Category: MOMENT WITH GOD-A DEVOTIONAL ON EVERY BIBLICAL BOOK

  • GOD, NEAR AND FAR

    Reflections on Ezekiel Today we often take our church buildings for granted; but in Ezekiel’s day, the temple was a big deal. The temple served as God’s earthly dwelling place, representing his presence among his people. Because of the people’s disobedience and idolatry, however, God removes his glory from the temple (Ezek 10:1–22). Yet in…

  • BEFORE THE TEARS ARE WIPED AWAY

    Reflections on Lamentations My brother Tripp died unexpectedly when I was in college. When I returned to school, still shell-shocked from his funeral, I was met with a barrage of friendly fire in the form of “Christian comfort.” One after another, friends offered snippets of hope: “God works all things for good,” “God is in…

  • WHEN EVERYTHING CRUMBLES

    Reflections on Jeremiah We spend our time building for the present. We stack bricks of time and energy into relationships, savings and careers. We believe our passion will serve as the mortar that will hold it all together. When it all comes crumbling down—when a spouse cheats, when a position is terminated, when tragedy strikes—we’re…

  • WHEN THERE IS NO JUSTICE SEEK PEACE

    Reflections on Isaiah It was a normal, hectic New York City commute. I was walking through the Staten Island Ferry terminal to the subway, when I witnessed two young men collide. What was clearly an accident quickly became a showdown. The men began hurling racial epithets at one another and squared off for a fight…

  • FALLING IN LOVE THE BIBLICAL WAY

    Reflections on Song of Songs I’m quick to fall in love; my wife takes her time. Luckily, this boded well for me. I fell in love with Kalene literally at first sight. Since I had planned for Kalene to be my bandmate—we were meeting for a music audition—I later tried to argue myself out of…

  • MAY GOD KEEP US FROM BEING LIKE THINKERS

    Reflections on Ecclesiastes Great minds don’t think alike. Leonardo Da Vinci didn’t paint the “Mona Lisa” by working like his predecessors; he made the uncommon move of focusing on her eyes and hands. Albert Einstein didn’t figure out the speed of light by focusing on the problems his peers were solving. Walt Whitman didn’t come…

  • TO DO: FEAR GOD

    Reflections on Proverbs From the time I was old enough to work an after-school job, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I had a game plan. Star student and valued employee, I closely identified with the Proverbs 31 woman; she embodies the modern-day linchpin concept: goal-setting, prioritizing and productivity. But it…

  • INCHING TOWARDS GOD

    Reflections on the Psalms I have had seasons of great joy and delight in God, as well as seasons of unrelenting sorrow—times when God seemed silent and hidden in the midst of distressing circumstances and loss. We would love to think that following God is nothing but going from one degree of glory to the…

  • THEY’RE FUTILE; IT ISN’T

    Connect The TestamentsJoshua 22:10-24:33; 2 Corinthians 13:11-14; Psalm 60:1-12 If you knew it was time to die, to say goodbye for good, what would you say? How would your final hoorah sound? In an episode of Northern Exposure, Dr. Joel Fleischman is convinced that he is dying. Joel, who is usually conservative, begins risking everything:…

  • REDEEMING DISILLUSION

    Reflections on Esther Esther’s plan for her life likely didn’t look like God’s plan—she probably didn’t count on becoming a concubine to the king and then the king’s wife. But in a seemingly hopeless situation, God used Esther to save his people from destruction; his plan was bigger than Esther likely ever imagined. Sometimes there…