PresbyCan Daily Devotional podcast

#Christianity #Religion #Presbyterian #Canadian #Daily #Dailydevotional #Christiandevotional #Canada #Presbyterian Church in Canada #Devotional

44:09

When a young Eva Kollisch arrives as a refugee in New York in 1940, she finds a community among socialists who share her values and idealism. She soon discovers ‘the cause’ isn’t as idyllic as it seems. Little does she know this is the beginning of a lifelong commitment to activism and her determination to create radical change in ways that include belonging, love and one's full self. In addition to Eva Kollisch’s memoirs Girl in Movement (2000) and The Ground Under My Feet (2014), LBI’s collections include an oral history interview with Eva conducted in 2014 and the papers of Eva’s mother, poet Margarete Kolllisch, which document Eva’s childhood experience on the Kindertransport. Learn more at www.lbi.org/kollisch . Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute , New York | Berlin and Antica Productions . It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. Executive Producers include Katrina Onstad, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producers are Hailey Choi and Emily Morantz. Research and translation by Isabella Kempf. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson, with help from Cameron McIver. Theme music by Oliver Wickham. Voice acting by Natalia Bushnik. Special thanks to the Kollisch family for the use of Eva’s two memoirs, “Girl in Movement” and “The Ground Under My Feet”, the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College and their “Voices of Feminism Oral History Project”, and Soundtrack New York.…

PresbyCan Daily Devotional

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A daily Christian devotional based on real-life experiences

79 episodes

PresbyCan Daily Devotional

updated about 20 hours ago

Series home•Feed

A daily Christian devotional based on real-life experiences

79 episodes

#Christianity #Religion #Presbyterian #Canadian #Daily #Dailydevotional #Christiandevotional #Canada #Presbyterian Church in Canada #Devotional

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PresbyCan Daily Devotional

1
Redeemed

20 hours ago

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When our second grandson, Zachary, was in school, we grandparents always bought the coupon books the students would sell as a fundraiser. I would carefully comb through the thick book to find useful reductions on various items, services, restaurant meals, or activities. Then, we would redeem, or exchange, the coupons for something of value to us. The best coupon I ever found was for a free meal for one person in a well-known restaurant in our city. If a second person came along and paid, it would still be a good deal. Besides "to exchange", another definition of "to redeem" is "to buy back". In Exodus, God decreed that the firstborn son had to be bought back. Moses told the fathers how to explain this practice to their sons. Exodus 13:15 – When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons. (NIV) For the last phrase, the New Living Translation states, "the firstborn sons are always bought back." The Lord had spared the Israelites' firstborn sons and the firstborn of their animals during the last terrible plague in Egypt, when all other firstborn sons and animals died. Because they had applied the blood of a lamb on their doorposts, the death angel passed over the Israelites' homes. The Lord, therefore, claimed the firstborn. Parents could redeem, or buy back, a firstborn son by paying the redemption price of five pieces of silver. (Numbers 18:16) Another definition of "to redeem" is "to ransom", that is, "to free from captivity or punishment by paying a price". In later years, the redemption of the firstborn became a picture of our deliverance from slavery to sin, through Christ, and "redemption" came to mean "to deliver from sin or its penalty". Ephesians 1:7 – In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. (NIV) During this season of Lent, redemption has great significance for us. As God's firstborn Son, Jesus sacrificed His life instead of our having to die spiritually, and He redeemed us, buying us back from bondage to sin. Through the grace of God, Jesus paid a high price, a cruel death on the cross, to bring us back into relationship with the Father. Jesus gave up His life to give us eternal life. May we be with filled with gratitude as we reflect on this costly redemption. Prayer: Lord, thank You for redeeming us at such a high price, the death of Your firstborn son. Help us to serve You gratefully in return. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.…

