Daily Devotions About Jesus

Luke 4:16-21 – Mission of the Messiah (I)

Bible Verse of the Day

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
(Luke 4:16-21 ESV)

Chapter 4 of Luke’s gospel finds Jesus in the synagogue of His hometown, Nazareth.  He’s recently survived a 40 day fast and temptation battle with Satan.  He’s just beginning His public ministry and word about him is spreading as people are blown away by his teaching.  We can imagine it’s a packed house on the sabbath as people are trying to figure out what’s going on with this hometown, son of a carpenter, turned rock-star rabbi… Continue Reading →

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John 4:37-38 – The Long Haul

Bible Verse of the Day

For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
(John 4:37-38 ESV)

It’s very easy to get caught up in the “go big, go fast, or go home” mentality.  This can also creep into the church and our Christian walk.  Almost every story you hear of church planting success is of how a gifted leader started with almost nothing, and then the congregation just blew up overnight.  Seldom do we hear a leader share about long years of faithful labor with little initial fruit, but how God was still at work regardless of the numbers. Continue Reading →

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Leviticus 17:11 – Life Blood

Bible Verse of the Day:

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Leviticus 17:11 ESV

Blood is almost always indicative that something went wrong. People everywhere, of almost every age, understand that blood on the outside of a person means something bad has happened. Continue Reading →

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Isaiah 32:1-2 – Hope Amidst Fear

Bible Verse of the Day

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Isaiah 32:1-2 ESV

This King was promised by the mouth of God through the hands of men. Acting as a herald of the Lord, Isaiah prophesied there would come a king who would “reign in righteousness”. Continue Reading →

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John 6:29 – A Life’s Work

Bible Verse of the Day

Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
(John 6:29 ESV)

Have you ever had someone ask you what your life’s work is, or what type of work you would like to spend the rest of your life doing? That can be a difficult question, especially today, when the average worker will have had 10-14 jobs by the age of 38! We quickly move from task to task, even job to job, and often times there is little sense of continuity. Continue Reading →

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Romans 8:29 – The Morality Trap

Bible Verse of the Day

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
(Romans 8:29 ESV)

Remember, if you will, the recounting of Jesus at the pool of Bethesda in John 5. He was among throngs of the sick, blind, and lame crowding around that pool during a Jewish holiday hoping for healing. When Jesus found a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years he told him, “Get up, take your bed, and walk. And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked” (John 5:8-9). This miracle happened on the Sabbath, “so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed” (John 5:10). So rather than celebrate a miracle of God through Jesus, the Jews concerned themselves with a rigidly external morality with only the appearance of holiness. Continue Reading →

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