An excerpt from an article titled “Jacob and our wrestling match with God,” featured on the website Mishpacha reads as follows: “Like his grandfather before him, Jacob received a new name from God, symbolizing a transformation. Among the understandings of the name Israel are: One who wrestles with God [and] One who is straight (direct, …
Category: Devotionals for All Ages
The Just Judge
Text: 2 Samuel 13:1-29 When King David heard, he was very angry. And though Absalom never spoke to Amnon about this, he hated [him] deeply (vv21-22). The TV show American Greed catalogs stories of scams and schemes that leave trails of broken dreams and shattered lives in their wake. Although the perpetrators are often caught, …
Why the Wall Came Down
Text: Joshua 6:1-20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed (v20). The opening of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 was an unexpected event which stunned the world. For nearly thirty years, the Wall had stood as a …
Battle Strategy
At the height of the Ugandan government’s struggle with a terrorist rebel group, president Museveni turned to the church for help. Army chaplain David Wakalo had received a vision from God in which he was told that the war would not end through force of arms, but through prayer. Thus began Operation Gideon. A team …
Our Father’s Blessing
“So God created mankind in his own image…male and female he created them [and] God blessed them…” Genesis 1:27-28 “…He lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.” Luke 24: 50-51 God’s first act upon creating mankind was to bless them, decreeing …
Cry Out!
Text: Mark 10:46-52 “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v 48). When preacher William Seymour took his message on Holy Ghost baptism to Los Angeles in 1906, he met with stiff resistance. On returning to church the day after his …
The Lord Who Provides
In Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain fantasy series, the hybrid manbeast Gurgi is gifted with an enchanted wallet that never runs out of food. Gurgi is thrilled with the gift and seizes every opportunity to share its contents with his companions as they embark upon their various quests. Factoring into Gurgi’s enthusiasm and pride …
For Such A Time As This
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo."So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of …
Choices
In April of 1521, a biblical scholar stood before an assembly of the Holy Roman Empire led by King Charles V. The theologian had recently been excommunicated by Pope Leo X for a series of writings. When charged by the king to recant his messages, Martin Luther boldly declared that he would be swayed by …
Light of the World
The US Federal Reserve offers an online currency education program whereby the public can study the security features of various dollar bills. Driving this is the idea that the best way to spot counterfeit notes is to be intimately familiar with authentic notes. The better acquainted one is with originals, the less chance there is …
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