PresbyCan Daily Devotional

1
A Giant White Thimble

2 days ago

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1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (NIV) It didn't look like a tree, more like a giant white thimble that had been abandoned by some fantasy giant in the forest where I was skiing. All the other trees had shed their covering of snow and were standing upright and strong in the winter sunlight. This one was so deeply encrusted that it had become a hump of impenetrable layers of heavy snow. What had caused this tree, out of all the others, to become bowed over, buried, and unrecognizable? How had it lost its natural appearance and the ability to shed a heavy accumulation of snow? Was it some deformity of the branches? Some quirk of chance that had allowed a drift of snow to pile up against it? A gust of wind that had caused the other trees to shake off their burden, but somehow missed this one tree? Whatever the reason, it was going to be some time before it was freed of its load to join its neighbours in the warmth of the early spring sunlight. That can happen in our own lives. We allow guilt to deform us, circumstances to embitter us, regrets about the past to take away the enjoyment of the present. We encrust ourselves with grudges, jealousy, and defeat, missing the blessings of a loving God Who eagerly desires to touch the very centre of our lives with His warmth. We can break free by aligning ourselves each day with God's Word and thanking Him for the way He has given us victory over "the sin that so easily entangles". Prayer: Thank You, God, for the full and final cost of our sin being paid by Your Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. Thank You for forgiveness for past, present, and future sin. Help us to keep short accounts with You and to bask in the sunlight of Your eternal love. Amen.…

PresbyCan Daily Devotional

1
Discern Your Vocation With God's Help

3 days ago

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Colossians 3:23 – Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. (NLT) I am a seventy-one-year-old Black man living off a small pension in a small apartment in Ajax, Ontario, Canada. Few people would consider me to have been a successful criminal defence attorney. I'm not married. I don't have any children, and I don't own a car or a house with a white picket fence. To help pay my law school tuition, I worked as a porter and as a waiter on the trains during the summers and the Christmas holidays. While practicing law, I had to work at different part-time and sometimes full-time jobs as a telemarketer to be in a position to pay my bills. If anyone had told this cocksure individual in my twenties that my struggles had some divine purpose, I would have scoffed at the idea. In fact, I would have been downright angry. When I found myself despondent at not practicing law full-time in Montreal, I would think of the fact that one of my clients thought of me as a good enough lawyer to refer me to a person accused of murder. I'd recall that when Paul Robeson's secretary refused to take dictation from a black man, he gave up the practice of law and became a world-renowned bass baritone concert performer and activist. Looking back, I can appreciate how working and discussing with porters and waiters gave me a better understanding of the struggles that Black porters living in Canada faced in the 1950s and 1960s. Working as a telemarketer has taught me the importance of identifying the market for one's product or service offering. Studying law in French helped me to learn a second language, which has proven to be quite useful. Emmanuel Swedenborg wrote in his book, The true Christian religion , that no job is insignificant. Each and every job is a spiritual opportunity to express "charity" (love for others) by performing "useful work". Today, I feel very content. I write in different publications and platforms, and I volunteer as a lector, intercessor, and advocate for seniors and the marginalized. Writing about Christian themes gives me opportunities to be in touch with God and to fulfill His purpose for me. Romans 8:28 – And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (NLT) How do we know what God wants us to do with our lives? If we listen with our hearts, we can hear God speak! We need to trust that God will let us know when we have found the right occupation. Prayer: Dear God, we pray for Your guidance in securing an occupation which aligns with our skills, desires, and talents, and with Your plans for our lives. Amen.…

