Recent Devotions
The greatest obstacle preventing the Israelites from escaping Egypt and entering the Promised Land wasn’t Pharaoh and his vast army. It wasn’t the daunting Red Sea or the fortified Canaanite cities. The greatest obstacle to the fulfillment of God’s promise was the grumbling of God’s people. Grumbling gives voice to our distrust of God’s sovereignty in our lives. God said, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me” (Numbers 14:27, ESV). Like a parent who has reached the end of their patience, God had…
Gratitude is the gateway to the miraculous. We can learn to give thanks before our miracle by applying the lessons in thanksgiving modeled by Jesus. Thank God for Providing “He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and…
Conflict, fighting, division, harsh words—reveal something deeper than personality differences or circumstances. Scripture reminds us that unrest is evidence of a heart out of step with God. A broken world is watching closely, longing to see a different way of living. God calls His people to be that witness to…
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“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV) God was very intentional when He made us. It did not happen by accident or chance. He was careful, deliberate, purposeful in making each of us into a beautiful creation. The New Living Translation uses the word masterpiece, which speaks of the high quality of His workmanship. Workmanship: the quality imparted to a thing in the process of making. Masterpiece: a work done with extraordinary skill. Something (as a work of art) that is a…
“There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.” (Proverbs 13:7) The Bible has such a marvelous way of turning its spotlight on a seemingly insignificant event or unknown person to teach us a timeless lesson. Mark 12:41-44 is one instance of this. It’s as if the action freezes while God says, “Attention! I want you to see this.” FACES IN THE CROWD That day in the Temple Jesus sat to one side, observing the crowd as they walked past the collection box. The Bible doesn’t say, but let’s imagine…
“And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank… Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names…” (Daniel 1:5–7, KJV). “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong” (First Corinthians 16:13, NLT). Most of us know the story of Daniel—the young man taken captive to Babylon and chosen to serve in King Nebuchadnezzar’s royal court. Far from home and surrounded by a foreign language, strange customs, and idol worship, Daniel and…
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua . . . .” (Exodus 17:14, NKJV) I am currently working on a seventy-fifth anniversary history project for my church, and I’m finding it both fascinating and frustrating. It’s fascinating because of the miracles I’m discovering in our church’s history. It’s frustrating because I have questions that can’t be answered. Those with the answers are no longer among us. Someone on this committee jokingly said, “Let’s leave good notes for those who do the hundredth anniversary.” I also have many…
