Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“When the day came to purify them according to the law of Moses, the couple brought Him up to Jerusalem so that He could be presented to the Lord.”–Luke 2:22 This book, One Bread, One Body, is published by Presentation Ministries. We are named after the feast of Mary’s Presentation, which is celebrated November 21. However, we also have a special devotion to Jesus’ Presentation, today’s feast. In contemporary English, the word “presentation” refers to presenting a talk or concert. The word is also used to describe the conferring of an award, academic degree, or special gift. For example, medals,...

“Before long they were begging [Jesus] to go away from their district.” –Mark 5:17 The people of the Gerasene town had lost two-thousand swine to drowning (Mk 5:13). They intuitively realized that if Jesus stayed around, they would lose even more things, so they told Jesus to leave. The Gerasenes cut their losses and cut their costs by asking Jesus to leave. We cut our losses when we refuse to lose our lives or lose anything further by getting more deeply involved in the kingdom of God. But “what profit does he show who gains the whole world and destroys...

“There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.” –1 Corinthians 13:13 If we have not love, we are nothing (1 Cor 13:2). If we have not love, our best efforts are useless (1 Cor 13:3). “The man without love has known nothing of God, for God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8). “The man who does not love is among the living dead” (1 Jn 3:14). Life without love is death. We must have love. However, it is humanly impossible for us to truly love. It seems that we...

“Nathan said to David: ‘You are the man!’ ” –2 Samuel 12:7 David committed adultery, lied repeatedly, and had some people killed (2 Sm 11:4ff). After all these sins, he naturally did not feel very guilty, for guilt usually decreases as sin increases. This is because of the blinding, numbing effects of sin (see Jn 9:39-41). However, the Lord in His mercy sent the prophet Nathan to convict David of his sins (2 Sm 12:1). Then David repented and prayed: “Have mercy on me, O God, in Your goodness; in the greatness of Your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly...