Questioning Your Motives

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (NASB).” So Deuteronomy 6:5 tells us. But what is our motivation for doing so? Is it to assure ourselves of eternal life with God. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world, […]

God in the Ordinary — Tending the Flock

It was another night out in the fields, tending the sheep like they did every other night. There they were, standing watch over the sheep. Others depended on these shepherds for their livelihood, their sustenance. Each night they did the mundane, the routine. This was their life. Each day we perform the routine, the mundane. […]

Proactive Devotion

I have been reading 1 Chronicles about the ebb and flow of the Israelites faith in God with each new king. In chapter 14 Asa becomes king after the death Abuja’s. Verse 2 tells us, “Asa did good and right in the sight of the LORD his God (NASB).” As I read the subsequent verses, […]

A Second Chance

God is a god of second chances. If you wonder about the depth of His grace, consider Jonah. He ignored God’s command and ran from Him. Yet God continued to pursue him by pressing into his life. God used a severe storm to get his attention, yet Job still did not give in to God. […]

Pulled From the Depths by God’s Grace

He ran away from God’s call on his life — disobeyed God’s command. He tried to hide, tried to flee, but the storm pressed in on him. His disobedience affected others, threatened their lives. So he was tossed into the sea. Imagine the guilt Jonah felt as he was tossed overboard, sinking into the depths […]

Building Blocks of Faith

What makes us fruitful for God’s Kingdom? 2 Peter 1:5-7 shows us the building blocks of an active faith in Jesus that produces fruit: “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence: in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, […]

Blessings That Spur a Fear of the Lord

The blessings that God bestowed on Israel were not for their own enjoyment, rather it was so that other nations would know God and his salvation. As the last verse of the Psalm 67 states, “May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.”

The Discipline of Trauma

When I reflect back on so many traumatic events in my life, I recall the pain and hurt. In the middle of those events, sometimes I wondered what God was doing. Yet when I look at my life today, I know those events helped to shape who I am. My faith is deeper for having […]

Do Gooders

It’s not hard to see the results of sin in the world. The news is filled with many of its consequences. Galatians 5:19-21 tells us: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and […]

Your Story of Faith

What is your story of faith? When we think of the people in the Bible like David and Moses, we know their story; how they struggled in life; their fervent prayers to God; their faithfulness even in distress; and their failures. We can read how they struggled yet remained true to God. Do people know […]