All for Jesus

Read Romans 13:1 through 16:27 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die; we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:7-8). Throughout church history, whenever people gathered together to worship …

God’s Life-Giving Word

Read Psalms 106:1 through 109:31 Ryan slipped downstairs at midnight, trying not to awaken his wife or their three children. The weary young father needed a little time with Jesus. Overwhelmed by life, he felt like an all-around failure. Ryan prayed, but, when he sensed no immediate reply, he muttered, “I must be failing You too.” Desperate for an escape …

Unite My Heart

Read Psalms 79:1 through 86:17 Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name (Psalm 86:11). In this climax to his prayer for guidance, David turns to the inward person, where the motivations for his actions originate. His desire to form right habits is clear: David …

Conditioned to Fear

Read Psalms 45:1 through 47:9 Tillie, a little brown-and-white dog is terrified of thunder. A series of storms rattled the windowpanes. Sunday through Saturday, it was the same every day. After a week of this, Tillie expected thunder every time it rained. The following Monday a light shower pattered gently against the windowpanes. Trembling, Tillie huddled close to her master, …

Live in Hope

Read Ecclesiastes 3:9-5:20; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58 Whether he was Solomon or some other poor soul, the world-weary writer of Ecclesiastes does not seem to be a cheery fellow. He seems like a guy who would make a gloomy day gloomier. The writer of Ecclesiastes was not necessarily a bore. His book simply reflects the extent of hope one had on …

I Need Help

Read Psalm 11:1 through 18:50 Many of the Psalms are full of praise to God. We sometimes visualize David as peacefully strumming a harp as he quietly watches a flock of sheep grazing on a grassy slope. Psalm 13 presents a different picture. David apparently had doubts, troubling thoughts, and enemies. Things did not always go well for him. In …

The Opening Lines

Read 1 Corinthians 1:1 through 5:13 Members of a writer’s group sat at their normal places. As usual, a debate erupted. One participant had read his new story to the group. They all loved it, but each person wanted a different opening. They felt the beginning was dull. They wanted drama, conflict, action. So, the group discussed various openings to …

Leaving a Mark

Read Job 1:1 through 2:13; John 21:10-25 “I told you I was ill.” That amusing epitaph marks the grave of British comedian Spike Milligan. The gravestone of Martin Luther King Jr. features a line from his 1963 speech in Washington, DC: “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I’m free at last.” The inscription on William Shakespeare’s monument …

Blessed, Not Lucky

Read Esther 1:1 through 2:23 In the summer of 2002, Craig DeMartino nearly died when he fell 100 feet to the ground while rock climbing. But God was working to preserve his life. DeMartino’s climbing partner didn’t usually carry a phone since he couldn’t get a signal in the wilderness. That day, however, he did have a phone – and …

Clean Up the House

Read 2 Chronicles 27:1 through 29:36 John asked Jesus into his heart about a year ago and began attending the youth group meetings on Tuesdays. On the way home one night, something started nagging at his heart. Funny, he had never really thought about it before, but certain movies and music in his collection were not all that edifying. The …