Daily Devotionals

1 Peter 3:15–16

One of the toughest assignments in life is to communicate clearly what happened during a time when emotions were high. People who “fall in love” can hardly describe the details of the moment. Those who’ve endured a sudden loss or witnessed a tragic accident often convey the information in a confused manner.

Psalm 8:3–4

We often hear people say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Although sweating the small stuff can occasionally be a drag, there’s another side to that coin. Greatness and attention to detail, in my opinion, are welded together. A great piece of music is like that—carefully arranged orchestration carrying out a majestic melody blending with the surrounding sound of harmony. Haunting chords, rhythm, and lyrics. The choral group that performs is also committed to the fine line. Not much room for the “don’t sweat the small stuff” philosophy.

Jude 1:20–23

During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, the British government began to run low on silver for coins. Lord Cromwell sent his men to the local cathedral to see if they could find any precious metal there. After investigating, they reported: “The only silver we could find is the statues of the saints standing in the corners.”

To which the radical, outspoken soldier and statesman of England replied: “Good! We’ll melt down the saints and put them into circulation!”

Proverbs 5:23

Samson was a he-man with a she-weakness. Although he was born of godly parents, set apart from his birth to be a Nazirite, and elevated to the enviable position of judge in Israel, he never won the battle with lust. Instead, lust eventually conquered him. Several things that illustrate his lustful bent may be observed from the record of his life, eachone in the book of Judges.

Job 1:21–22

Job understood wounds. The words he used to describe them were more than patronizing platitudes and theoretical proverbs. He’d been there and back again. He could write about intense inner suffering in the first person because of his own massive ocean of pain.

No one would deny that the man called Job was “the greatest of all the men of the east” (Job 1:3, KJV). He had earned that title through years of hard work and honest dealings with others. His very name was a synonym for integrity and godliness. Therefore, nobody begrudged his wealth.

Ephesians 5:15–19

I’m passionate about time management. I want efficiency and effectiveness. In fact, a weakness of mine is books on the investment of my time. Books that tell me how to replace being busy with being effective. Books that caution me to think things through before plunging into them.

Thankfully, God’s Word speaks straight to the heart of that issue. The Apostle Paul wrote about it in his letter to the Ephesians:

Psalm 90:12

To me, birthdays are just another routine realization that I’m not getting any younger. I know that because the cake won’t hold all the candles. Even if it could, the frosting would melt before I’d be able to blow all of them out. One year, my kind and thoughtful assistant reminded me of another approach I could take. She gave me a birthday card showing an old guy standing beside a cake covered with candles. On the front, it read: “Don’t feel you’re getting old if you can’t blow out all the candles ...”

And inside: “Just beat ’em out with your cane.”

Hebrews 13:3

On that icy January morning, in a 25-cent-a-night flophouse, a shell of a man who looked twice his age staggered to the washbasin and fell. The basin toppled and shattered.

He was found lying in aheap, unclothed and bleeding from a deep gash in his throat. His forehead was badly bruised, and he was semiconscious. A doctor used black sewing thread that somebody had found to suture the wound. All the while the bum begged for a drink. A buddy shared the bottom of a rum bottle to calm his nerves.

2 Timothy 4:7–8

Growing old, like taxes, is a fact we all must face. Now, you’re not going to get me to declare when growing up stops and growing old starts. But there are some signs we can read along life’s journey that suggest we are entering that inevitable period of transition.

Proverbs 26:23, 26

Leonard was a paragon of respectability. The middle-aged, hardworking lab technician had worked at the same Pennsylvania paper mill for 19 years. Having been a Boy Scout leader, an affectionate father, a member of the local fire brigade, and a regular churchgoer, he was admired as a model in his community.