Category: DEVOTIONALS

  • BOUND FOR THE PROMISED LAND

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 14:1-15:63; 2 Corinthians 11:16-23; Psalm 54:1-7 Faith is not just about being faithful; it’s also about trusting in God’s faithfulness. For years God dealt with the confused and waning nature of His people while they were in the wilderness. They wondered, “Will God actually do what Moses has told us?” They had…

  • GETTING PAST THE PAST

    Reflections on 1 Chronicles First Chronicles begins with an exhaustive chronology. A recurring theme quickly becomes apparent: But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them (1 Chr 5:25). Again and again, the Israelites sin against…

  • TONGUES, FLAMES, AND OTHER THINGS THAT DEVOUR

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 12:1-13:32; 2 Corinthians 11:7-15; Psalm 52:1-53:6 I’d like to skip over the description of the “mighty man” in Psa 52. Of all of his destructive influences, the mighty man is most judged for his use of words. The psalmist’s words burn because I’ve set more than a few forests ablaze with careless…

  • COUNTERFEIT REPENTANCE

    Reflections on 2 Kings We often take the genuineness of our repentance for granted, as if feeling sorry for our sin is proof enough. But just after Paul preaches repentance, he commands his listeners to “prove their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20). True repentance has corroborating evidence. Perhaps the best way to learn what…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    And because of all this we make a sure covenant. Nehemiah 9:38 There are many occasions in our experience when we may very rightly, and with benefit, renew our covenant with God. After recovery from sickness when, like Hezekiah, we have had a new term of years added to our life, we may fitly do…

  • THE ART OF CONFESSION

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 10:16-11:23; 2 Corinthians 11:1-6; Psalm 51:1-19 Confession is a lost art. Most Christian communities today have little outlet for doing so, and the systems for confessing that we do have are often tainted by a lack of honesty and trust. This isn’t helped by the fact that none of us like to…

  • WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

    Reflections on 1 Kings I was once promised a job that was terminated before I could begin. The company unexpectedly closed my division. I felt humiliated and disappointed as I told my family and friends that the great opportunity I’d snagged was gone. When I finally secured a new position, I believed all my hard…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    Why should our exalted Lord appear in his wounds in glory? The wounds of Jesus are his glories, his jewels, his sacred ornaments. To the eye of the believer, Jesus is passing fair because he is “white and ruddy;” white with innocence, and ruddy with his own blood. We see him as the lily of…

  • JUDGING GIFTS

    Connect The TestamentJoshua 9:1-10:15; 2 Corinthians 10:9-18; Psalm 50 Comparing our gifts to those of the person sitting in the next cubicle or pew is dangerous work. Judging ourselves by this standard denigrates or inflates the gifts we’ve been given, leading to either ungratefulness or pride. Because the assessment method is faulty, we will always…

  • LITTLE WHITE LIES

    Reflections on 2 Samuel It’s easy to declare, “Lying is a sin; never lie!” The ninth commandment tells us that God abhors it. And we see King David experience negative consequences for lying in 2 Samuel 11–12. However, a reading of the Old Testament will quickly reveal that “Never lie!” isn’t so clear cut. What…