Category: Daily Devotions

“So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.’” (John 20:25) Some of us have taken the message of…

“‘You [Jesus] are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans).” (John 4:9) U.S. President Ronald Reagan may best be remembered for his Berlin Wall speech. In 1987, standing near the wall that separated East Berlin from West Berlin, Reagan…

“And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) Jesus did not come to Earth with religious denominations in mind. Yet, today there are hundreds of denominations calling themselves Baptists, Anglicans, Methodists, Pentecostals, Protestants, Roman Catholics, etc.,…

“When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’” (Luke 19:5) Greedy people tend to be rather unpopular, partly because they can’t be trusted. Look the other way, and they might try to get more of something for themselves: money, possessions,…

“True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.” (Malachi 2:6) From the very first chapter of Genesis, it’s clear that a relationship with God is the foundation upon which everything in our lives must be built.…

“One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24) “Friend” is a watered-down word. Here is a noun that, through social media, has been turned into a verb, and also has come to mean something much different than it should. It’s no…

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds …” (James 1:2) It takes a long time and an incredible amount of pressure to turn a worthless piece of carbon into a valuable diamond. That’s why James writes: “Consider it a sheer gift … when tests and challenges come at you…

“Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’” (Luke 5:31-32) An elder of the inner-city church where I served advised me that if I was serious about connecting with families in the local neighborhood, I had…

“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10) Job lost his family and his fortune in a single day. Yet, looking back he wrote, “When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” It takes much more heat to produce…