Recent Devotions
Staring at him in awe, he said, “What is it, Lord?” The angel told him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God.” (Acts 10:4, CSB) Several years ago, I became a surrogate grandmother to the daughter of friends. We spent a lot of time together as her parents worked many long hours. Although they were not a religious family, they didn’t mind her going to church with me. She loved it. Fast forward a few years to when she was seven years old. As I babysat her one evening, she suddenly stopped…
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (II Corinthians 13:5, ESV) I’m a reader. And a writer. I enjoy both—a lot. I am seldom without a book I’m in…
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” (I Corinthians 9:24, ESV) Cliff Young was a determined man who accomplished what he set out to do. You may not recognize his name. After…
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Psalms 13:5 NLT “But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.” My two year old daughter has recently learned the power of yelling “help” when she needs me. As a mother, my first instinct when I hear her desperate plea, is panic. The thought of her genuinely needing help can make me move faster than I normally can. When I finally reach her, she’s usually in a box that she can’t get out of, or she’s fallen over on her little trike and simply needs help getting up. The fact is, she knows…
Psalms 111:10 ESV “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have good understanding. His praise endures forever!” Psalms 33:8 “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him” I love taking scripture and breaking it down. I had a family member recently ask me what it means to “fear the Lord” so my mind immediately went to the above scripture. I will be honest though, I always struggled to understand exactly what “fear” in this context meant. In this scripture, the biblical…
The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!” (Judges 6:14, CSB) I recently read again the story of Gideon and the battle he led against Israel’s enemies (Judges 6). Although we see Gideon as God’s man for the hour, he did not immediately step forward to answer God’s call. Instead, he questioned, offered excuses, and wanted signs (fleeces). Although the angel of the Lord greeted Gideon by saying, “The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor” (verse 12), Gideon did not respond…
“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.” So he led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation.” (Exodus 13:17-18, CSB) Travel can be fun . . . or monotonous and boring. A friend and I recently took a quick road trip. Because we were on a tight schedule,…
