The first king of Israel, King Saul,was told by God to utterly slay Amalek and his descendants. In blatant disobedience Saul allowed Agag, the king of the Amalekites and the best of the cattle to remain alive. The following day, Saul tried to remedy his disobedience by attempting to sacrifice the best of the cattle to the Lord.
...continue reading this devotion.
Leonardo da Vinci, who excelled at many things — as a painter, sculptor, poet, architect, engineer, city planner, scientist, inventor, anatomist, military genius, and philosopher said a wise thing…
...continue reading this devotion.
The Shema is recited every Shabbat in Israel and throughout the world: āHear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.ā The emphasis is on hearingānot just with our ears but our hearts. That same emphasis runs through the Gospels, where Yeshua (Jesus) repeatedly says, āHe who has ears to hear, let him hear.ā This isnāt just a phrase; itās a life-changing command.
...continue reading this devotion.
Yesterday, I was talking to good friend of ours in the States who loves to fish. Fishing is one of his favorite activities and he goes quite frequently. As we were talking, he happened to mentioned some disappointment about a friend canceling a fishing trip they were to going to enjoy. I replied, āBro, maybe the Lord wants you to go fishing for men today!ā
...continue reading this devotion.
When the Lord gave Jonah a second chance, He didn’t change His mind about the prophet’s destination. He didn’t lighten the load or change the burden Jonah was destined to carry. There was no negotiation with Jonah where the Lord expressed understanding about his reluctance to go to Nineveh. God didn’t concede to send him to Tarshish just because he’d been heading in that direction anyway. Jonah’s disobedience and repentance produced a clear and simple result…
...continue reading this devotion.
While most read the story of Jonah focusing on Jonah’s journey, I want to pause and examine the lives of the pagan sailors. What a journey they were on! We see the hand of God touching them providentially through Jonah’s disobedience. Talk about God bringing good from evil.
...continue reading this devotion.
One constant pitfall we must watch for is taking credit for something that God does in or through us, or using the gifts and callings of God for self-exaltation. In that light it may be easier to handle poverty, weakness, or insignificance, than wealth, ability, power or authority, since poverty and frailty are not normally things we boast about, and they cause us to recognize our need for God. Prosperity, gifting, and anointing, on the other hand can be powerful temptations, leading to pride, covetousness, and self-sufficiency.
...continue reading this devotion.