Recent Devotions
“But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.” Genesis 45:5-7 I have always been fascinated by the story of Joseph. Things started great for him in life, but quickly took a turn for the worst. How…
“Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.” Acts 16:25 We sing songs in our worship services quite often about how worship can change a situation, and we proclaim and believe that worship can set us free. This story in…
“The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:9-10 MSG As I…
Readers Loved
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, ESV) Hester Ford, the oldest living person in the United States, died in 2021 at the age of 115 or possibly 116 (conflicting records). She lived a lot of days and saw things that are only history to most of us: two world wars, the Great Depression, and the Spanish flu to the coronavirus. Who is the oldest person you have personally known? For me, I think it was a sweet, committed child of God who reached an amazing 103 years. She has…
But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the LORD’s will is.” (II Chronicles 18:4, CSB) Have you ever jumped ahead of God when you had a decision to make? It’s easy to do. We think we know what is best or we “feel” like we are making the right choice, so we skip the most important thing. We forget to pray first. Prayer becomes an afterthought. If we are honest with ourselves, we have already decided on our course of action. In II Chronicles 18, we encounter two kings. Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, was…
“Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes, but rather what is inside the heart — the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (I Peter 3:3-4, CSB) Are you beautiful? If you are like me, you can name every little imperfection, wrinkle, and lump of fat. I know what a bad hair day is—and it is usually Monday through Sunday. I never seem to accomplish that sleek, finished look I see on others. Truthfully, I no longer even try. It is what…
“. . . Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.” (Joshua 4:3, NKJV) After their forty-year wilderness experience, the children of Israel were finally entering the Promised Land (Joshua 4). As they prepared to cross the Jordan River into their new homeland, Joshua instructed a man from each tribe to pick up a stone from the riverbed and carry it to the other side. This may…
