Daily Worship Devotional

DAILY READING Psalm 23 REFLECTION   The Good Shepherd's Rod and Staff By Gene Pierce Poet, musician, warrior, king and sinner, David is one of the most complex heroes of the Bible.  This Psalm reveals David’s heart in a state of security and satisfaction in his God and Savior. David knew the Good Shepherd would use His rod and staff to guide, discipline and protect him and all His sheep from their enemies. This security and trust are evident from the first time we are introdu

DAILY READING Ezekiel 34 REFLECTION The Problem, the Promise, and the Savior By Judy Webb   “My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.”  (Ezekiel 34:6 NASB) The Problem  - You have probably figured out that we aren’t talking about barnyard animals here, but the people of God. Sheep get lost all the time, as do we - God’s people. From the earliest o

DAILY READING John 10:1-21 REFLECTION   They Know His Voice By Beth Voltmann We are the sheep of God’s pasture. What a serene image that brings to mind - the peaceful and pleasant aspects of a rural countryside scene. Yet, have you ever seen or read about sheep? They aren’t bright animals. In fact, let’s just call it for what it is - they can be downright ignorant.   Sheep blindly follow, frequently wander away, startle easily, and are extremely vulnerable to predators. Recen

DAILY READING John 9:35-41 REFLECTION   I See Something that You Don't See By Pam Mann “I see something that you don’t see and the color of it is...” This is the line in the kids’ game that you may have played often. One kid says this line and the other kids look about for whatever obscure item the first kid has picked. In the game, everyone needs to be seeing. The blind cannot play. The Pharisees, who are present for the Sabbath hubbub over the newly granted sight to a man b

DAILY READING John 9:13-34 REFLECTION   Perspectives on Healing By Dave Mann This healing of a blind man is one of my favorite accounts of Jesus’ miracles.  There are several different perspectives of the healing – the Pharisees’, the parents’, and the blindman’s.  However, the only quibble I have with the story is that I wish John had given us the name of the formerly blind man.  I will name him “FB” -- formerly blindman.   The Pharisees started off with their conclusion tha

DAILY READING John 9:1-11 REFLECTION   Assigning Blame By Elaine Pierce Isn't it interesting that the disciples wanted to know why the blind man was born blind: "who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? (v. 2) " There had to be a reason they could understand.....it reminds me of Job's well-meaning friends. Initially they were very sympathetic to Job's misfortunes. They travelled a great distance to be with him. They spent a week with him in great sympathy

DAILY READING John 8:31-32 REFLECTION Staying Connected to Jesus By Todd Marti The last few days’ readings ( John Chapter 7  and most of 8 ) involved a lot of conflict. Jesus was harshly attacked. His followers must have been dismayed and unsure how to respond.  Jesus told them to draw near to Him amid that controversy. More specifically, He told them to believe, follow Him, and hold to His teaching. John 7:38 ; 8:12 ; 8:31-23 . We see similar dynamics in today’s world; Jesus

DAILY READING John 8:21-30 REFLECTION   Paradox By Jennifer Jerrome We have the privilege of knowing that Jesus was fully human and fully divine from the start because we have the Bible and history to tell us. For those living in real time with Jesus, their first encounter was with the human man. Some accepted his divinity quickly, but for many, his divine nature wasn’t realized/accepted until after the Resurrection. It seems as if Jesus spent the beginning of his ministry le

DAILY READING John 8:12-20 REFLECTION   Not Ready Yet By Judy Webb “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”  (John 12:12) Some of us look forward to daylight savings time as we step out of a long dark winter and a emerge into a new beginning, a season of bright light. Being able to walk the dog without a flashlight or send the kids off to the bus stop in daylight seems a real treat. The dark often is scary an

DAILY READING John 7: 14-44 REFLECTION IYKYK  By Jenny Raber I f y ou k now, y ou k now. The first time I saw that combination of letters in a group text, I had to do a quick Google search to find its meaning. Ironically, I didn’t know. Once I learned its meaning, though, I “got” the reference, feeling good to be “in the know.” While reading these verses, I wondered: where am I in the crowd during the Festival of Tabernacles? Am I front and center, soaking in Jesus’ every wor

