micah 6. If you read it out loud, you will get a sense of the flow of the material and the drama of the scene.
Today we will consider verses 1 – 8.
God pleads his case in verses 1 – 5. He asks His people to explain what He has done to reap such unfaitfulness from them. What has He done More >
Observing Jesus (Matthew 20
Let’s observe our reading today through two different lenses. First, let’s see what we can learn from the disciples. Secondly, we will glean lessons from Jesus.
The Disciples:
The disciples … how human they were … how like us. James and John were ambitious. And their mother was ambitious for them. Ambition is not a bad thing. the Webster’s definition is: (a) an ardent desire for rank, fame, power; (b) strong desire to achieve a particular end. One reason I know ambition is not a bad word is because of its antonyms. Some of the antonyms of this word are: apathy, More >
Kingdom Value System (Matthew 20
Let’s observe our reading today through two different lenses. First, let’s see what we can learn from the disciples. Secondly, we will glean lessons from Jesus.
The Disciples:
The disciples … how human they were … how like us. James and John were ambitious. And their mother was ambitious for them. Ambition is not a bad thing. the Webster’s definition is: (a) an ardent desire for rank, fame, power; (b) strong desire to achieve a particular end. One reason I know ambition is not a bad word is because of its antonyms. Some of the antonyms of this word are: apathy, More >
Bad News (Matthew 20
Bad news … or is it? We all remember moments when bad news hit us in the face. A phone call – “there’s been an accident”. A doctor’s appointment – “It’s cancer.” The baby is born – “There’s a problem.” And on and on … you can make your own list. What do we do with the “bad news” moments? Our reading today is very brief … so take it slowly.
- There will be the emotional pain of betrayal by a friend. The Lord of glory was betrayed by a friend. Have you ever felt that pain?
- There will be the More >
The Promised One – Micah 5 (Week 2
Read Micah 5. Remember it is part of the 2nd message which is given in chapters 3 – 5.
I think verses 1 – 5a belong with chapter 4. They continue the beautiful description of the hope for the remnant of Judah. We will come back to them.
Verses 5b – 9 describe the overthrow of Assyria. That had to be a comforting message! In verses 10 – 15, the Lord reveals through Micah how He will judge the nations for their rebellion and their disobedience. Once again, Micah is intent on his hearers realizing the seriousness of sin and idolatry. More >
The Parable of the Workers (Matthew 20
Matthew 19 ends with Jesus making a remarkable statement about what eternal life looks like … in God’s economy … in God’s kingdom. Now he paints a verbal picture of the principle. What is the principle? ”But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
Peter has asked a question. In 19:27 he asked Jesus: “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?” Jesus responds with the incredible promises in verses 28 and 29 … and then He tells this story. I think it may be a warning to Peter. More >
