Recent Devotions
“For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.” (Job 3:25-26 ESV) Do the words of Job strike a chord with you? To say that he was stressed would be an understatement. So much is happening in his life, and he doesn’t know why. Everything is gone. His children, his servants, his flocks and herds. This is stress—to the extreme. His world is upside down, and nothing indicates that God ever told him why. A UNIVERSAL PROBLEM Stress…
“And as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above…
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” (Colossians 3:23, NKJV) Have you even known someone who seemed to do just enough to get by? No more, no less, just the bare minimum. It happens. A student does only enough to pass the…
Readers Loved
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2, NKJV) We are often only vaguely aware of innate spiritual yearnings and cravings within us. Yet, if we fail to heed those cravings, they are quietly snuffed out, and we lose the precious opportunity to cultivate our hunger. Words from the song “Hear Our Prayer” by Tanya Richards say it best: “Like a deer longing for water, my heart yearns. Only You can fill my deep hunger,…
I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe that my steps are ordered, even in the most mundane of days. Like the day I forgot my lunch and went to the café in my office building. The café was busy, as it always was at lunchtime. An infrequent visitor there (my college budget rarely included the luxury of purchasing prepared food), I was intently perusing the menu hoping to find something filling and cheap. I say intently because in order to choose a selection, I had to cut a path through the jungle of stimuli. I suffer from hearing issues. I…
“Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:7, ESV) Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and Samuel all had one thing in common. They built altars. These men, and many others as well, built an altar as a personal place of sacrifice and worship. These were nothing like the elaborate altars we might see in cathedrals today. There was no ornate detail or gold in the design. They were often simply formed of earth or uncut stones.…
Isaiah 40:31 NIV “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” I’ve always loved the idea of being a runner. I often wondered what it must be like to wake before the rest of the world and step out into a cool, foggy morning with the sole purpose of running. I’ve never experienced what that cool air must feel like as it floods into your lungs. How your muscles must grow weak, but yet you push on.…
