Recent Devotions
Falling in love with Jesus, Falling in love with Jesus, Falling in love with Jesus, Is the best thing I’ve ever, ever done. (lyrics by Jonathon Butler) Falling in love with Jesus is the answer to many struggles we often face in our lives. When we truly fall in love with Him, He becomes the focus of everything we do. When I fell in love with my husband, he became the person I most want to spend time with. He is the first one I want to share important news with. His is the opinion I most value, and he…
I was fearful of thunderstorms as a child – the loud bursts of thunder and streaks of lightning as they lit the sky. I recall descending the stairs from my bedroom on numerous occasions during the early morning hours and kneeling in our living room in the darkness, asking God…
We often hear people say they are going to “get away” for the weekend or go somewhere apart from the daily grind. We think of trips to the seashore or to the mountains to rejuvenate and refresh ourselves. This is not always an option as time and finances do not…
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“Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.” (Daniel 6:3, New King James Version) Certain Bible stories have become so familiar that even young children can recite the basic details. There’s a strong central character, exciting action, and good versus evil with the good triumphing at the end. You can no doubt name several such stories. While they are simple enough for even a young child to understand, we find an “adult lesson” as well. Daniel chapter 6 relates one…
One of the nastiest tasks that I volunteered to undertake at the church we pastored was to bring the aluminum cans home for recycling. You might ask how that could be nasty. All that’s necessary is to toss them in a recycling bin somewhere, right? Well, that would work, IF… Everyone would read and heed the signs! We had two trash cans in that particular area. One is clearly labeled, “ALUMINUM CANS ONLY.” However, what I brought home was a conglomeration of icky trash amidst the cans! Partly because I’m a little particular (okay, a LOT particular) about some things,…
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:6 I saw this quote today and thought it would fit into this very well: “Let your hands be so busy catching blessings, that there is no room to hold on to a grudge.” All of us like to be shown mercy, but when it comes to others, we want to see them get what they deserve. In this verse Jesus is reminding his listeners that God has been very merciful to them and in turn they should show mercy to others. David cried out to God for mercy because…
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank….” Daniel 1:8 For the last two weeks, we have been reading news reports of the athletes who have competed in the Olympics. We were discussing what these young people sacrifice in order to train for these events. They are willing to give up a lot of other things in order to excel in the sport they love. No doubt there were times when they would rather have just thrown in the towel and gone…
