June 27, 2021 | Psalm 103 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In 1835, a music publisher named Charles Bradlee created a tune to help children learn the alphabet. Utilizing a theme by Mozart, Bradlee copyrighted the tune that children all over the United States sing to learn their ABCs. Just like Charles Bradlee, the Israelites knew […]
June 26, 2021 | Psalm 102 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue A few years ago, the church building that I grew up attending was torn down. I was saddened to think that the place where I had spent so much of my childhood, where I had encountered God, would be demolished. While I realized that it […]
June 25, 2021 | Psalm 101 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue “Power corrupts,” as the saying goes, “and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” It is true that there is something about the human condition that makes power dangerous. In his commentary on the Psalms, the reformer John Calvin observed: “Although kings are not born fools, yet they […]
June 24, 2021 | Psalm 99-100 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In 1741, George Frideric Handel was deeply in debt after a string of musical failures. On the verge of his going to debtor’s prison, his friend Charles Jennens wrote the text of an opera based on the life of Jesus Christ and gave it to […]
June 23, 2021 | Psalm 97-98 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue The United States is deeply divided politically. One reason is that many people look to political victories as their primary source of hope for the nation. When their party wins an election, they are elated. When their candidate of choice is defeated, they fall into […]
June 22, 2021 | Psalm 96 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Have you ever wondered why some people propose marriage at large gatherings, such as a professional baseball game? They may want to make the moment memorable by choosing such a setting. They might also feel it’s not enough to declare their love to their […]
June 21, 2021 | Psalm 95 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue University of Michigan football fans call their stadium “the Big House.” When the team scores, the team’s 107,601 fans fill the space with so much cheering and shouting the sound can be overwhelming. One of the reasons why people enjoy watching the college game […]
June 20, 2021 | Psalm 94 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Have you ever tried to play hide-and-go-seek with a two-year-old? It can be pretty comical. I remember playing the game with my son at that age and found him standing next to his bed with his face buried in the covers. He thought, “If I […]
June 19, 2021 | Psalm 92; Psalm 93 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Music is one of the most engaging human activities. When we sing or play an instrument our whole being is engaged—our mind, our heart, and our body. Music unites us. In a choir, a group of unique individuals become one as they sing. […]
June 18, 2021 | Psalm 91 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Every day we are reminded that human life is incredibly fragile. As we look at the world, there are endless threats pressing near—disease, war, famine, and spiritual forces of evil, to name a few. It can be easy to focus on these potential dangers and […]