The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
Jacob’s Prayer
Many times circumstances have brought me to my knees before God, especially recently. And the prayers that I pray sound a lot like Jacob’s prayer in Genesis 32:9-12.
Having left his understandably hostile brother some twenty years before, Jacob was fearful for his safety, along with the safety of his family, livestock, goods, and servants, as he approached his father’s home. Having been told that his brother, Esau, was coming to meet him with four hundred men, he…..
The Story of Esau and Jacob
There are lessons to be learned in today’s Church from the dysfunctional family of Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac’s story is found in Genesis 21 – 35. While he was growing up, his father and mother had instilled in him his part of the Abrahamic Covenant confirmed and the prophecy spoken to Abraham by God. And yet Isaac and his wife somehow missed the opportunities to pass this heritage on to their own sons, the…..
The Los Angeles Patriots
No, this devotional is not about a new sports team in Southern California! A report, with drone video confirmation, is making the rounds of the internet that, just last weekend on July 4, 2020, “Los Angeles Banned Fireworks So Patriots Fired Them Off Illegally All Across The City!” In the face of government mandates against any kind of Fourth of July celebration modes, many people in Los Angeles reportedly exercised their First Amendment rights by having…..
Watch and Pray
While Jesus sat with His disciples on the Mount of Olives to the East of Jerusalem, they asked Him when the things He had been talking about would come to pass and how they would know when the prophecies were fulfilled. Mark 13 describes his teachings on this occasion, showing Jesus to be well versed in and effectively using Scripture, and speaking unreservedly in terms of Old Testament imagery. He ends His dissertation with multiple admonitions to…..
The Light On My Path
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105
From the perspective of the twenty-first century, we have the full Word of God, the Bible, on which to rely and from which to learn about God. But when King David wrote this little verse in the longest Psalm of the Bible, his Word of God consisted primarily in the writings of Moses. In the same way,…..
Would You?
The question was recently asked, “If you had lived during Jesus’ time, would you have abandoned Him at His trial like His disciples did?” My answer has to be yes. Those men did not have the luxury of hind-sight or the full Bible to clarify and establish the truth of the cross for them. All they understood was that their only hope of rescue from the Roman Empire was being tried and crucifixion was being advocated by the…..
Second Chance
Matthew 26-27 is one of the places in Scripture that describes the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ. Matthew 28 records the events surrounding His resurrection, His final meeting with his disciples, and the political cover-up attempts by the religious leaders of the day. Throughout these chapters, we see the fulfillment of what Jesus prophesied would happen to Him. But we also see a pattern of redemptive chances available to all who believe, or not, and the heart…..
The Problem with Wood
On November 1, 1918, a Brooklyn Rapid Transit subway train derailed and crashed into the Maldone Street Tunnel entrance killing more than a hundred people and injuring some 250 others. More than a hundred years later, it is still touted as the deadliest subway crash in New York City and ranks among the worst train accidents in the United States. Culpability factors cited concerning the crash include an untrained and inexperienced motorman who was a substitute…..
Peace, Be Still
Shortly after ordaining and empowering His twelve disciples, Jesus was traveling near and across the Sea of Galilee. At each stop, crowds quickly gathered to see Him, hear Him, and observe His miracles. However, on a trip across the sea to Gadara, He performed the only miracle recorded in the Gospel of Mark that does not involve healing, demonic deliverance, or raising from the dead. The miracle in Mark 4:35- 41, in the middle of a list…..
The Lord is My Shepherd
I had not thought about Psalm 23 for some time, until I recently found I needed its comfort.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,…..