Daily Worship Devotional

DAILY READING Isaiah 2:1-5 Isaiah 11:1-9 REFLECTION   TITLE By Elaine Pierce These passages are forward-looking: From Chapter 2: He will teach us his ways... The law will go out from Zion, He will judge between the nations... They will beat their swords into plowshares... Nation will not take up sword again nation, nor will they train for war anymore. From Chapter 11: A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse... The spirit of the Lord will rest on him. The wolf will live w

DAILY READING Isaiah 12: 1-6 REFLECTION Drawing Water from the Wells of Salvation By Michael Guastella I am big fan of coming up with parallels to help me understand something more tangibly.  In this opening passage of Isiah (where we are immediately reminded of God’s anger towards us that quickly subsides and turns to comfort), I was almost tempted to draw a parallel to the frustration of a parent, growing angry with their child after they did something wrong.  The child, se

DAILY READING Isaiah 44:6-8 REFLECTION   He's the ONE By Jennifer Jerrome From start to finish, beginning to end there is only… GOD I seriously thought about stopping here. What more is there to say? The idea of God as the ONLY one was proclaimed from the Old Testament to the New, especially in Isaiah and Revelation: Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he  (Isaiah

DAILY READING Isaiah 33:2-6, 13-17, 20-22 REFLECTION A Sweeter and Gentler Time  By Judy Webb He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure. (Isaiah 33:6) Have you ever looked back, way back to the days of Adam and Eve, before the great fall into sin, and thought those were the good old days? There was no evil, no disease, no greed nor hatred back then. Look how far we have

DAILY READING Isaiah 31: 1-9 REFLECTION Father Knows Best By Jen Raber As an inexperienced young driver, my son hit a parked car. Either embarrassed or afraid of getting in trouble, when he returned home, he went directly into the basement. Surprised by the doorbell, I opened the door to find a police officer; he informed me of the situation for the first time. Afterward, waving my hands in the air, flailing with both love and frustration, I said to my son, “Why didn’t you ju

DAILY READING Isaiah 30:18 REFLECTION   Blessings By Kim Starr I have been walking in a valley for some time. I don’t like being in this valley. I’ve prayed to God to get me out, but I remained. I asked God to show me why I was there and what He wanted me to do to bring glory and praise to Him, but there was silence.   About a month ago, I slid into a very, very deep canyon, one that was far worse than the valley I’d been in. I still didn’t understand why I was there and I cr

DAILY READING Isaiah 29:13-16 REFLECTION   Lip Service or True Worship By Dave Mann Once again, we have a text that has harsh words for those who are part of God’s people.  Honestly, I would like to think that these scathing words apply only to the Israelites of the 8 th century B.C.  However, when I do that, the Holy Spirit starts knocking on my heart’s door – tok, tok, tok.   He whispers to me, “Don’t you think that these words might have something to say to you personally

DAILY READING Isaiah 2:6-18 Isaiah 30:1-11 REFLECTION   The Biblical Don'ts By Elaine Pierce These verses are full of warnings of what NOT to do. Take a look at some of them: don't practice divinations don't clasp hands with pagans don't fill your land with idols don't sign an alliance with a country that doesn't believe in God don't count on horses and riches to protect you from hard times It might be tempting to think to yourself, well, these are ancient peoples. Surely we

DAILY READING Isaiah 1:21-31 ,  Micah 6:8 , Psalm 37  & Romans 12:2 REFLECTION   Being light in the Darkness By Todd Marti This week’s readings have been disturbing. They described a society on the brink because it turned from God’s ways, indulged corruption, and preyed upon the vulnerable.  That continued in today’s reading. Those readings have been even more disturbing because of the parallels to what we see in our own days. How do we, as individual believers, respond to th

DAILY READING Isaiah 6:8-13 REFLECTION   WE ARE CALLED TO SERVE! By Terry Starr   As believers in Christ, we are called to serve the Lord with a specific purpose.  God bestows on each believer spiritual gifts and designs us with a personal style and passions which form us into a Servant of God. You were saved for a purpose!  Are you fulfilling your purpose as part of God's kingdom?   In our scripture reading today, Isaiah is overwhelmed by the omnipotent nature of our Holy Go

