Devotionals

Mark 6

Luke 18:27

We often find ourselves bogging down in our spiritual growth simply because the challenges before us look absolutely impossible. Such frustrations are not new. Jeremiah tells us: "Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You" (Jeremiah 32:17).

Do you realize that whatever thing or things you're calling "impossibilities" could be superimposed over what God says is "nothing" to Him? Nothing!

Romans 7:14-25 

1 Kings 5-6

Sometimes fundamentalists can be the ugly ducklings of Christendom. We sometimes clothe the infinite riches of Christ in unattractive rags! As a result, the treasure of Truth is tainted and cheapened by the way it is presented to the public.

Matthew 6:1-18

If a modern Rip Van Winkle were to awaken from 20 years slumber and stumble into today's world, I suspect he'd be amazed. Some of the changes, even in worship, would make the old gentleman wonder about us.

Picture him sitting on a pew, connecting with God in worship. Then to his amazement, he hears folks clapping! Frowning, he feels suddenly and strangely interrupted. Why are these people applauding? Wasn't that music an offering of praise to the One they have gathered together to worship? Isn't silence—just the awesome sound of silence—sufficient?

Esther 1-10

In our overpopulated, impersonal world, it is easy to underestimate the significance of one. With so many people, most of whom seem so much more capable, more gifted, more prosperous, more important than I, who am I to think my part amounts to much?

Aren't you glad Patrick Henry didn't think that way? And Henry Ford? And Martin Luther King Jr.? And Walt Disney? And Martin Luther? And Winston Churchill? And Jackie Robinson? And Irving Berlin? And Abraham Lincoln? And Charles Wesley? And Marian Anderson?

2 Corinthians 3:17

Paul jumped all over the Galatians for allowing a handful of legalistic Judaizers to invade their lives and clip their wings. Remember his rebuke? "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.... For you were called to freedom, brethren" (Galatians 5:1, 13).

In other words, "Permission granted." Enjoy! Go after it! Be who you are. Give yourself the OK to break the mould and exercise your God-given freedom. Chase those goals with all your heart.

Hebrews 11

Tucked away in the folds of Hebrews 11 is a two-word biography worth a second glance: "he endured" (11:27). The "he" refers to Moses. Moses was the one who hung tough, who refused to give in or give up, who decided that no amount of odds against him would cause him to surrender. He had staying power. He possessed the disciplines of durability.

1 Corinthians 15:58; 1 Peter 5:8-11

Every time you pick up a daily paper or watch the news you see someone protesting something. When I think of "protest," however, my thoughts often turn to that small band of men who had the guts to protest a religious system that had become corrupt to the core.

After a lengthy bout with despair, severe depression, and suicide attempts, writer and poet William Cowper (1731-1800) discovered comfort in God's providence, which led him to write "Shining out of Darkness":