Recent Devotions
In Jordan, where my husband and I have lived, the Muslim call to prayer sounds five times daily. Mosques all over the country synchronize their calls to prayer. Varying tones of the Arabic-speaking muezzins echo against the stone and concrete walls of the buildings. A friend of mine who visited Jordan on a layover disliked the sound of the Muslim call to prayer. She described it as eerie. Although my husband and I do not necessarily like hearing the Muslim calls to prayer, we grew accustomed to them. They are part and parcel of living in a Muslim country. Jordan…
When I was eight, Mount St. Helens erupted in fiery fury. Not long after, I read a book about the disaster. It told the story of Harry Randall Truman. This elderly man lived alone in a cabin at the foot of the mountain. The volcano began to rumble inside the…
“And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high…
Readers Loved
“For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” (Psalm 107:9, ESV). This week I have seen numerous postings on social media about a spirit of revival sweeping across a university campus in Kentucky. At the time I write this, a non-stop prayer meeting has been going on for over a week, with people arriving from across the country to become part of this experience. Many others are watching and participating online. Reports now say this revival spirit is spreading to other campuses. People are hungry for God, and God is responding to that…
Remember “the Uncola?” In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s marketers for 7-Up came up with a scheme to distance their drink from the more popular dark carbonated beverages. They sold it as the “Uncola.” Meaning to cash in on the spirit of rebellion that characterized much of the hip culture of the day, they tried to make 7-up look like a rebel, too. By adding an “un”, they sought to describe what 7-up WAS by what it wasn’t—it was definitely NOT a cola. Jesus often used different kinds of figurative speech to make a point or teach a lesson.…
“My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” (James 1:19, CSB) A friend and I were having a phone conversation one day recently. Or, more accurately, we were “almost” holding a conversation. While chatting, I was also scanning the internet and she was working on something as well. In the background at her end, a little voice kept insisting, “I want your phone” so he could play games. Neither of us was giving full attention to our conversation. We were distracted by other things. But if you had…
Sarah was identified by God as the “mother of nations.” But for so many years, she had been childless. The promise of God was spoken to Abraham, but as time passed, she felt forgotten and forsaken. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12, NIV.) She was heartsick, questioning, and longing for something that seemed so out of reach as the years slipped by. She had waited eleven long years for the promise to be fulfilled. Finally, in her impatience and desperation, Sarah sent her servant to conceive in her place—Hagar,.her…
