Today's Devotion
“And I saw a great white throne . . . And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life . . . And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11–15) Revelation 20 gives us one of the most sobering scenes in all of Scripture. John saw a great white throne. He saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. He saw the books opened. This passage reminds us that…
“Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” Ecclesiastes 7:8 ESV Growing up, I understood pride to fall into one category, vanity. To me, pride was to look in the mirror and admire your beauty, intelligence, and strength. I’ve learned, though, that pride is a tricky thing and usually shows up in ways less subtle than staring into a mirror. One example of the subtly of pride is the belief that we know more about our lives than God does, and because of this, we disregard His…
And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. (Mark 6:31, NKJV) A friend is going through a stressful time right now. While dealing with her own health issues, she is also the primary caregiver for another family member. She is stressed and struggling. Sometimes there is no easy solution. Since we don’t live close and I can only offer encouragement from afar, I keep reminding her that self-care is important. A couple I know is…
Prayer, the act of talking to our Creator, is something I did not understand for years. I thought prayer was something done in certain places — prayer rooms, church buildings, our living room. I thought it was something done at certain times — prayer time at church, prayer meetings at church, altar services after a church service. I thought it was only done in one way — with a loud voice and the use of repetitive words, much like chanting. But I was wrong. Prayer, the communication of my soul with the almighty God of the universe, cannot be confined to just a few…
“Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign . . . “Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household.” (Joshua 2:12 and 18, ESV) After years of wandering, the time had come for the children of Israel to move into the land God had promised.…
