Tag: MOMENT WITH GOD A DEVOTIONAL FOR EVERY BIBLICAL BOOK

  • GOD IS OUR SHELTER

    Reflections on Ezra The book of Ezra recounts the the return of God’s people from exile and the rebuilding of the temple; after decades of captivity, the Lord “moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation” allowing the exiles of Judah to return home—“in order to fulfill the words of the…

  • CALLING DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN

    Reflections on 2 Chronicles I vividly remember an evening I spent worshiping with persecuted Christians. It was loud and full of words of truth and visions that were clearly from God. But it was also peaceful. For this group of Christians, I thought, worshiping God is the ultimate experience and desire. They went to God…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • AN ENTRY-LEVEL KING

    Reflections on 1 Samuel Do you remember your first job? Chances are, it was low paying, low prestige, and if anything like mine, you counted the minutes until quitting time. The best thing about my first job was that I knew it was temporary—I had no doubt that it was not part of my career…

  • WHY GOD?

    Reflections on Ruth We have a mental checklist for life. Happy marriage: check. Healthy kids: check. Good reputation: check. Great job: check. Enough money: check. All the pieces are lining up. But then tragedy strikes: The bottom falls out on your finances; you get breast cancer; your spouse dies; or, in my case, you learn…

  • GOD’S THUNDEROUS & LOVING NATURE

    Reflections on Judges The book of Judges tells the story of Israel’s disobedience and unfaithfulness—again and again Israel turns from God and he allows their enemies to defeat and oppress them. “Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. Go and cry out to the gods whom…

  • REMEMBERING TO REMEMBER THE GOODNESS OF GOD

    Reflections on Deuteronomy I must confess that sometimes I read about the forgetfulness of Bible characters and chide them in my mind. I think, “If God showed me a burning bush, I would never doubt him again.” But I would. And so would you. God knows our propensity to forget. That is why he is…