The Gospel of IDD

Wrapping Up                   Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8             If you get a chance, look this passage up and read the next several verses.   They are filled with amazing words of encouragement and exhortation in how we are to live this life together.   I went back and forth on whether to include them and finally decided that for this final devotional of the year, I wanted to be as clear and focused as I could be.             “Above all else,”   Above the appointments and the strategies.   Above the diets and the therapies.   Above the sleepless nights and the turbulent days.   Above everything else that screams for attention in our day to day lives.       ...

Gather the Lame                   For all the peoples walk,   each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the  Lord  our God   forever and ever.   In that day, says the  Lord ,   I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away,   and those whom I have afflicted.   The lame I will make the remnant,   and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the  Lord  will reign over them in Mount Zion now and forevermore. Micah 4:5-7               In this life, people get to choose whom they will follow, which gods they will serve.   There are many options out there.   There are gods who promise wealth and whose followers are rich.   There are gods who promise popularity and whose followers are famous.   There are those who promise power and w...

Sitting Under our own Vines                   In days to come   the mountain of the  Lord ’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills. Peoples shall stream to it, and many nations shall come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the  Lord , to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”             For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the  Lord  from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own f...

Home                   I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.    And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.    The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.    Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.    But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its ...

Caught up in the Clouds                   But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.    For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.   For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ...

Gifts of the Spirit                 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.    And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.    If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.    Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-26             This is the season of giving, the season of gifts.   I hope your Christmas was filled with joy and peace yesterday and the gifts that you gave had their desired impact.   There have been many years when my son’s favorite gift from Christmas was the box that the gift came in or the catalog/flyer that was included in the packaging.   There ...

Christmas                 But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,   who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old,   from ancient days.   Therefore he shall give them up until the time   when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.   And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the  Lord , in the majesty of the name of the  Lord  his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great   to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace. Micah 5:2-5               One of the great themes of Christmas is incredible gifts coming from tiny beginnings.   Bethlehem was a small community from a tiny tribe in an insignificant strip of land in...