Daily Devotionals

Genesis 2:2–3:15, 31:38–42; Colossians 3:22–25

I have just taken my Webster’s Dictionary off the shelf and looked up "thorough." He says it means “carried through to completion, careful about detail, complete in all respects.”

1 Corinthians 15:50–58

One evening my wife and I were enjoying a quiet conversation together. We were sipping some fresh-perked coffee, the house was unusually still, and there were no plans to go anywhere that evening. You know, one of those priceless moments you wish you could wrap up and reserve for later use when it’s really needed again. 

Philippians 2:1–2

As we discussed in Part One, Martin Luther, hero of the Protestant Reformation, was a maverick, a classic shaker and mover. Alone...independent...invincible. He needed no one but God to lean on.

Or did he? 

Is that true of any “hero”? 

Mark 10:35-45

Up-front heroes are often seen as being larger than life. Overstated. That’s unfortunate. 

Romans 5:3-5

Romans 8:28-30

Ever felt sorry for certain Scriptures? I sure have. I’m talking about passages like John 3:17, Hebrews 4:13, 1 John 1:10, and Philippians 4:14. Great verses, all...yet the popularity of their next-door neighbours has resulted in their being virtually ignored. 

Colossians 3:1–17

As I mentioned yesterday, as stimulating and invigorating as change may be—it is never easy. And when it comes to certain habits that haunt and harm us, change can be excruciating. But it isn’t impossible. 

1 John 3:1–5

*Sensitive topic warning. The following post talks about suicide. 

If tears were indelible ink instead of clear fluid, all of us would be stained for life. The heartbreaking circumstances, the painful encounters with calamities, the brutal verbal blows we receive from the surgeon or an angry mate, the sudden loss of someone we simply adored, riding out the consequences of a stupid decision—ah! Such is the groan and grind of life. 

Hebrews 12:1–3; Psalm 91:1–2

What is perspective? 

Well, it’s obviously related to the way we view something. The term literally suggests “looking through...seeing clearly.” One who views life through perspective lenses has the capacity to see things in their true relations or relative importance. He sees the big picture. She is able to distinguish the incidental from the essential...the temporary from the eternal...the partial from the whole...the trees from the forest. 

1 John 2:15-17; Mark 4:19

We’ve been talking about Jesus’ parable in Mark 4:1–20 about the farmer who sows seeds in four different types of soil. As I mentioned in Part One, I’m bothered by the third group because thorns come in and destroy the healthy growth of the Christian. It is interesting that the thorns were already present at the time the seed entered, and that the thorns were never completely out of the picture even though the seeds began to take root (Mark 4:7).