Tag: Devotional

  • 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…

  • MOVING ON

    Connect The TestamentsDeuteronomy 1:1-46; 2 Corinthians 1:1-11; Psalm 31:1-9 “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Turn now and move on” (Deut 1:6–7). We have a terrible tendency to stay in one place or keep doing one activity longer than we should. Our meetings run long, we constantly work overtime, or we overstay a…

  • SETTLING IN GOD’S PRESENCE

    If we want to meet with God, we have to set aside time. This is not easy. Most of us feel that we have too much to do and not enough time. Moreover, our materialistic age teaches us that “time is money.” Unplanned time leads to failure, while controlled time, governed by our purposes and…