July 7, 2020 | Joshua 3:1–17 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue A leadership transition can be difficult. In times of uncertainty, a myriad of questions flood people’s minds: How will we make it? What will our future be like? How will our new leader treat us? Churches and ministries can be especially challenged by the complexity […]
July 6, 2020 | Joshua 2:15–24 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne was required to wear a scarlet “A” to signify her shame for having a baby out of wedlock. Humiliation and social stigmatizing were thought to be an appropriate punishment for a woman who committed adultery. If […]
July 5, 2020 | Joshua 2:1–14 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence must have been a surreal moment for the Founding Fathers. They knew the real battle had only begun. There was no turning back. And in our text today, there was no turning back for Joshua […]
July 2, 2020 | Numbers 14:1–9 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue We first meet Joshua as a young spy. Moses sent Joshua and 11 other leaders, each one from his ancestral tribe, to explore the land of Canaan. But their report back left everyone in dismay. Powerful warriors occupied the land, and fear swept from tent […]
July 1, 2020 | Deuteronomy 34:1–12 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue If you were asked to name a famous basketball player, Michael Jordan might immediately come to mind. Jordan helped the Chicago Bulls claim 6 championships in 8 years and become one of the greatest basketball dynasties of all time. In 1998, Jordan decided it was […]
June 29, 2020 | 1 Corinthians 13 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In his famous sonnet, William Shakespeare praised the steadfast nature of love: The greatest of these is love. 1 CORINTHIANS 13:13 “Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no! it is an ever-fixed […]
June 28, 2020 | 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Educator Michael Bycraft argues that failure can be a valuable experience for children. He explains: “If we have always taught our kids that every test must be an A+, then how do we support them when it isn’t?” He argues there’s a better approach: […]
June 27, 2020 | John 20:19–31 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Four million people, mostly in southwestern India, call themselves “Thomas Christians.” They trace their roots back to the apostle Thomas—the same “doubting Thomas” in today’s reading. Tradition says Thomas went as a missionary to India in 52 A.D. and was martyred in 72 A.D. The […]
Friday, June 26, 2020 This month’s issue Are you having trouble sleeping? A “sound” pillow advertises itself as the solution. It looks like a regular pillow but includes two speakers inside. The pillow is comfortable (you don’t feel the speakers) and you can listen to music as you drift off to sleep. Elijah could […]
JOY WHEN WE FAIL June 25, 2020 | Psalm 73 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue On his album American Prodigal, Christian musician David Crowder sings: As for me, it is good to be near God. PSALM 73:28 “Troubles of this world, will wither up and die That river of tears made by the lonely, someday will […]