June 17, 2020 | Numbers 14:17–38 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Even after God forgives our sinful failures, there may be lingering consequences. On the 150th anniversary of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1995, the denomination officially lamented and repudiated its slaveholding history. Pledging to work toward racial reconciliation, they apologized “for condoning and/or perpetuating individual […]
June 16, 2020 | Genesis 4:1–16 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The “snowball effect” describes how one sin leads to another. For example, a child steals a cookie, then lies to her mother about it. A man gossips about his boss, then tries to cover it up. A woman cheats on her taxes, then rationalizes it […]
June 15, 2020 | Hebrews 12:1–3 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Christ’s death on the cross was an amazing act of sacrificial love. But was it joyful? Why does Hebrews 12 say that Jesus endured the cross “for the joy set before him” (v. 2)? Pastor and theology professor Geoff Holsclaw explained that in this verse […]
June 14, 2020 | Philippians 1:12–18 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue “You may find yourself fighting against God if you fail to realize as Paul did here that the whole of your past has had the hand of God in it . . . even with failure in the past,” said author Paul Little, speaking about […]
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 […]
AS GOOD AS HIS WORD April 29, 2020 | Matthew 28:1–15 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the linchpin of the Christian faith. “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of […]
A MISUNDERSTOOD QUESTION April 28, 2020 | Matthew 27:45–56 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue After Steve Jobs died, his family reported that his last words were “Oh, wow!” Blues singer Bessie Smith’s last words were “I’m going but I’m going in the name of the Lord.” Singer Frank Sinatra’s final words were less hopeful. It is […]
Too Good for salvation? MONDAY 27/4/20 Ephesians 2:1-10 When Jesus walked this earth, one group of people consistently refused Him—the Pharisees. The most outwardly righteous people of that day couldn’t see themselves as sinners. These religious leaders assumed they had no need for Jesus, who said He came to seek and save the lost (Luke […]
A SURPRISING SILENCE April 26, 2020 | Matthew 27:11–31 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue According to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly, everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Most of us believe it is a virtue to stand up for ourselves, especially when we believe […]
A DISTURBING DINNER April 25, 2020 | Matthew 26:17–30 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Most church congregations follow a familiar order of service. We usually know the number of songs we will sing and when we will pray. We know when to stand and when the pastor will begin the sermon. When the order is changed, […]