Recent Devotions
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…
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” (Genesis 41:51-52, NKJV) It was common in the Old Testament…
When we read the story of Mary and Martha and their encounter with Jesus, it is evident that their reactions to the Lord’s presence were quite different. Mary recognized that she needed to seize the opportunity to be in God’s presence, even at the expense of her due diligence. We…
Readers Loved
After they had Peter and John stand before them, they began to question them: “By what power or in what name have you done this?” (Acts 4:7 CSB) Following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the number of believers in Jerusalem grew daily. But so did the opposition. The apostles were no more popular with the religious leaders of that day than Jesus had been. The same antagonists, just a slightly different target. Acts 3 tells the story of Peter and John’s encounter with the lame man at the Gate Beautiful. The healing quickly drew the attention of…
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12 Have you ever been in a place of total darkness? Years ago, our family visited a cave and when we were about halfway through, the guide turned off all the lights. It was so dark; we could not even see our hands in front of our faces. My husband had a phobia about being in a tight, dark place, and he immediately wanted to turn around and go…
In our last study, we talked about FAITH being like a LENS. There are lots of different kinds of lenses for different purposes. But, the fact is, a lens is an optical device—it doesn’t change the viewed object. It doesn’t change TRUTH— or what IS. A lens only changes the perspective and perception of the one looking through it. Depending on the type of lens, it might make an object appear larger or appear smaller than it actually is; it might bring it into clearer focus or frame it in a different light; or it may bring out details that…
“Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the LORD tested Joseph’s character” (Psalm 105:19, NLT) When I recently did an online search for the meaning of character, I knew it wouldn’t be easy to define when one entry came up as the ”best 74 definitions of character.” The list included such qualities as moral strength, self-discipline, fortitude, values, and integrity. Perhaps my favorite definition of character is “persistent moral virtue.” It’s lasting, tenacious, steadfast. Although the King James Version of the Bible does not use the word character, it is evident throughout its pages. In Scripture, character is often paired…
