August 2, 2021 | Hosea 1:4–9 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Many prospective parents comb through lists of baby names, considering the meaning of each possibility. They know that names matter. In today’s passage, Gomer gave birth to her first child, a baby belonging to Hosea, and God named the child Jezreel. This name was full […]
August 1, 2021 | Hosea 1:1–3 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Is there any concept as misunderstood as “love”? In romantic movies, love is shown as that euphoric feeling when someone catches our eye. In the news, we hear how love drives both heroic feats and horrific acts of revenge. On social media, the click of […]
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 […]
July 30, 2021 | Revelation 22:1–5 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, anxiety and depression ramped up among people of all ages. The isolated and unstable conditions, constant news reports, and conflicting information increased our feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. People struggled not just with the threat of illness but […]
July 29, 2021 | Isaiah 11:1–9 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue A beautiful portion of Bach’s Cantata No. 208 is titled “Sheep May Safely Graze.” Sheep and shepherd imagery is used to explain how people benefit when they have good leaders: “Sheep may safely graze and pasture/In a watchful shepherd’s sight. /Those who rule, with wisdom […]
July 28, 2021 | Revelation 5 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue On October 31, 2018, a single web of lightning flashed and stretched 440 miles over Brazil. About the distance from Boston to Washington, it was the longest (in distance) lightning strike ever measured. Then on March 4, 2019, a lightning bolt lit up over Argentina […]
July 27, 2021 | Matthew 25:31–46 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Sheep and goats have many similarities, but they are distinctively different. One way to tell the difference is to look at their tails. A goat’s tail goes up, while sheep tails hang down. They also behave differently. While goats eat leaves, twigs, vines, and shrubs, […]
July 26, 2021 | 1 Corinthians 5 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Jesus Christ is both our Good Shepherd and the perfect Lamb of God, sacrificed for our salvation. While under the Mosaic Law animals had to be sacrificed over and over, our Lord Jesus became the perfect Sacrifice who paid that price once for all […]
July 25, 2021 | Mark 14:12–26 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue One of the most famous paintings in the world is The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. The painting shows the moment Jesus announced He would be betrayed, with the disciples reacting in different ways appropriate to their personalities. Other things are going on as […]
July 24, 2021 | Exodus 12:1–28 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue God had heard the cries of His people Israel in bondage in Egypt. He’d sent Moses to Pharaoh with the message, “Let my people go!” He’d also sent increasingly serious plagues to match Pharaoh’s increasingly hardened heart and to demonstrate to everyone that the gods […]