July 31, 2021 | Hebrews 13:20–21 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Commenting on today’s reading, the Africa Study Bible points out: “We can often see if preaching about blessing is false or true by looking at its focus. False teachings about blessings are about meeting our needs, finding our success, and building our strength. Biblical teachings […]
November 11, 2020 | Acts 9:32–10:48 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue While Saul traveled toward Caesarea, Peter was on the move, preaching the gospel and performing miracles at Lydda and Joppa (modern Jaffa). While there, a “devout and God-fearing” man from Caesarea named Cornelius, a Gentile and a Roman officer, had a vision of an angel […]
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 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 […]
September 18, 2020 | 1 Samuel 18:1–30 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When I was growing up, my parents used to buy my shoes at a little shop at the end of our block. Getting a new pair of shoes was always a big deal, an event that warranted a family expedition. Maybe that’s why I […]
September 16, 2020 | 1 Samuel 16:1–23 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Some say the modern age of image-oriented political campaigning began in 1960 with the first televised presidential debate between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. On camera, Kennedy seemed more comfortable than Nixon, whose appearance and awkward manner made him appear less confident to viewers. […]
September 6, 2020 | 1 Samuel 6:1-21 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Every child has experienced that uncomfortable moment when they realize they have crossed the line with a parent. The first clue may be their dad’s stern tone of voice or that pinched look their mom gets. The result is usually a feeling of fear […]
September 4, 2020 | 1 Samuel 4:1-22 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Humans can sometimes fool them-selves in believing that they can control God. Israel knew better. In his book The Divine Commodity, author Skye Jethani observes, “Rather than a religion of superstition or divination, attempting to control and manipulate God, the Hebrew Scriptures called them […]
July 15, 2020 | Romans 12:9–21 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The amount of death and destruction described in the book of Joshua is not for the squeamish. Historian John Bright somewhat jokingly writes, “You simply cannot preach from this book, and you ought not to teach it to children. Shield our gentle ears from violence […]