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Jesus the Mediator

Mar 23
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

Hebrews 4:14–16

14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus is described here as the high priest, which in the era of temple sacrifices in ancient Israel was the person standing between the people and God.  The high priest was the mediator.  It may have been the case that some high priests became pleased with themselves in their role.  They may have thought themselves to be better than the people they served and grew distant from them, unable to sympathize with them and their weaknesses.  Jesus is pictured differently and is described as the one who has been “tested as we are.” (more…)

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Jesus, Galilee, and the House of David

Dec 16
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

John 7:40–46

40 When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? 42 Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” 43 So there was a division in the crowd because of him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.  45 Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” 46 The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!”

Three questions or ideas that are at work in this passage intrigue me this morning.  One is where Jesus was from.  A second is Jesus’ ancestry.  A third is what Jesus is doing, the specialness of his speech.  Even though he spoke and taught with authority, people wondered how he could be the Messiah or the prophet since he was from Galilee and not Bethlehem.  They wondered if he could be a descendant of David. (more…)

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The Specialness of Jesus

Dec 15
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

Hebrews 1:1–4

1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

This text is full of statements of belief about Jesus.  Jesus is God’s Son, and not just one of the prophets.  He is the one through whom God created all that is, which echoes the ideas in the first chapter of John’s gospel.  He shows us what God is like, having the same “being” as God.  He is more important than the angels who announced his coming. (more…)

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The Presence of Jesus

Nov 30
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

Luke 21:37–38

37 Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. 38 And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.

It was my privilege many years ago to travel to Israel.  I got to walk in the area where the Temple stood and on the Mount of Olives.  It is not a long walk from one to the other.  This would not have been difficult at all for Jesus to do on a daily basis.  What I find remarkable is how the people flocked to hear him in the Temple. (more…)

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And Jesus Said…

Sep 27
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

Matthew 28:20b

[Jesus said,] “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

In just a couple hours I will take my wife and our granddaughter, Carolina, to the airport.  Carolina has been with us for a whole month now, her mother beginning work in Idaho, and her father finishing up his academic work in Wisconsin.  A young couple has been living separate lives temporarily, and a little girl has been living with us.  In just a few weeks the three of them will all be re-united, and they can begin the work of re-establishing their family unit. (more…)

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Jesus and the Father

Jul 08
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

John 12:44–50

44 Then Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. 47 I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, 49 for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”

Toward the end of last Sunday’s sermon I said, “There is no mention of Jesus Christ in our US Constitution or in the Declaration of Independence.  I don’t think that would bother our Lord and Savior.  He really did not focus on himself as much as he focused on drawing his followers to his Father in Heaven.  He focused on God ruling in our hearts.”  I added that the prayer he gave us begins, “Our Father.”  I was pretty sure I was on the right track about Jesus focusing on the Father.  This text is strong support for that position. (more…)

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Jesus as Son of Man

Apr 14
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

Daniel 7:13–14

13 As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a son of man
coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
14 To him was given dominion
and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
that shall never be destroyed.

This is a key passage of scripture for all who claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior because it contains the one title that Jesus seems to have used about himself.  It is the title, “Son of Man.”  We usually think of Jesus as both human and divine and then draw the conclusion that Son of Man must refer to Jesus’ humanity.  In fact, it is just the opposite. (more…)

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The Light of the World

Jan 24
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

Ephesians 5:8–10

8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light — 9 for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.

I try to avoid preaching about politics, and I try to hide my political leanings.  Still, I think God would have me try to discern what is good and right and true as I make political decisions through my voting and seek to influence my representatives through the letters I write. (more…)

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Time Goes By So Fast

Jan 19
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

Matthew 9:14–15

14 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Do we recognize the special times in our lives or how fast time goes by?  That is what this text is about.  Are we willing to break out of our established routines because of a special time?  Can we do something different and special instead of what is always expected?  Will people understand when we do? (more…)

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Jacob’s Ladder and Jesus Christ

Jan 02
Posted by Pastor Howard White in Devotionals

Genesis 28:10–17

10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the LORD stood beside him and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place — and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

There is a song whose words are “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder.”  It is an enjoyable song to sing, but it misses the point of Jacob’s ladder, which is referred to in this reading from Genesis.  Jacob’s ladder was a vision in a dream, and it was ladder on which the angels of God were descending to earth, as well as ascending back to heaven.  The ladder was not a way to escape this world.  It was the connection between the heavenly realm and the earthly realm. (more…)

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