Daily Devotionals

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":

Genesis 50

I've been giving a lot of thought these days to the subject of God's will. While engaged in a study of that issue recently, I came across a term we rarely use or read these days: providence.

The root meaning of providence is "foresight...to see in advance" or "to provide for." But those definitions could leave us with too shallow an understanding. Providence contains far more than a passive reference to God's foreknowledge.

Matthew 25:34-36

As one understanding soul expressed it: "Compassion is not a snob gone slumming. It's a real trip down inside the broken heart of a friend. It's feeling the sob of the soul. It's sitting down and silently weeping with your soul-crushed neighbour."

Jeremiah 6:14, 8:11, Matthew 24:6-7, 11

2 Corinthians 6:1-10

Remember me? I'm the guy who promotes waiting. Allowing the Lord to open the doors, clear the way, smooth the path, shove you through. You know, all the stuff you expect a preacher to say.