Category Archives: Introducing Devotions

Short pieces introducing the Christian devotional life.

U-Turns

Jesus began His ministry with a simple message, “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15 ). “Repent” is a simple word with lots of religious baggage, so what does it really mean? A few verses will get us to the point and explain how to repent. One […]

God’s Silent Spirit

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. (Gen. 1:1-2) One day, I was hiking down a forest trail when I was startled by a shadow. As it shot past me, I glanced up and saw […]

Praying to the Lord

The Lord’s prayer can be used word for word as a formal prayer but it is likely that Jesus intended it as a bullet point framework for conversation with God. Here it is: Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is […]

Journaling

What is journaling? It is just another word for keeping a written record of what God says. You can use a special book with a floral, cloth-bound cover but a simple three-ring binder works too. Some people prefer a laptop and even turn some of their notes into a blog. The point is – take […]

Brighter than the Lampstands

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and toSardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having […]

The Book of Books

The Bible is a unique book: It is a collection of shorter books, in different styles, written by multiple authors, over a 1500-year period. Unlike other books, it is often best to start near the end. You see, the first part of the Bible (the Old Testament) contains some bad news and most of us […]

Worthy, Worthy, Worthy

Worship is an expression of God’s worth. A passage in the book of Revelation gives four broad reasons He is worthy. They focus on who He is and what He does. The first reason is His nature: The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they […]