Devotion Archive
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Devotion for February 18, 2022
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:16-17) When our favorite sports team wins, we…
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Devotion for February 17, 2022
“See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” (Isaiah 42:9) The same people who declared Jephthah “persona non grata” were the same ones who turned to him for help when they were threatened by a powerful enemy. So here’s lesson one:…
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Devotion for February 16, 2022
“The voice of joy and the voice of gladness … ‘Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his mercy endures forever’” (Jeremiah 33:11) In the middle of this passage, we have a picture of utter desolation. The Babylonians have destroyed the cities of Judah. Wind blows across empty places with no…
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Devotion for February 15, 2022
“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love.” (2 John 1:6) Because the very essence and nature of God is love, it’s in loving others that we are most like Him. Paul writes, “If I give…
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Devotion for February 14, 2022
“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8) When Israel’s leaders turned to Jephthah for help, they were in distress and wanted to “use” him. So Jephthah said, in essence, “Let’s get an understanding of the type of relationship we’re going to have.” At that point, he negotiated with them and ended up in a…
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Devotion for February 13, 2022
“Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute.” (Judges 11:1) Jephthah was the illegitimate son of a man called Gilead. His mother was a prostitute. He grew up in the household of Gilead’s other legitimate sons who later chased him away. “‘You will not get any of…
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Devotion for February 12, 2022
“All the people gathered together into the square before the WaterGate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was…
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Devotion for February 11, 2022
“You must be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2) This is the start of these instructions from God — given to Moses to give to all the people. What do you think of when you think of holiness? Is it an unobtainable standard based on religious rituals and right beliefs?…
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Devotion for February 10, 2022
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44) We often think of enemies in connection with war: enemies live in other countries and on other continents. But Jesus is focusing much closer to…