Recent Devotions
“Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.” (Psalm 119:18, NKJV) One of the most beneficial habits the child of God can ever form is reading His Word every day. Yet, according to recent statistics, fewer and fewer actually read the Bible with any regularity. I recently read a survey that stated, “The fact is over 82% of Christian Americans only read their Bibles on Sundays while in church.” (http://poncefoundation.com/christians-dont-read-their-bible/). As someone who really loves the Word of God, I find this disheartening, even alarming. There is so much to glean from consistent Bible reading. How…
“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…
Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them. Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. (Romans 16:13-15, NKJV) This morning I opened my…
Readers Loved
Isaiah 42:20 MSG “You’ve seen a lot, but looked at nothing. You’ve heard everything, but listened to nothing.” My oldest daughter is at that age where she talks a lot, and I mean a lot. She has slowly morphed from a shy, timid little girl into a social, chatty butterfly. Don’t get me wrong, I love having lengthy discussions about everything possible with her, but I do catch my thoughts drifting off sometimes mid conversation. We as humans have become quite adept at hearing but not listening, and seeing but not genuinely soaking in what we are witnessing. I believe…
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing. (I Peter 3:8-9, ESV) I have often said, and heard numerous others say, “I am blessed.” We truly are, regardless of our social status or the balance in our bank accounts. Blessings are so much more than the material goods God allows us to enjoy. As I thought about my many blessings,…
“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Psalms 1:3. Trees are very interesting. They come in all sizes, shapes and colours. Is it any wonder that the Psalmist compared us to a tree? In recent months in our church at least, we have had many messages preached about how we needed to be close to the Lord so that we could stand strong when storms came. I remember our Pastor saying several times that…
“I thought to myself, ‘Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.’ But I found that it also is futile” (Ecclesiastes 2:1, New English Translation). Many people live with the belief that “things” make us happy. The more things we possess, the happier we become. They devote their lives to accumulating more and more, always chasing happiness through what they possess. Solomon speaks of this in Ecclesiastes chapter 2. He built houses, planted vineyards, constructed pools, added livestock, and amassed money and valuable treasures. He brought in musicians to entertain, and he surrounded himself with…