DAILY READING John 6:60-71 John 7:1-13 REFLECTION   How do you respond to Jesus? By Kim Starr The people who had been following Jesus were going to have to make a decision about how to respond to him. Jesus had just taught them that they were going to have to eat of his body and drink of his blood. Many of his followers found this not only confusing, but offensive. Many of them left and decided not to follow Jesus any more.   Later, Jesus’ brothers, who were not believers, tr

DAILY READING John 6:25-59 REFLECTION   The Gift or the Giver By Dave Mann Jesus has just accomplished another sign – feeding 5000 people on a mountainside.  Why had these people followed Jesus onto a mountain side?  Because they had seen the signs he had performed by healing the sick.  What was Jesus intending to accomplish with these signs?  One of the main points we have heard during this preaching series on the signs in the gospel of John is that the purpose of a sign is

DAILY READING John 6:1-24 REFLECTION  He's Not Safe - He's the King! By Elaine Pierce In these 24 verses Jesus is busy: he feeds 5,000 people with 5 small loaves of bread and 2 pieces of fish, and he walks across the Sea of Galilee to join the disciples in their boat. John doesn't record what the reaction of the disciples was when he turned such a small amount of food into enough for 5,000 with plenty left over (although I imagine they were amazed and almost incredulous: how

DAILY READING John 5:36-47 REFLECTION   Where Do You Find Glory? By Carmel Elmer After reading today's passage, I looked up the definition of glory. There are a number of different meanings but the one I like best is this: "High renown or honor won by notable achievements" At first glance, I didn't set out to write about glory, but in reading and re-reading this text, it's the word that stood out to me and I realized, God was convicting my heart. I generally talk a good gam

DAILY READING Matthew 3:1-12 REFLECTION   TITLE By David Thompson Did you read the scripture carefully? Perhaps reading it twice and checking the cross-references to Isaiah and other books might make this devotional more effective. I did that and it was so much more than how I have read those scriptures in the past. I am always amazed by those who can make predictions of events coming in the new year. I am a skeptic though and I wonder how one of the most famous future teller

DAILY READING Keep it Burning Bright John 5:30-35 REFLECTION By Judy Webb “John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.” John 5:35 Stop and reflect on this statement for a moment. Jesus is saying this and He is referring to John the Baptist. They are cousins, but also they have a common bond of faith. They believed in God and knew scripture. John was a lamp that burned and gave light . He was charged with paving the way for Jesus an

DAILY READING 1 John 5:9-13 REFLECTION   So That You May Know By Beth Voltmann I learned a new acronym yesterday while subbing in a middle school class: IYKYK.   A quick bit of research showed it to be a relatively new slang term commonly used on social media platforms. The abbreviation stands for: “If you know, you know.” Who knew? Had the disciple John known this acronym in the 1 st century, perhaps he would have used it. Throughout all of his writings, he was intent on he

DAILY READING Deuteronomy 32:1-4 , 39 REFLECTION   Who is God? Who am I? By Pam Mann Who is God? Who am I? These are two BIG life questions. The answer to these two basic questions shapes our every thought, word, and deed.   Deuteronomy 32 offers deep insight into these two questions. In verses 1-4, Moses is totally pumped about how he can proclaim God’s greatness. Let’s consider who Moses is. At this point, he’s at the end of his work career. His career has had its ups and d

DAILY READING John 5:16-29 REFLECTION   Who Is He? By Dave Mann On Sunday mornings, we are studying Jesus’ signs recorded by John -- actions that point to Jesus as the divine Son of God.  In this text, we see that Jesus’ teaching also points to his divinity.   If Jesus were not God in human flesh, the kinds of things that he said would certainly cause a ruckus.   Jesus words would cause a card-carrying Pharisee to pick up a stone or two.    Here are the words of Jesus (in ita

DAILY READING John 5:1-15 REFLECTION   Jesus Heals By Elaine Pierce "Do you want to get well?" Why did Jesus ask the invalid this question? Isn't it obvious he wanted to be healed? Jesus knew he had been there a long, long time - 38 years. Why didn't the man answer Jesus by saying "of course I want to be well!" Notice his response: "Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred [ this was the 'magical moment' that people believed the water had healing