Devotion.al

Feed Your Soul

  • Hope Fulfilled and Hope to Come

    Psalm 25:1-10, Jeremiah 33:14-16, Luke 21:25-36

    “…for you are the God of my …” Psalm 51:5

    “In those days and at that time, I will cause a Branch to sprout up for David, and he will administer and righteousness in the land.
    Jeremiah 33:15

    “…they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with and great glory.”
    Luke 21:27

    Hope. It’s a big for how small it looks. The Psalmist knows God is the source of his salvation, despite current circumstances. God’s words to Jeremiah provide for a hope that Jeremiah can guess he will not see, but they are still hope for the Israelites.

    Christmas is about hope. It is about Emmanuel, which means God with us. It is about God sending the Son down to us. , however, is not just about Christmas, and the singular time that God became man. Advent also looks forward to the next time God returns…at the of the story.

    Advent, therefore, is about both the hope for both Israelites and the rest of the world, and it is about the hope to come when returns. Hope is to desire with of obtainment or fulfillment. Hope was fulfilled when Jesus was born in a manger. We obtained hope through his death on the cross and his resurrection. Then there is the expectation of the return of Jesus…more hope!

    1/KD) Why is hope important?

    2) Why do we easily think of the hope of Christmas, but not of the hope of Jesus’ return?

    3/KD) What is your hope this Christmas?

    4/KD) What is your hope a year from now?

  • Rubble and Ruin

    Rubble and Ruin

    Psalm 142; Amos 9:1–4; Acts 23:12–35 I don’t know about you, but I’m a little jaundiced about earthquakes. I grew up in Northern California. Earthquakes were…normal isn’t the word…to be expected. So much so, that the first earthquake my wife experiences was in the middle of the night. She woke me up in a panic,…

  • Good Fire. Bad Fire.

    Good Fire. Bad Fire.

    Sometimes only purification is needed. Sometimes a clean slate is needed. The same can be said about our lives. The same can be said about our actions. Sometimes we think we’re doing one when we’re doing the others. Sometimes we just want to watch things burn. Fires of prophecy can take many forms. Many people…

  • Who Is For You

    Amos 7:7–15; Psalm 85:8–13; Ephesians 1:3–14; Mark 6:14–29 There are many people in the world who have a person they focus on. That person could be an individual they look up to. That person could also be a person who was the source of a lot of pain or conflict. When there is such a…

  • God of Boxes

    God of Boxes

    We struggle (and that’s fine) with the concept that God would discipline through pestilence, famine, war, etcetera. We will often use the language of “God allows”, or explain things as “an ‘old world’ understanding”.