Recent Devotions
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Romans 12:10, ESV) Perhaps because this is the holiday season, I am more intentional about staying in touch with friends, both far and near. I think of friendship as a gift from God and cannot imagine a life without friends. A small group of church friends started what has become an annual tradition. Before Christmas we make plans to get together. We call it a party, but it’s nothing fancy and there’s no real agenda. It is simply a time of fellowship and friendship. The food is whatever…
“Love is patient and kind . . . . “ (I Corinthians 13:4, ESV) The holiday season can be stressful. We’ve got places to go, things to do, and not much time to fit it all in. When stores are crowded and lines are slow, patience may be in short…
And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying . . . But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil…
Readers Loved
“For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” Mark 9:41 I recently read a story about a man and his wife who had purchased a house and decided to remove some of the walls to make one large room instead of several small ones. Because there was electrical wiring in the walls they needed to remove, the main power had to be turned off. The man was an experienced carpenter and knew what he was doing. His wife…
I’m okay, we often tell ourselves, but are we? We tend to put on a fake facade when we come to church because we don’t want people to see who we really are. After all, we have a reputation to uphold. We want others to see us as being all put together, a perfectly wrapped package with a beautifully tied bow. Inside, however, we are lying to ourselves and to others. Nor are we being truthful with God about our struggles. We’re not telling God that we’re hurting, struggling, and that the battle we’re fighting is becoming too much for…
“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matthew 21:22 When I started writing the articles for this week, I did not have a theme, just going to write about several things that the Lord had laid on my heart. But as I began to write, I realize that they all did have a common thread – different ways that prayers are answered. We have looked at several characters in the Bible, and the answers they received to their prayers. I was impressed that this final article should deal with times when the Lord answered…
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13, KJV. We misquote the above scripture when we say, “God won’t give us more than we can bear,” because this verse says that God will not tempt you above what you can bear. There is a big difference between those two statements. Maybe you have survived a circumstance…
