Devotional
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Daily Readings: Acts 7 and Psalm 75 Jesus warned His disciples in John 16:2-3, “The time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.” Stephen was the first disciple for whom this came to…
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Daily Readings: Acts 6 and Psalm 74 The lesson of Acts 6 is very clear. When every disciple of Jesus responds faithfully to the call of the Lord and serves the Kingdom’s cause in the power of the Holy Spirit with his or her particular gifts and abilities, the Lord uses that to extend His…
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Daily Readings: Acts 5 and Psalm 73 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. What a wonderfully confusing statement: No one dared join them, nevertheless, more and more believed in the…
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Daily Readings: Acts 4 and Psalm 72 We saw yesterday how courageous Peter became once filled with the Holy Spirit, and how willing he was to risk everything for Jesus. That theme continues today. Hauled before the same religious authorities who had so recently put Jesus to death, Peter and John refused to be silenced.…
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Our daily reading plan now enters the Book of Acts in earnest and we’ll spend a few weeks reading and reflecting on the Spirit-empowered mission of the early Church. Daily Readings: Acts 3 and Psalm 71 I wonder which action demanded more courage from Peter: In Jesus’ name commanding a man who had been lame…
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Daily Readings: Acts 2 and Psalm 70 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest…
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Daily Readings: Mark 16 and Psalm 69 6 ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him,…
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Daily Readings: Mark 15 and Psalm 68 Yesterday we noted how Jesus stood boldly before the High Priest and the Sanhedrin and made “the good confession” (1 Timothy 6:13) of the truth about His identity as the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One, despite knowing that it would give them the excuse they were…
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Daily Readings: Mark 14 and Psalm 67 61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ 62 ‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds…
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Daily Readings: Mark 13 and Psalm 66 Now that our remembrance of the Ascension is behind us, we step back into the Gospel of Mark. At this point in the Gospel, Jesus is in Jerusalem, and it’s the final week of His ministry. Betrayal, suffering, crucifixion and death await, and He knows it. Yet somehow,…
