Daily Devotionals

1 John 3:16-17

Yesterday, I told you of several appalling cases in which hurting—even dying—people cried out for help only to be blatantly ignored by passersby, both Christians and non-Christians.

Luke 10:30–37

Kitty Genovese was brutally attacked as she returned to her apartment late one night. She screamed and shrieked as she fought for her life...yelling until she was hoarse...for 30 minutes...as she was beaten and abused. Thirty-eight people watched the half-hour episode from their windows with rapt fascination. Not one so much as walked over to the telephone and called the police. Kitty died that night as 38 witnesses stared in silence.

Acts 8:26–40

Yesterday, I told you about several methods of evangelism that are ineffective, or at least are not the full picture of how God desires His children to share the good news with others. Today, I want to tell you about an alternative. A method that works...and also glorifies the One it should glorify: the Saviour.

Psalm 147:2–3

A number of years ago, on Valentine’s Day, a couple was enjoying a romantic drive along a wooded section near Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Something white, shimmering in the trees, caught their eyes. Their investigation led them to a dead teenager hanging from a limb, a white bedsheet knotted tightly around his neck. A farewell note, laced with despair, was near the trunk of the tree. It was addressed simply to “Mom and Dad.”

Philippians 4:11-13

Shakespeare called it “the green sickness.” Bacon admitted “it has no holidays.” Horace declared that “tyrants never invented a greater torment.” Barrie said envy “is the most corroding of the vices.” Sheridan referred to it in his play The Critic when he wrote, “There is not a passion so strongly rooted in the human heart as this.” Philip Bailey, the eloquent English poet of yesteryear, vividly described it as “a coal [that] comes hissing hot from hell.”

Galatians 5:25–26

What exactly is envy? How does it differ from its twin, jealousy? Envy (the more sophisticated of the two) is a painful and resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another...accompanied by a strong desire to posses the same advantage. Envy wants to have what someone else possesses. Jealousy wants to possess what it already has. Jealousy is coarse and cruel. Envy is sneaky and subtle. Jealousy clutches and smothers. Envy is forever reaching, longing, squinting, thinking (and saying) sinister insinuations.

Psalm 141:3–4

Can you keep a secret?

Can you? Be honest, now. When privileged information passes through one of the gates of your senses, does it remain within the walls of your mind? Or is it only a matter of time before a leak occurs? When the grapevine requests your attention from time to time, do you refuse to help it climb higher, or do you encourage its rapid growth, fertilizing it by your wagging, unguarded tongue? When someone says, “Now this is confidential,” do you respect their trust or ignore it...either instantly or ultimately?

Ephesians 4:20-25

GENTLEMEN:

Enclosed you will find a check for $150. I cheated on my income tax return last year and have not been able to sleep ever since. If I still have trouble sleeping, I’ll send you the rest.

Sincerely,
______________

This note was actually received by the Internal Revenue Service some time ago. We chuckle because the sender was willing to be honest up to a point...just far enough to help relieve his guilty conscience...just far enough to help his sleep to return...but not far enough to make a clean break.

John 14:27

The scene is familiar: a hospital lobby with all the trimmings...soft sofas and folded newspapers...matching carpets and drapes illumined by eerie lighting...a uniformed lady at the desk, weary from answering the same questions...strange smells...and lots of people.

Matthew 25:34–40

Chances are very good that there are those in your church fellowship, workplace, or family who feel unwanted, forgotten, unloved (and unlovely!)—and are more lonely than words can express. I wish to speak on their behalf and in their defence today.