February 14, 2021 | Romans 8:1–13 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The problem of humanity’s inability to keep God’s law was not a New Testament problem. The Old Testament recognized it as well. In Jeremiah 31:33, the Lord delivers this promise: “’This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ […]
February 13, 2021 | Romans 7:15–25 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Many who struggle with addictions have found help by joining a twelve-step program. Developed by Alcoholics Anonymous, the twelve steps begin by having participants admit that they are powerless over their addiction and that their lives have become unmanageable. The key to healing lies in […]
February 11, 2021 | Romans 6:1–23 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Juneteenth commemorates the day that Union General Gordon Granger announced to former slaves in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War had ended, and they were free. The announcement came two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This was life-changing good […]
February 10, 2021 | Romans 5:12–21 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In the days before digital pictures, photographic negatives were common. A negative is an image where the light areas are reversed to appear dark, and the dark areas now become light. It creates a mirror of the photograph but is also its opposite. Through the […]
February 9, 2021 | Romans 5:1–11 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lucy Pevensie opens the door of a wardrobe and discovers that it is a gateway to the dreamlike land of Narnia. As she pushes past heavy fur winter coats, she steps out of the wardrobe and into […]
February 8, 2021 | Romans 4:13–25 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue David Macaulay has authored a popular series of books for children (and loved by many adults) that describe The Way Things Work. Using colorful and precisely detailed illustrations, he explains the inner workings of things we encounter every day, such as computers or light or […]
EARNING RIGHTEOUSNESS February 7, 2021 | Romans 4:1–12 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue A popular children’s song goes: “Father Abraham had many sons / Many sons had Father Abraham. / I am one of them and so are you. / So let’s just praise the Lord!” Today’s reading explains why those who are in Christ can […]
February 5, 2021 | Romans 3:1–20 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When I was in graduate school, one professor told us that he designed his tests so that nobody could get a 100 percent. Then, he told us not to worry because he graded on a curve. Some believe that God’s law works the same way. […]
February 4, 2021 | Romans 2:17–29 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In most television dramas, the conclusion to a courtroom scene is usually very dramatic. During a final cross-examination, the prosecuting attorney will successfully provoke the accused to break down and confess to the crime. But in real life that dramatic courtroom conclusion rarely happens, cases […]
February 3, 2021 | Romans 2:1–16 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue After the Pharisees condemned Jesus for healing a blind man on the Sabbath, He told them, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some who heard Him say this replied, “What? Are […]