Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very […]
URC Daily Devotion 11th July 2019
Hebrews was written to a dispersed community of Jewish Christians who were apparently being tempted to downplay their recently professed Christian faith and return to the security of their religious past. To counter this tendency the author of the letter encourages his readers to reflect on the significance of the person and work of Jesus. […]
URC Daily Devotion 9th July 2019
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,who, though he was in the form of God,did not regard equality with Godas something to be exploited,but emptied himself,taking the form of a slave,being born in human likeness.And being found in human form,he humbled himselfand became obedient to the point of death—even death […]
URC Daily Devotion 8th July 2019
As Jewish children are tucked into bed at night many are taught to recite the words above. Jews call these verses ‘the Shema’ and it remains a central feature of their daily devotions. The prayer affirms the essential unity of God, so important an idea for the faith of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. It is […]
URC Daily Devotion 7th July 2019
1 Praise the LORD, my soul, O praise him!LORD my God, you are so great!2 Wrapped in light as with a garment,clothed in majesty and state.Like a tent he spreads the heavens,3 and above the waters thereSets the framework of his dwelling,making it an upper layer. He makes clouds of heav’n his chariot;on the wings […]
URC Daily Devotion 6th July 2019
Short letter, long division? This short letter highlights some painful tensions in church life. There are two names in today’s verses, who never surface elsewhere in the Bible. All that we know about them is here, in and (to some extent hypothetically) between the lines. Diotrephes (9) appears to be a local church leader, who […]
URC Daily Devotion 5th July 2019
The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul. I was overjoyed when some of the friends arrived and testified to your faithfulness to the truth, namely, […]
URC Daily Devotion 4th July 2019
It’s hardly surprising that the early Christians were victims of false and confused messages spread by the ‘many deceivers’ whom John mentions here. After all Christianity was new and the message of love, and a Kingdom where everyone looked after everyone else, was utterly counter-cultural. It was fertile ground for the heretics who spread inaccurate […]
URC Daily Devotion 3rd July 2019
I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. And this is […]
URC Daily Devotion 2nd July 2019
Since I first came across the short – only thirteen verses long – and curious second letter of John, I have been intrigued about the identity of ‘the elect (or chosen) lady and her children’! While some commentators do think that this does refer to an individual family, more consider that this is a code […]