January 16, 2022 | 2 Samuel 12:1-14. DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The first job listed on David’s resume was as a shepherd guarding the family sheep (1 Sam. 17:34–35). He knew that it took a great deal of time, effort, and watchful care to raise a flock. In Psalm 23, David describes us as sheep […]
January 15, 2022 |Genesis 4:1-16 DEVOTIONS This Month’s issue It may not surprise you that Americans are rapidly exiting the Christian faith. For every individual who becomes a believer, four leave the church. One source claims that over the next 30 years, one million people per year will choose not to be affiliated with any […]
January 14, 2022 | Ezra 17:1-10 DEVOTIONS This Month’s issue One of the most moving scenes in the Old Testament is when Ezra the priest reads the Law to the returned exiles (Nehemiah 8). He stood on a high wooden platform so all could see and hear. The Levites circulated, instructing the people about the […]
January 13, 2022 |Deuteronomy 17:14-20 DEVOTIONS This Month’s issue The earliest printed collection of William Shakespeare’s plays appeared in 1623. Now called a First Folio, there are only 235 copies still in existence, and only 56 are complete or intact. In 2020, an intact copy was sold for a record-breaking price of nearly $10 million—it […]
January 12, 2022 | Deuteronomy 31:9-13 DEVOTIONS This Month’s issue The phrase Sola Scriptura means “Scripture alone.” This was one of the foundational principles of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformers believed that church tradition had been wrongly elevated to an equal position with God’s Word. Instead, the Bible should be given authority over the church. […]
January 11, 2022 | Proverbs 4:1-9 DEVOTIONS This Month’s issue Two immigrants to Australia found the world’s largest gold nugget! One day in 1869, one of them was digging around the roots of a tree when he discovered a gold “nugget” weighing an estimated 158 pounds. Called the “Welcome Stranger,” it was worth about $3 […]
January 10, 2022 | Philippians 4:4-13 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Christian educators Muriel and Duane Elmer have synthesized a theory of learning they call simply the “Learning Cycle.” In this model, it’s not enough to acquire or retain information. We must also value and apply it. In the long run, true learning changes our habits […]
January 9, 2022 | Luke 6:46-49 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The book of Proverbs paints a vivid image of foolishness: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly” (26:11). The shocking nature of this image makes it hard to forget. Of course, we could also say, “We should learn from our […]
January 8, 2022 | 2 Timothy 2:14-19 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue A recent survey of evangelical Christians found that many hold unbiblical beliefs. Thirty percent thought Jesus was a great teacher, but not God. Forty-two percent thought God accepts worship from any religion. Forty-six percent thought the Holy Spirit is a force not a Person. […]
January 7, 2022 | 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue One helpful definition of “godly learning” or “biblical learning” is offered by Christian college professor Jeffrey Greenman: “Learning, undertaken as an intentionally spiritual pursuit, motivated by a desire to grow in the love of God, grounded in God’s truth, and aimed at being equipped […]