Category: DEVOTIONALS

  • MORNING & EVENING

    Jesus, bearing his cross, went forth to suffer without the gate. The Christian’s reason for leaving the camp of the world’s sin and religion is not because he loves to be singular, but because Jesus did so; and the disciple must follow his Master. Christ was “not of the world:” his life and his testimony…

  • TREATING THE SYMPTOM

    Connect The TestamentsDeuteronomy 7:1-8:20; 2 Corinthians 2:12-17; Psalm 34:1-22 I regularly predict that something will only take me an hour when it actually ends up taking two. I’m beginning to think that this is a sign of a larger issue: the tendency to underestimate the severity of a problem. In medical offices, this is called…

  • FOLLOWING A QUIET TIME PATTERN

    Now that you have created a quiet time and place, what do youdo during your quiet time? Prayer and Bible study are the mainstays of quiet times. In Bible study we seek to hear what God has to say to us. In prayer we speak back to him. In other words, Bible study and prayer…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    We see in Simon’s carrying the cross a picture of the work of the Church throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark then, Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ exempts…

  • YOUR INNER SELF

    Connect The TestamentsDeuteronomy 4:1-49; 2 Corinthians 1:17-24; Psalm 32:1-11 “Did I leave the burner on?” “Did I lock the door?” “I feel like I’m forgetting something.” Forgetfulness is a syndrome we all experience at one time or another. Many of our forgetful moments end up being minor inconveniences. But there is one thing we should never forget:…

  • GETTING ALONE WITH GOD

    If you are like me, getting up in the morning to have a quiet time is difficult. I found it easier to get up for a class when I was in college or, these days, an early-morning breakfast meeting than getting out of bed for a quiet time. We may tell ourselves that we struggle…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    He had been all night in agony, he had spent the early morning at the hall of Caiaphas, he had been hurried from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate; he had, therefore, but little strength left, and yet neither refreshment nor rest were permitted him. They were…

  • THE FINAL SAY

    Connect The TestamentsDeuteronomy 2:1-3:29; 2 Corinthians 1:12-16; Psalm 31:10-24 Having the final say in an argument is more satisfying than I’d like to admit. By default, I’d like to be right, even if I have to be pedantic. I wish I could say this was limited to petty concerns. But on more than one occasion,…

  • FINDING A QUIET PLACE

    Several years ago I spoke at a conference in a Beverly Hills church. While taking a walk between sessions, I noticed three churches on nicely landscaped grounds in the space of two blocks on one side of Santa Monica Boulevard. On the other side of Santa Monica Boulevard was Rodeo Drive and the business district.…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    He had never been slow of speech when he could bless the sons of men, but he would not say a single word for himself. “Never man spake like this man,” and never man was silent like him. Was this singular silence the index of his perfect self-sacrifice? Did it show that he would not…