<

Adversity

Stay in Faith, No Matter What!

During the Biblical festival of Shavuot, the book of Ruth is read. It’s a powerful story of faith, restoration and redemption. The book opens with a famine in all the land surrounding Bethlehem, forcing a difficult decision upon Naomi’s husband, Elimelech. Now, Bethlehem (beth: “house”, lechem: “bread”) literally means “house of bread”, so the irony of Elimelech’s departure from his home, “house of bread”, during a famine, is lost on English speaking readers, but reveals that every detail in the word of God can be meaningful, especially the meanings of names.

...continue reading this devotion.

Just go forward!

The Lord spoke to Moses, who led the children of Israel out of Egypt to be desperately cornered with the Red sea before them and Pharaoh’s chariots advancing upon them from behind. Overwhelmed with terror they cry out to Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Having just miraculously escaped from the miserable life of slavery, and only beginning their new life of freedom, the children of Israel were faced with the most dire threat to their existence.

...continue reading this devotion.

Learn a Lesson From History!

For the past two weeks we’ve been building life lessons derived from the Exodus wanderings and from Paul’s exhortations to the church in Corinth. Notice carefully that Paul says, “these were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come”…

…that is, written for us today! – admonitions from Paul to learn lessons from the history of the children of Israel.

...continue reading this devotion.

Don’t Test Your Limits!

Here we have a stark word. Here we see the Lord testing Israel: “He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.” [Deuteronomy 8:16]. Yet Paul says that they put Him to the test. A great irony occurs when God is testing us, and we despise His discipline, thereby testing Him.

...continue reading this devotion.

Follow the Lord with all that you have!

In this NT passage Paul distinguishes the multitudes of Israelites who never entered the Promised Land, in that they never apprehended the destiny which God intended for them, but, instead, perished in the wilderness. The only adults that entered the Promised Land were Joshua and Caleb. What distinguished Joshua and Caleb? A “different spirit”.

...continue reading this devotion.