DAILY READING Isaiah 6:1-7 REFLECTION   The Throne is Occupied! By Judy Webb “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.”  (Isaiah 6:1 ESV) After reading about King Uzziah, we find significance in the words, “In the year King Uzziah died…” It seems Uzziah had been king for 52 years and was the only leader the people of this nation had known. He was considered one of the good kings. H

DAILY READING Isaiah 5:15-16, Isaiah 5:18-23 Isaiah 5:25 REFLECTION   Our Holy God By Beth Voltmann We are living in a world that is still under the influence of the devil - a liar and a thief. His goal is to flip the script on God – to entice us to do and believe the very opposite of what God desires for us.   The warning Isaiah gave to sinners in the past is sobering even in our current day. It certainly grabs my attention as I read his cries of “woe”.   Woe to those who c

DAILY READING Isaiah 3:12-26 REFLECTION   Bummer By Pam Mann When I first saw the passage reference for today, I thought of the Isaiah 26:3 verse which is engraved on a steppingstone at the Mill Run columbarium. That verse speaks of perfect peace for the one whose mind is stayed on God. Then, I got a double shock reading today’s passage which includes Isaiah 3:26 (not 26:3). Not only did I scramble the digits of the verse number, but also the words of Isaiah in this passage a

DAILY READING Isaiah 3:1-12 REFLECTION   When the Good Guys Don't Get It By Dave Mann When we watch a drama, there are typically good guys and bad guys.  Everything starts out simply fine.  But those conniving bad guys get the upper hand and start to take over the world.  As we near the end, the bad guys seem to be on the verge of winning.  However, in the end the good guys prevail.  And who do we identify with?  Of course, we see ourselves in the good guys.   But what if the

DAILY READING Isaiah 1:1-4, 10-20, 5:1-13 REFLECTION   Godly Justice By Elaine Pierce What is one quality God expects to see in his people? Let's look at Isaiah 1:17 and 5:7b: learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. The prophet Isaiah does not mince words. God is not pleased with his people. He has giv

DAILY READING Genesis 12:1-3, 7-8 REFLECTION   God's Promises in Uncertain Times By Carmel Elmer “The Lord said: Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” Genesis 12:1 Before reading on, take a moment, close your eyes, and imagine you are Abram… What went through your mind?  What did you feel?   My initial reaction?  “THIS is my home and it’s all I know.  What if I don’t speak the language and I am not welcome there?  How

DAILY READING 2 Samuel 7:1-17 REFLECTION   The Davidic Covenant By Terry Gustafson If I were to ask you to name your list of the 5-10 most significant / impactful chapters in the Bible, I suspect each of you would have a different list. Perhaps you might include one or more of the following chapters: Genesis 12, Exodus 20, Isaiah 53, Matthew 5, John 1, Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 13, or Revelation 21. Regardless of which ones you might choose, I really doubt that 2 Samuel 7 wo

DAILY READING Malachi 3:16-18 Malachi 4:1-6 REFLECTION   Faithful Remnant By Judy Webb “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.” Malachi 3:16 (NIV) This verse reminds me of one purpose for small groups…talking with each other. In a world that seldom connects deeply with one another, especially in person it is important we connect. We need to resurrect this concept of one anothering and learn how to live in a disconnected world.

DAILY READING Acts 3:11-26 REFLECTION   Not The Same Person By Katie Borden Have you ever bumped into someone you knew in a previous season of life and thought, “they are not the same person!”? I had this experience recently at my nephew’s baseball game. I ran into a friend who had really settled into himself and together with his wife had built a life their family could be content with. He is not the same person I once knew, and I’m so happy for him. We see this happening in

DAILY READING Luke 24:25-27 REFLECTION   The Latest News and the Ancient of Days By Pam Mann The two men hiking out of Jerusalem were already in amazement over the reports of Jesus being raised from the dead that morning. What did it all mean? Only days prior, the authorities had arrested Jesus and then executed him like a criminal! They still couldn’t comprehend the horror of that and now today women reported seeing angels at the tomb. Even Peter and John confirmed that Jesu