Recent Devotions
“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 Acts is a perfect example of that. Paul and Silas had been severely flogged. They were stripped, beaten, and publicly humiliated, then thrown into a dark and cold prison cell. Their feet were then fastened in stocks and thus began a very uncertain future for these two men. After all…
“Do what I tell you; live what I tell you. I am God.” Leviticus 22:31 MSG I’ve always considered myself to be a great listener, but I now realize that I was only hearing what was being said, and not sincerely listening. There is a profound difference between the two, one is a…
“From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety” Psalms 61:2 NLT Is there anyone else out there who is afraid of heights? Surely I can’t be the only one whose knees go weak…
Readers Loved
“. . . 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…
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:” I John 3:1 When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, he started out with the words, “Our Father, who art in Heaven.” As I was praying earlier this week, I began to think of what it means to have Jesus as our Father, not just someone far off in heaven, but dwelling with us, listening to our prayers, and guiding us each day. I found this definition of a true father: “protector, teacher, and encourager; a person who picks you…
Your VOICE is your CHOICE. “Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev. 19:10 KJV) Feelings, often, are involuntary; but our voice is our choice. Every day, we have the option to intentionally verbalize our thanks and our trust—our thanks for God’s proven power in our lives AND our trust in His promises. This voice is our testimony. We have enough solid evidence of the past faithfulness of God in our lives to give us cause for a continuous stream of testimony to the power and love of Jesus. Giving voice to that testimony is…
“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” (Jeremiah 31:25, ESV) Worn out. Exhausted. Dead tired. Spent. Beat. Drained. Burnt-out. There are so many ways to express that feeling of utter weariness that just overwhelms us. We’ve all been there. Exhausted and sleep-deprived with a new baby. Pressing deadlines at work. The mental exhaustion of trying to juggle too many things. Doctors note two main types of fatigue: physical and mental. Causes can range from medical conditions to boredom, eating disorders, major life changes, and more. If we are physically or mentally exhausted (or…
