THE NARROW DOOR OF SALVATION March 20, 2020 | Luke 13:22–30 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue This Month’s Issue According to research by the Barna Group, people who don’t talk about faith are motivated by either “avoidance or ambivalence.” When asked why religious talk makes them change the subject, participants explained: (1) “Religious conversations always seem […]
GOD’S LAW ON THE DOORFRAMES March 19, 2020 | Deuteronomy 6:1–12 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue As an enslaved 13-year-old, future abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass trusted in Christ for salvation. One biographer observed: “Frederick always hungered for knowledge, but after his conversion he had an insatiable desire to read and understand the Bible.” At that time, […]
BLOOD ON THE DOORFRAMES March 18, 2020 | Exodus 12:1–28 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Inspired by a family friend whose blood donation saved his life when he was a baby, Marco Perez decided to do the same. An Air Force veteran and postal worker in Texas, he donated blood every two weeks (the maximum possible). […]
SERVING SIDE BY SIDE February 29, 2020 | Esther 9:29–10:3 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When the Church operates according to God’s design, we serve effectively to accomplish His will. Unity should be the hallmark of God’s people, but it’s not always easy. From biblical times to this present day, God has drawn a variety of […]
THURSDAY , FEBRUARY 27, 2020 “WAITING IN PRAYER” SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 40:1 EXPOSITION: Prayer is one of the most talked about topics in Christendom but the least practiced in the closet. Many people would prefer others to pray for them than spend time with God in prayer. Some people only pray when they go to […]
February 23, 2020 | Esther 8:1–8 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue A “reversal of fortune” happens in a story when a character’s circumstance changes so dramatically it becomes the exact opposite of what it had been. The book of Esther is full of these examples, and today we find a few more. For if, while we […]
FULL IDENTITY REVEALED February 21, 2020 | Esther 7:1–4 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue American comic heroes often have a “secret identity.” The true nature of the superhero is known by the reader, but it is carefully concealed from the antagonist and other characters in the story. Only on a rare and significant occasion is their […]
WHY DELAY? February 16, 2020 | Esther 5:5b–9a DEVOTION This Month’s Issue According to one newspaper report, Americans spend roughly 37 billion hours waiting in lines each year. Researchers added: We are far more satisfied with our “queuing experience” when we have something to do while we wait. We prefer forward movement toward our goal—rather […]
CHARACTER TRANSFORMED February 15, 2020 | Esther 5:1–5 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Don’t you love it when a character finally learns an important lesson and changes for the better? This transformation, in literature, is called the “character arc”—the way in which the main character develops and grows as a result of the story’s conflict. And […]