September 28, 2020 | 1 Samuel 29:1–11 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Some television drama series involve multiple storylines. These complex narratives weave in and out but are usually all part of one larger story. The same is true of biblical narratives. As storm clouds gathered for Saul, David was facing a different kind of jeopardy […]
September 27, 2020 | 1 Samuel 28:3–25 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Many people find silence to be awkward. Studies have shown that long pauses in conversation can produce negative emotions in some people. Maybe this happens because silence is often perceived as a sign of disagreement. Seek the LORD while he may be found; call […]
FEAR AND FAITH September 26, 2020 | 1 Samuel 27:1–28:2 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Feeling a bit discouraged today? Being a Christ-follower does not mean you will never have difficult days. “Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down,” declared 19th-century preacher Charles Spurgeon, “The strong are not always vigorous, […]
September 25, 2020 | 1 Samuel 26:1–25 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue New Tribes missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham were kidnapped and held for more than a year by terrorists in the Philippines, an ordeal that ended with Martin’s death. In the book that describes her experience, Gracia tells how the Scriptures were a source of […]
September 24, 2020 | 1 Samuel 25:1–44 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue According to the Mayo Clinic, impulsive anger disorder is a pattern of behavior marked by “repeated, sudden episodes of impulsive, aggressive, violent behavior or angry verbal outbursts in which you react grossly out of proportion to the situation.” Its symptoms include rage, irritability, racing […]
September 23, 2020 | 1 Samuel 24:1–22 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue A popular saying goes, “I don’t get mad. I get even.” Another word for this is revenge. It is not unusual for people to want to see those who have treated them unjustly punished. Even those who are godly have sometimes prayed that the […]
September 22, 2020 | 1 Samuel 23:1–29 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Did you know that the average man will travel 900 miles while being lost? A study sponsored by a company that makes GPS devices also revealed that men are typically the ones who refuse to stop and ask for directions. Many reasons have been […]
September 21, 2020 | 1 Samuel 21:1–22:20 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In his first inaugural address, delivered at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Fear is a powerful […]
September 20, 2020 | 1 Samuel 20:1–42 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When Jesus began His public ministry, His family was shocked. At one point, when He was preaching to a large crowd in a house, his family members tried to remove Him by force, claiming that He had lost His mind (Mark 3:21). Jesus […]
September 19, 2020 | 1 Samuel 19:1–24 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue According to tradition, the emperor Constantine saw a vision of a blazing cross against the sun and words which said, “In this sign, you will conquer.” Constantine’s troops placed this symbol, made up of the Greek letters Chi and Rho, on their shields. He […]