Recent Devotions
Jeremiah 31:21 MSG “Set up signposts to mark your trip home. Get a good map. Study the road conditions. The road out is the road back.” I’m a big planner, and I like to be prepared for any scenario when we travel. We don’t go too far from home because the unexpected can be too daunting. But when we do take a trip, I have multiple to-do lists that I start weeks/months before we ever leave. When you take a trip, not many people plan for the journey home, assuming it’s the same as the way there. On your travels,…
A few months ago, I decided to give pencil sketching a try. I wanted something relaxing to do occasionally that wouldn’t require much investment. At an art store, I purchased a Pentalic sketchbook, a set of tinted German-made Staedtler pencils, and a high-quality eraser. A few weeks later, I added…
Have you ever shopped for a new car, leaning toward a certain make and model, and suddenly that’s all you seem to see on the road? It isn’t that more of them appeared overnight—it’s that you’re now aware of what was there all along. In much the same way, I’ve…
Readers Loved
“But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the LORD. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the LORD by sailing to Tarshish.” (Jonah 1:3, NLT) God chose Jonah for a special assignment, but the result was one very unhappy prophet. We know little about the man except his name and his father’s name, but we are all familiar with his story. It’s a favorite of children, but the lessons within this short four-chapter…
“You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day;” Psalm 91:5 TERROR / pachad / fear, dread, an alarm Bible Hub: “The Hebrew word ‘pachad’ primarily denotes a sense of fear or dread. It is often used to describe a profound, sometimes paralyzing fear that can be both a natural human response to danger and a reverential awe towards God.” NIGHT / layil or lel or layelah / a twist, night, adversity Bible Hub: “The Hebrew word ‘layil’ primarily refers to the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise, commonly known…
“In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” 1 Samuel 1:10-11, NIV. Desperation and Faith Like Hannah’s moving prayer, my life began with desperation and faith. My mother received news from the doctor that her body had a condition that would…
“Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, NKJV) Esther, the young Jewish exile who married Persian King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), was in the right place at the right time to bring deliverance to her people. However, in the time leading up to this often-quoted verse above, Esther probably felt just the opposite. Being taken into the haram of a pagan king certainly felt like the wrong place to be. Hers was no storybook romance. Even after being chosen as queen, she still could not reveal her Jewish heritage or openly…
