Recent Devotions
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34-35, ESV) This week, we have explored some of the key events in the Book of Acts and watched as the young church expanded beyond the confines of Jerusalem and Judea. Acts 10 tells the story of Peter’s unusual rooftop vision that God used to prepare him for reaching the first Gentiles with the gospel. Until then, only Jews and Samaritans had experienced the infilling of the…
But the Lord said to him [Ananias], “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:15-16, ESV) Have…
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NKJV) It was always God’s plan for the gospel to reach beyond Jerusalem. As…
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“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4). Oh how we love this verse! It is probably one of the most quoted verses in the Bible. We all love the idea of God giving us our heart’s desire; but as I study this verse, I see a set of instructions that we must follow to make this reward of “heart’s desire” possible. If we look at verses 3-7 we see that we are to trust, delight thyself, commit, and rest. Trust Before we can delight in the Lord, we must…
“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20, NKJV) Home. It had its own feel, its own smell, its own familiarity. That worn spot in the carpet was still there, and the same picture hung over the couch. There was lemon pie in the fridge, peanut butter fudge on the counter, and warm hugs at the door. When I called out, “I’m home,” I knew I was welcome there. I was loved.…
“Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.” I Peter 3:6 For the last few months, the Lord had been speaking to me about doing a series on some of the women in the Bible, and what you and I can learn from their experiences. Originally, I chose seven names but as I began to study and meditate on the first one, Sarah, I realized that there was material for more than one article. Over the next seven days, I want to dig…
“Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.” Psalm 74:17 “For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;” Song of Solomon 2:11-12 Last year at this time we were welcoming Spring and looking forward to all the things that the year would bring. We had plans to visit family and friends, church functions to attend, and just being able to get out and…
