Devotional
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Exodus 33:7-23 In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed unhindered, life-giving intimacy with God, connecting to God face to face. This was how God had created us humans to relate to Him – as His beloved children, expressing our love to Him and being loved by Him in deeply personal relational connection. Ever…
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John 13:1-17 and Philippians 2:1-11 “(Jesus) being in very nature God … … made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant …” (Selected phrases of Philippians 2:6-7) In John 13 we see an example of what the apostle Paul described in Philippians 2. Jesus knew that He was the Son of God by His very…
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Matthew 13:55-58 ‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? … And they took offence at him. (v.55 and 57) Outside Nazareth, Jesus was less credible and an “underdog” in the eyes of some because He came from Nazareth. (John 1:46) Today’s reading shows us that being the local carpenter’s son (even one known to be a ‘righteous…
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Exodus 3:1 – 4:17 Moses said to the Lord, ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight…
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1 Samuel 16:1-13 “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” -1 Samuel 16:7 It should come as no surprise to us that the LORD chose…
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Matthew 2:19-23 “He went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.” (v.23) This week we move from considering Jesus as the “King of Refugees” to reflecting on Jesus, “King of the Underdogs”. The Cambridge Dictionary defines an “underdog” as…
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Psalm 36 This week we are reflecting on what Jesus’ exile to Egypt as a ‘refugee child’ means (See Matthew 2:13-18). What does it teach us? How should it shape us? Today’s passage for our devotional time is Psalm 36, and especially v.7-8. “7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the…
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Matthew 25:34-40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (v.40) We continue our week of reflection on Jesus’ time in Egypt as a young refugee, along with Joseph and Mary. Remember that Jesus spent a…
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Exodus 23:1-9 “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.” (v.9) People of other nationalities or ‘ethnicities’ who are forced (or who choose for some reason) to leave their home country and live for a time in another country have always been a…
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Matthew 2:13-18 “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt … So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt.” (v.13-14) King Herod refused to accept that anyone else could possibly rule as King, and so he set out to put…
