SUPPORTING THE PRIESTHOOD OF GOD March 26, 2019 | 2 Chronicles 31 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Even in the most affluent congregations in America, there appears to be little sacrificial giving. Statistics in 2018 report that on average believers gave 2.5 percent of their annual income to the church. As John Piper has noted, “The […]
IMPERFECT, YET STILL PASSOVER March 25, 2019 | 2 Chronicles 30 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The New Testament continually refers to Christ’s death on the cross to pay for our sin and His resurrection from the dead to offer us new life. The books of Acts through Revelation describe the ways that the church works […]
THE JOY OF CONSECRATION March 24, 2019 | 2 Chronicles 29:1–19 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When a sports team needs to rebuild after a series of losing seasons, it can be difficult for an owner to know where to begin. Hire a new coaching staff? Draft a younger roster? Hire one or two big-name stars? […]
THE REFUGEES OF JUDAH March 23, 2019 | 2 Chronicles 28 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In their book Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis, Stephan Bauman, Matthew Soerens, and Issam Smeir write: “The question of refugees—and refugee resettlement, in particular—has divided the church as well. Many Christians feel torn between the […]
MIGHTY AND YOUNG March 22, 2019 | 2 Chronicles 27 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Social identity is the term used by social psychologists to describe the ways that people express who they are. These ways include making choices that align with their “in-groups” and avoiding behaviors that they associate with their “out-groups.” Social identities can […]
A PATH TO LEPROSY March 21, 2019 | 2 Chronicles 26 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When playing with tools in his father’s workshop at age 3, Louis Braille was struck in the eye by a piece of metal. The injury blinded him, and a subsequent infection took the sight of his other eye. His parents […]
PARTIAL OBEDIENCE March 20, 2019 | 2 Chronicles 25 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Probably every parent of teenagers can relate to this experience: the parent issues an instruction or relays a story, while the teen nods and murmurs “um-hmm” without looking up from his mobile phone. A few minutes later, the parent asks, “Did you […]
MATURE FAITH DOES NOT PURSUE WORLDLINESS March 19, 2019 | James 4:4–6 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue “What a friend we have in Jesus,” a classic hymn rejoices, “all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we […]
MATURE FAITH SUBMITS HUMBLY TO GOD March 18, 2019 | James 4:7–10 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The narrative climax in John Milton’s Paradise Lost is the choice made first by Eve and then by Adam to give in to the serpent’s temptation and disobey God. In Milton’s Paradise Regained, the story’s climax is Jesus’ perfect […]
MATURE FAITH DOES NOT PURSUE SELFISH PLEASURES February 17, 2019 | James 4:1–3 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The first sermon in American history was preached at Plymouth, Mass., on December 9, 1621 by Robert Cushman, a deacon and Puritan leader. His text was 1 Corinthians 10:24, “No one should seek their own good, but the […]