THE DOORS OF SOLOMON’S TEMPLE March 7, 2020 | 1 Kings 6:11–38 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Renaissance sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti designed special bronze doors for a cathedral in Florence, Italy. Called the “Gates of Paradise,” they stand 17 feet high and weigh 4.5 tons. Artistically, they feature ten richly detailed panels depicting stories from the […]
GATES OF DEATH March 6, 2020 | Psalm 9:1–14 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The Bible’s gates of hell or “gates of death” (v. 13) may remind Lord of the Rings fans of the Black Gate of Mordor. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s books and the movie adaptations, the Black Gate is a fearsome structure—dark, huge, seemingly invulnerable, […]
THE GATE OF HEAVEN March 5, 2020 | Genesis 28:10–22 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Have you ever passed an antique wardrobe and wondered if there might be a wintry world on the other side? In C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, a wardrobe provides a gateway to Narnia. Lewis seemed fond […]
A GATE CALLED BEAUTIFUL March 4, 2020 | Acts 3 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Robotic suits can help disabled individuals walk again! Experimental bionic limbs or “wearable robots” are currently used only in rehabilitation and physical therapy settings, but as materials get lighter, computers get smarter, and batteries last longer, designers hope this technology will […]
GATES AND THE SABBATH March 3, 2020 | Jeremiah 17:19–27 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue If you’re familiar with the story of Ruth, you might remember how Boaz “asked permission” to marry her (Ruth 4:1–12). Boaz was legally required to negotiate with a relative who had a prior claim on the widow and her land. When […]
PROTECTION AND SECURITY March 2, 2020 | Judges 16:1–21 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When I was a child, my father installed a deadbolt on the front door of our home. Since at the time it was the safest lock we knew, we felt very well-protected! Times have changed, though, and nowadays many homeowners set up […]
GATES AND DOORS March 1, 2020 | Psalm 24 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue If you close your eyes, can you picture the door of your childhood home? Maybe you remember unlatching the gate that led to your backyard? If you returned to these same places today, you might pause—before you walked through—to remember the past. […]
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 […]
REMEMBER AND OBSERVE February 28, 2020 | Esther 9:20–28 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Our eight-year-old daughter, Amelia, loves to celebrate her adoption from China. Every January she wants to go to the mall where I first received the call from our caseworker. She begs to ride the little mall train that her brother Daryl rode […]
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 […]