Devotion Archive
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Devotion for October 23, 2020
“So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them.” (Numbers 25:3) In this story we see that Israel brings a curse and plague on itself. And in Numbers 31:16, we learn that it was Balaam (see also Numbers 22-24) who advised their enemies to seduce the Israelites in…
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Devotion for October 22, 2020
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) God’s peace is a wonderful thing. And some of the people around you today…
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Devotion for October 21, 2020
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:3) Do you not know? Paul assumes that the baptized Christian faithful know what has happened to them. In Holy Baptism, you are united with Christ in His death and resurrection. They are literally…
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Devotion for October 20, 2020
“Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel.” (Numbers 24:1) The king of Moab wanted Balaam to curse Israel, but he couldn’t. Balaam could only speak blessings as the Lord gave him words to say. In this passage we find that he blessed Israel by saying that they would flourish like a well-watered…
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Devotion for October 19, 2020
“God said to Balaam, ‘Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.’” (Numbers 22:12) It’s not unusual to hear Christians say “I am blessed” when someone asks how they are doing. Israel was indeed blessed. When God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants,…
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Devotion for October 18, 2020
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2) The Ten Commandments are beautiful. They were given to the people of Israel, who had been liberated from slavery in Egypt and were being led through the wilderness into a land flowing…
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Devotion for October 17, 2020
“… for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.” (Proverbs 24:16) On the night of December 9, 1914, Edison Industries was destroyed by fire. The loss exceeded two million dollars, along with the majority of Thomas Edison’s work. He was insured only for $238…
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Devotion for October 16, 2020
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’” (Numbers 21:8) Some people like snakes, but a lot of us don’t. We see them as dangerous and even sneaky and suspicious. Israel didn’t like snakes either. Poisonous snakes caused…
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Devotion for October 15, 2020
“Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:22) It is a grave mistake to think that we can just do whatever we want because we’ll be…