September 5, 2020 | 1 Samuel 5:1-12 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue “My dad is stronger than your dad,” said a little boy to his friend. This childish competition mirrors the way people in the ancient world thought about their gods. The Philistines placed the captured ark inside the temple of Dagon as a spoil of […]
FAITH AND DOUBT April 30, 2020 | Matthew 28:16–20 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In one parable, Jesus told the story of a man in hell who pleaded with Abraham to send someone back from the dead to warn his brothers of the danger. Abraham refused the man’s request: “If they do not listen to Moses […]
SURPRISE RETURN April 24, 2020 | Matthew 24:36–44 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue “Are we there yet?” Any parent who has taken the family on a long road trip has heard this question. Fortunately, modern GPS technology has made the answer simple to find. If only it made the waiting easier to bear! Therefore keep watch, […]
INADEQUATE FAITH April 21, 2020 | Matthew 17:14–21 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue There is no more helpless feeling than that of parent by the bedside of their ill child. It’s been called “a deep and hollowing pain.” Jesus, who often ministered to the sick and their families, certainly knew this. That’s what makes His reaction […]
AN UNLIKELY BELIEVER April 19, 2020 | Matthew 15:21–28 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Who are your heroes of faith? They may be martyrs who faced death for the sake of the gospel or missionaries who have endured hardship. These individuals look like heroes, at least to us. They expect great things from God and attempt […]
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). […]
BY FAITH ALONE January 23, 2020 | Romans 1:11–17 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue One of the major reformers of Christianity was the German monk Martin Luther. Before he posted his 95 Theses on the church doors in 1517, protesting the church’s corruption, Luther wrestled with his own salvation. He was tormented by his own sinfulness, […]
GOD OF JUSTICE September 5, 2019 | Psalm 7 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Seventeen-year-old Shareef Cousin found himself the youngest person in the United States on death row. Shareef had been convicted of murder even though he had what seemed like an airtight alibi. Afterward it was determined that the detective on the case lied […]
NOT TOO PROUD TO BEG September 4, 2019 | Psalm 6 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Navy Seals undergo a rigorous physical and mental trial appropriately named “Hell Week.” During, this week the new recruits are constantly in motion. They are required to run, swim, do sit-ups and push-ups, endure cold water, and accomplish difficult tasks, […]
MY CLINICAL ROTATION DIARY Talking about feeling stupid…midway into my rotation in one of the first departments, I began to wonder what I was doing studying medicine. It felt like the past 5 years in med school was a waste. Worse still the way they “drilled” (my modest word for ridicule) us made me feel […]