Recent Devotions
“And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39-40 The previous verses describe some of the terrible things that the followers of God suffered because of their beliefs. Yet they stood faithful even when it often meant their death. Verse 38 says “the world was not worthy of them.” As we read of what they went through, we must remember that they did not have the teachings of Jesus that we have today. Jesus had not yet…
“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the…
“By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.” Hebrews 11:31 Under cover of darkness, two men sneaked into the city of Jericho, hiding in the shadows until they saw an open door and quickly slipped inside. The woman…
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“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers . . . And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.” (Acts 2:42,46, ESV) I enjoy reading the Book of Acts. It lets us view the birth of the church and see how the believers learned to support each other as they faced the exciting, but difficult, days ahead. Acts 4:32 says “those who believed were of one heart and soul.” They were united by a…
“Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.” (Proverbs 15:16) I recently experienced an “aha” moment while reading the Bible and meditating on contentment. Just to clarify, contentment is not the same as happiness, even though the thesaurus lists them as synonyms. Think of it this way. Happiness is short-term, so we crave “more” to sustain that feeling. Contentment, however, is long term. It doesn’t require a constant push to have more to be satisfied. That “aha” moment I had? I realized that discontent dates back as far as the Garden…
“Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.” Psalm 84:5-7 It is believed that David wrote this Psalm when he had fled Jerusalem because of Absalom’s rebellion. He is longing to be back in Jerusalem to spend time in the house of the Lord. It seems like he envies the birds who have made their nests in its shelter, and the…
“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 There is a phrase which I often heard when I was younger and that I still find myself using. This week I was out for lunch with friends and when we parted, one remarked, “I will see you Sunday.” As usual, I replied, “Lord willing.” We need to make plans, but we should always remember that the Lord knows what is best for us, and sometimes our plans will not happen the way we want them to. We have no promise of tomorrow, but the Lord…
