Tag: Devotional

  • REALLY MEANING WHAT YOU SAY

    Reflections on Zechariah My sister and I are close in age, and when we were children, we were best friends. But we fought as often as we played together, and many of our afternoons ended in tears. Our fights ended the same way—standing face to face, forced together by a parent. My mother brooked no…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    If:—then, this is not a matter to be taken for granted concerning every one of the human race. “If:”—then there is a possibility and a probability that some may not have tasted that the Lord is gracious. “If:”—then this is not a general but a special mercy; and it is needful to enquire whether we…

  • FROM CONCEPT TO CAUTION TO CAUSE

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 8:1-40; 1 Timothy 5:10-17; Psalm 78:53-72 Some things in the Bible are downright surprising, including several passages in Paul’s letters. Sometimes his words are so personal or they’re addressed to such a specific person our group, that it’s hard to understand why that particular passage is there. But God uses people…

  • BUILDING GOD’S CHURCH

    Reflections on Haggai For the first time in two years, my husband had steady employment. With a 10-month-old baby and a newborn on the way, I clung to the promise of stability. I dedicated myself to readying the nursery, organizing the house, sewing curtains and finding ways to make our lives more comfortable. I guarded…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    When we give our hearts with our alms, we give well, but we must often plead to a failure in this respect. Not so our Master and our Lord. His favours are always performed with the love of his heart. He does not send to us the cold meat and the broken pieces from the…

  • OUTLINE OF HONOR

    Connection of Testaments1 Chronicles 7:1-40; 1 Timothy 5:1-9; Psalm 78:30-52 In most Western cultures today, we’ve lost our connection with the elderly. With one grandparent living halfway across the country and the others having died before I was born, I wasn’t around older people until I met my wife and her family. Unlike me, my…

  • SHINING BY HIS POWER

    Reflections on Zephaniah “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord (Zeph 1:2). Zephaniah has a bleak introduction. The prophet goes on to describe “the great day of the LORD” (Zeph 1:14), bringing with it “distress and anguish” and “trouble and ruin” (Zeph 1:15). In the midst of this…

  • A HIGHER CALLING

    Connect The Testaments1 Chronicles 6:1-81; 1 Timothy 4:6-16; Psalm 78:13-29 It’s easy to get self-absorbed when we’re criticized—or when we think others are criticizing us. Because of our real or imagined defects, we start to believe other people don’t take us seriously. It’s easy to get off course in an attempt to defend ourselves. As…

  • STRENGTH, COURAGE, REST

    Reflections on Habakkuk “The Soverign LORD is my strength” (Hab 3:19); “Be strong and courageous” (Josh 1:6). In the midst of seemingly hopeless or overwhelming situations (e.g., Hab 1:3–4; 3:17), these verses remind us to listen for God’s voice and know that he is near. I read the words again and repeated them in a…

  • MORNING & EVENING

    All the attributes of Christ, as God and man, are at our disposal. All the fulness of the Godhead, whatever that marvellous term may comprehend, is ours to make us complete. He cannot endow us with the attributes of Deity; but he has done all that can be done, for he has made even his…