Recent Devotions
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 I can barely believe how quickly time passes. It feels like one year ends and another begins before we have a chance to catch our breath. Looking back, many of us can probably identify goals we never reached, projects we never finished, and dreams that seem farther away than we expected. We put so many expectations on ourselves. We imagine that growth should happen quickly, healing should come easily, and success should arrive sooner than it does. When life doesn’t unfold according to our…
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” Psalm 37:23, KJV. Growing up, my dad taught me how to play chess. I’m still an amateur, but I loved spending time with him, so I would sit across the board for hours…
“But I will not drive them out in a single year … little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.” Exodus 23:29-30, NIV. These verses may not make many people’s list of favorite Bible promises, but when…
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“I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.” Psalms 31:7 Have you ever felt at any point in your life that no one cared? I know, it sounds like such a cliche, but I can say that I have felt so weighed down by the cares of life that it did seem like no one cared. This was obviously not the case, as I have always been surrounded by an amazing circle of family and friends; however, in those moments of anguish and…
Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” Genesis 27:19 Jacob’s Are Everywhere If you look around, you will discover that there are Jacob’s everywhere. He was a normal, average young person—and—a momma’s boy. His ambitious quality is soon outranked by his deceptive nature. When he first started to pursue God, it was out of necessity and not out of faithfulness. He was running for his life and needed God to move on his behalf. When he…
Throughout history, names have held significant meaning. Shakespeare said, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Anne Shirley famously disagrees with Shakespeare, saying, “I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I’ve never been able to believe it. I don’t believe a rose would be as nice if it were called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.” I would have to agree with Anne of Green Gables. I don’t know how many of us would go out of our…
“And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it . . . After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:43 and 46, ESV) The Bible tells us very little about the childhood of Jesus. The Gospels skip from the events surrounding His birth to the beginning of His ministry. Nothing is recorded about His childhood. But one passage at the end of Luke 2 relates an incident that happened when Jesus was…