PresbyCan Daily Devotional

1
Integrity

4 days ago

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Job 2:9-10 – [Job's] wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. (NIV) In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy wrote an essay the first day back at school. She wrote, "Vacations are nice, but it's good to get back to school. There is nothing more satisfying or challenging than education, and I look forward to a year of expanding knowledge." The teacher was suitably impressed with Lucy's thoughts and complimented her on her fine essay. In the final frame Lucy leaned over to Charlie Brown and whispered, "After a while, you learn what sells." The temptation to do what sells, to give in to what suits, is always with us. It is a constant challenge to our personal integrity. Job's wife had an opinion about integrity at the beginning of his suffering. But Job could not curse God. If Job cursed God, it would go against everything he believed about God and himself. Sometimes, life can feel like we are in the middle of a contest between God and Satan. We wonder how much more we can take. We wonder where we will find the strength. We wonder where God is and why He is allowing such pain. Integrity does not mean accepting life's difficulties with a rosy outlook or a Pollyanna attitude. It allows for the depression and the questioning and the anger which sometimes go hand in hand with suffering. But it also allows for holding on to God. Prayer: Lord, in the very midst of our struggles, we cling to You, and in doing so, we cling to our integrity — that wholeness which is so often threatened by the pressures of life. Thank You for Your Spirit, Who gives us the strength to hold on. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.…

PresbyCan Daily Devotional

1
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

5 days ago

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Psalm 5:1-3 – Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation. (NIV) When I was very small, my mother taught me these words as a bedtime prayer: Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Pretty heavy words for a preschooler — but this short prayer remains in my memory, so it must have at least taught me that it is important to talk to God regularly. I still sometimes pray as I'm preparing to sleep, though not with those same words. More often, however, it is my habit to pray as I'm preparing to get up in the morning. I'm sure those aren't always the most coherent prayers, but it is my way of checking in, of re-establishing the connection, of saying "Good morning, Lord!" Not long ago, I woke up and remembered, "Now I lay me down to sleep." Just for fun, I changed it up a little. Then, I hopped out of bed and wrote it down. I must confess that I like mine better than the original! Now I stir me up to rise I pray the Lord will guide my eyes, My ears, my hands, my thoughts, my talk; I pray You'll show me where to walk, And lead me in Your path so true, And show me what I ought to do. I pray that as I hear Your voice I will obey in every choice, And in Your strength I will hold fast Until the sun goes down at last; And when I lay me down to sleep, I'll trust You, Lord, my soul to keep. Whatever words you use, it is always a good idea to check in with God at the start of every day. Now, please join me in one more little prayer: Prayer: Lord God our Father, help us to reaffirm our connection to You this very moment, and to stay close by Your side all day long. You have promised to guide us; remind us to follow. If we seek first Your kingdom, anything else we need You will provide. Amen.…

PresbyCan Daily Devotional

1
The Seal Of Authenticity

6 days ago

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A friend of mine collects Coca-Cola memorabilia, but it must be vintage, not a reproduction. Many people shop carefully for the products of designer manufacturers, because having a designer handbag or luggage is a status symbol. For others, the latest smartphone or video game is the most prestigious version to own. A guarantee of authenticity is a valued thing, and many designers guard their patents against cheap knock-offs. Are we just as interested in the claims of Scripture for Jesus' authenticity? No one spoke more passionately on the subject than the apostle John. 1 John 5:6-12 – This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (NASB 1995) Jesus was not a spirit, as gnostics of John's time believed, but a real man, made of flesh and blood, sent to live among us and die a man's death on a Roman cross, taking on the punishment for the sins of the world. He was baptized in water by His cousin John, and shed His blood on the cross; they are His witnesses. The Holy Spirit completes these witnesses to Jesus' humanity and His divine nature. Our faith is based on this reliable "seal of authenticity". The apostle John deftly exposes the sin of unbelief. By rejecting God's own testimony about His Son, we are effectively saying it's not true. That makes God out to be a liar. Does that go too far for you? For many, His death on the cross is offensive and distasteful; better to trivialize the cross into jewelry or design, or replace it with a self-help gospel! We have eternal life, but that belief rests on knowing that our salvation rests in Jesus and not in our own efforts and performance. How will you know for sure? It doesn't matter if you have a good day or a poor one, for if our salvation depends on what Jesus did for us, then we can truly know. Prayer: We praise You, Lord, for the life You have given to us in Your Son, Jesus. Help us in our daily lives to have confidence in that "seal of authenticity". Amen.…

PresbyCan Daily Devotional

1
How Full Is Your Cup?

7 days ago