Recent Devotions
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4, NKJV) When James tells us we are to “count it all joy” when trouble comes our way, it seems a difficult thing to do. Trouble and joy just don’t seem like a matched pair. It’s easier to moan and complain about the hard things life brings our way. But how do we find joy? When Saul the persecutor became Paul the…
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…
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…
Readers Loved
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 The Amplified Bible reads as follows: “ Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality –faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.” Amid all that is taking place in our world today, our faith in the Lord is what keeps us going on. We cannot see Him with our natural eyes. We cannot touch the…
“Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children.” (Ephesians 5:1, Christian Standard Bible) What we call the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in both Matthew and Luke, is perhaps one of the Lord’s most well-known discourses. Yet, it may also be one of the most difficult for us to live out in our daily lives. The passage is long, and the words of Jesus are difficult to consider. What He said goes against our usual way of thinking—our human reaction to situations we face in life. Just consider a few of the things He said to the multitudes that…
“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Psalm 5:3 I was looking through some old notes and found this article that I had shared some time ago. As I read it, I realized that it was worth sharing again. I was reading my Bible, and praying one morning, when the words of the song “I Will Meet You in The Morning” started running through my mind. Instead of the real lyrics, here’s what came to my mind: I will meet Him in the…
There’s something about an impending thunderstorm that heightens the senses. The atmosphere stills as the metallic scent of ozone charges the air. Grass and overhanging branches weighed down with leaves suddenly turn a more vibrant green against the dark grey sky. Lightning forks across the clouds, then the wind churns and dust clouds kick up as fat drops of water begin to pound against the earth. Torrential sheets of rain blow past while thunder vibrates the windows. Then bit by bit, the clouds empty and the downpour slows to a steady stream, then a trickle, and there is quiet. Everything…
