Devotionals

Nahum 1

Storm clouds gather. Problem is, they’re the wrong kind. We need rain desperately, but these clouds hold no rain. These clouds are depressing, not unlike the kind Winston Churchill described in his first volume on World War II, which he titled The Gathering Storm. I cannot forget his terse, apt description of those months prior to the Nazi blitzkrieg that ultimately levelled much of London: "the future was heavy with foreboding.”

Isaiah 53:10–12

No need to prolong the story. Or complicate it. Or embellish it. Or try to explain it. Or defend it. Just declare it. The facts speak for themselves.

Jesus of Nazareth said He would be "in the heart of the earth" three days and nights (Matthew 12:40). Later, He said that He would "suffer...be killed, and be raised up on the third day" (Matthew 16:21).

Betrayed by Judas, He was seized, placed under arrest, pushed hurriedly through several trials (all of them illegal), and declared guilty...first of blasphemy, next of treason (Luke 22:70–23:24).

Garage/garden suits and secondary suites were offered as different types of affordable housing that could work in Strathmore. Town council discussed garage or garden suites during the last council committee of the whole meeting.

Right now there are about five legal secondary suites in Strathmore and 13 Garden suites located along Strathmore Lakes Common.

John 20:1–10

On the day Jesus was crucified, a sinister darkness blotted out the sun and smothered Jerusalem under a blanket of evil. It would have appeared to anyone seeing through eyes of flesh that the darkness, the Devil, and death had defeated the Son of God once and for all. But what no one could see was that the Messiah’s death would strike at the very heart of evil.

Job 19:25–26

Easter and hope are synonymous. That special day never arrives without its refreshing reminder that there is life beyond this one. True life. Eternal life. Glorious life. Those who live on what we might call "the outskirts of hope" need a transfusion. Easter gives it. 

Proverbs 15:13, 15; 17:22

Rules, regulations, and statutes aren't meant to be amusing, but at times they are. Maybe it's because they are supposed to be so all-fired serious that I find some of them downright hilarious. Some examples?

Psalm 31

Years ago my older son, then a teenager, and I dropped by the local Hallmark shop to find Cynthia a card for Mother's Day. Somewhat bored with the process, Curt wandered back to the posters and soon called me to come look at one he liked. It was a picture of a boat on a very still lake at dawn. A father was sitting at one end, his son at the other, fishing. Both were smiling, obviously enjoying those leisure hours together. Two words were neatly printed at the bottom of that exquisite scene of solitude: TAKE TIME.

Romans 6:14

2 Corinthians 9:7

Ephesians 5:33 

The more the grace of God is awakened in a marriage, the less husbands will attempt to control and restrict and the less wives will feel the need to "please no matter what." It makes marriage easier to manage.

Grace releases and affirms. It doesn't smother. Grace values the dignity of individuals. It doesn't destroy. Grace supports and encourages. It isn't jealous or suspicious.