Recent Devotions
Everyone is a photographer these days. Camera apps and filters provide pop and color enhancements to otherwise average photos. The pictures we take – as beautiful as they can be – are limited to the light levels and color spectrum that our cameras can process. Your eyes are capable of a much higher dynamic range than your camera lens. What we see with our eyes can never fully be captured on cards or in our phones. Thankfully, enhancements to technology are making this limitation less as time progresses. I am reminded of a time I went to a local photography…
Have you ever been told to use the side door, back door, or any entry that is not the normal way? Perhaps there was a surprise party or an event that needed a measure of secrecy. I’ve found that the “side door,” or surprise door as I call it, is…
Reading through the Old Testament each year makes me grateful I was born in the dispensation of grace. I often feel sorry for the prophets whose lives were directed by God as analogies of His impending judgment upon Israel. Lately, I have wondered if God may also be directing my…
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My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; they have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place. (Jeremiah 50:6, NKJV) History is a great teacher, but we don’t always allow ourselves to learn from it. As I read the stories of the Old Testament, I sometimes shake my head and think—They did it again! They forgot God and turned to the false gods of the surrounding nations. God, in His patience, gave the Israelites many opportunities to come back to Him, but they soon…
“And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (I John 2:17, ESV) I recently came across some boxes I’d stored in my basement. Sorting through them was long overdue. As you can imagine, many things went straight into the trash, but some made the “keep” stack. Among the items in one box was a newspaper from fifty-plus years ago. It was an article about friends who were leaving our area to become missionaries. The paper, now yellowed and fragile, brings back good memories of a precious family. It went…
My mind moves almost non-stop. My lists are never-ending. My tasks mount up faster than I can accomplish them. One appointment leads to another obligation, until I feel like the proverbial gerbil on the wheel in a cage going nowhere fast! It sometimes feels as though both sleep AND rest are elusive. So, what IS the answer to coping with all these (mostly) self-inflicted mountains in my life and in yours, too? It’s simple. Pause. Stop. Give it a break. Hope, not cope! “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5…
The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever. (Isaiah 32:17, Christian Standard Bible) As I was growing up, a dear lady in our small church sometimes said, “If there wasn’t a heaven to gain or a hell to shun, I’d still live for the Lord.” From the perspective of youth, I wondered at that statement. After all, if I didn’t have to worry about hell, there would be no restrictions! I could do what I liked without fear of consequences. It sounded good to my immature mind. Of course, there is a…
