Category: DEVOTIONALS

  • TRANSFORMERS

    Connect The Testaments2 Chronicles 4:1-6:11; Titus 1:5-9; Psalm 92:1-93:5 Some people are like spectators in their faith communities—they simply watch while others interact, serve, and reach out. But Paul’s instructions to Titus about overseers show us that communities need people who will do more than just show up. “For it is necessary for the overseer…

  • OUR (IN)SIGNIFICANCE

    Our (In)Significance Reflections on Philippians For most of my childhood, I didn’t know I was weird. I grew up homeschooled, and most of my friends came from conservative Christian households similar to my own. When I finally figured it out, I embarked on a series of attempts to fit in. Often that meant repeating jokes…

  • WHAT WEALTH REVEALS

    Connect The Testaments2 Chronicles 1:1-3:17; Titus 1:1-4; Psalm 91:1-16 “What would you do if you won the lottery?” This question always seems to generate the same responses: There’s the person who devises an investment strategy, the dreamer who envisions ending global poverty, the individual who would travel the world, and the person who would buy…

  • FINDING TIME FOR GOD

    Reflections on Ephesians When I gave birth to my first child nearly eight years ago, I was totally unprepared for the immense change she would bring to my life. Sure, I knew about 2 a.m. feedings, sleepless nights and endless piles of laundry. I was aware a newborn would be dependent on me and that…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    Was it so even in the beginning? Did light and darkness divide the realm of time in the first day? Then little wonder is it if I have also changes in my circumstances from the sunshine of prosperity to the midnight of adversity. It will not always be the blaze of noon even in my…

  • FIGHTING LONELINESS

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 28:1-29:2; 2 Timothy 4:9-21; Psalm 90:1-17 Loneliness is one of the most disheartening feelings a person can know. Being alone in a time of pain is even worse. Several recent surveys suggest that lonely people—especially teenagers—subtly reach out through their social networks, desperately looking for someone who cares. In a world…

  • CHEATER, CHEATER

    Reflections on Galatians Admit it. We’ve all done it, seen someone do it, or thought about doing it at some point during our education: cheating. If you won’t admit it, I will. From one saved-by-grace cheater to another: there’s no way I would have passed my freshman-year, high-school Latin class without the pimple-laden brunette who…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    David passed that gloomy brook when flying with his mourning company from his traitor son. The man after God’s own heart was not exempt from trouble, nay, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord’s Anointed, and the Lord’s Afflicted. Why then should we expect to escape? At sorrow’s gates the noblest…

  • IN SEASON AND OUT OF SEASON

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 26:1-27:34; 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Psalm 89:23-52 I like to operate when I feel like I’m in control. When I haven’t gathered enough information or I feel uncertain of my circumstances, it’s tempting to avoid making a decision or taking action. Paul knew that this type of outlook was detrimental to Timothy’s…

  • SORRY, NOT SORRY

    Reflections on 2 Corinthians During my senior year of high school, several of my Christian friends began running with a rougher crowd—and picking up their vices as well. Concerned and perhaps a little self-righteous, I approached my friends, questioning their behavior and urging them toward holiness. I was taken aback when they were not only…