Today’s devotional is from a book I co-authored with Ardythe Kolb entitiled Daily Walk with Jesus available here in paperback and e-reader. I John 2:17 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever. Most often when we’re in a stew about something that’s going wrong, our problem is about time. We live in a minuscule slice of eternity, but it’s all we have, so we panic over…
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The Bible’s definition of faith is “the trust that God exists and that He is the creator and ruler of all things.” The meaning of faith doesn’t stop there. Biblical faith is “a deep conviction, a firm trust God gives to believers, resulting in eternal salvation through Jesus Christ.” As believers, we wait and hope with joy and a full confidence, for this…
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I wonder if God gave us seasons, especially spring to bring us hope of His renewing power. Sometimes our lives look as bleak as the landscape in winter with dead brown grass that looks like it will never be green again. Naked trees wave their arms in stiff, winter winds. We wonder if we’ll ever see them…
Mark 5:36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” A synagogue official sought Jesus for healing. His daughter lay dying. On the way to the official’s house, a messenger arrived with the awful news. “Your daughter has died. Why trouble the Teacher anymore?” (Mark 5:35) Jesus turns to the father and says the scripture for today. The word “afraid” here is , “to put to flight by…
Joel 2:13 (The Lord says) “And rend your heart and not your garments. Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, and relenting of evil.” God is telling us here to do a 180 degree turn. To examine our will, heart, soul, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory, conscience, and heart to obtain moral character. This is internal where only God sees; not external where people see. He urges us to…
Micah 7:19 He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. Yes, Thou wilt cast all their (our) sins into the depths of the sea. Our God is a God of compassion, of mercy. He loves us deeply with a love that never lets us go. This scripture tells us that He is going to bring our bondages, our perversity, depravity, and guilt under His foot. In other words, He captures the things that put us…
Psalm 112:4 Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous. Many times we find ourselves at a crossroads. Do we go right or left, or straight ahead? We need God’s wisdom, His instruction because only He knows the end from the beginning. When we invite Him into a decision we can expect His sure guidance. His light. His instruction. There is one qualification here. We must be upright in His eyes. That word…
Psalm 139: 7 Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? This scripture shows one of the qualities of God—His omnipresence. He is everywhere at all times. He doesn’t go out to lunch or on a vacation. We never get a voice message of, “I’m not here at the moment but if you leave your name and number, I’ll return your call at my earliest convenience.” No matter the hour, day or night,…
With Ebola banging on our door it might be a wise thing to search God’s word, the Bible, for His prescription for our healing. He has a prescription for all our needs whether it be physical, mental, or emotional healing. Here is a page from my new book Looking Deeper. Exodus 15:26 And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear…
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. God doesn’t reveal His secret counsel to the casual inquirer. This passage tells us He shares His business with His servants. A servant here is defined as a worshiper of God in the Strong’s Concordance. He promises to reveal, to make known, His plans in the secret counsel, in familiar conversation. Conversation is defined as, “Informal interchange of thoughts, information, by…