July 22, 2020 | Joshua 10:28 – 12:24 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Sauron the Dark Lord of Mordor amasses enormous armies to take over middle earth and spread hate and evil. Peter Jackson’s films capture the scope and scale of these armies like never before, illuminated on the […]
July 21, 2020 | Joshua 10:16 – 27 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When we think about war, we may tend to either romanticize it or discard it altogether. But those who have served in the armed forces know it is brutal. Today’s text recalls the graphic reality of war for Joshua and his army. After […]
July 20, 2020 | Job 38:2–15 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When you think about God and science, do they seem pitted against one another? Some people wrestle with accepting biblical accounts that seem to go against the natural order of things. They ask questions such as: Was the world created by the spoken word of […]
July 19, 2020 | Joshua 10:1–15 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The annual Midnight Sun Game is held in Fairbanks, Alaska, on June 21, the longest day of the year. The game is played through the midnight hour and never uses artificial lights. For residents, it is a way to reflect on the passing year and […]
July 18, 2020 | Joshua 9:1–27 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Have you received an email saying you’ve received a great inheritance? All you need to do, says the sender, is click this link and enter your bank account information. Savvy people know it’s a scam. The sender wants to steal from you. These popular online […]
July 17, 2020 | Joshua 8:30–34 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Many married couples choose to renew their wedding vows. Some do this to celebrate a milestone in their relationship, others to let their friends and family know they would get married again in a heartbeat. Still, others reaffirm vows after successfully surviving a rough period. […]
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 […]
July 14, 2020 | Joshua 7:20–26 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Sherlock Holmes was famous for solving mysteries. The fictional character first appeared in 1887, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The hero used his acute observation skills to solve difficult crime cases. In today’s reading, Joshua had a mystery to solve. Who had stolen the […]
July 11, 2020 | Joshua 6 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue I remember learning about the battle of Jericho as a child in Sunday School. I don’t recall if the story was told using a video, felt board, or reenactment, but I do remember thinking, “How could this be possible?” While I believed God was capable […]