God’s Heart in the World
Read: 1 Samuel 2:27-36 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. (v. 35) I occasionally substitute teach at our local middle school. As you might imagine, middle schoolers sometimes have a tendency to forget what their regular teacher expects of […]
Learning to Walk
Read: 1 Samuel 1:21-2:10 He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. (v. 9) My daughter never learned to crawl as a baby. Crawling is an essential skill that teaches balance and valuable parallel movement. So when she […]
To Make the Empty Full
Read: 1 Samuel 1:1-11 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. (v. 10) The best stories begin with someone in a serious predicament. Important dreams or plans have fallen to pieces. Someone gets fired from a job, jilted by a love interest, or goes bankrupt. First Samuel begins, almost classically, with […]
Passing the Test
Read: 2 Corinthians 13:1-10 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. (v. 6) I have a recurring stress dream. It’s the last day of a semester, and I’m about to enter an exam for which I have not studied. Upon further reflection, I realize I haven’t done any of the […]
Perfect in Weakness
Read: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you.” (v. 9) Members of my congregation occasionally express frustration with Christians who claim God will answer every prayer, “As long as you have enough faith.” At the same time, they ask, “If God has the power to grant our requests, why doesn’t […]
Boasting in the Lord
Read: 2 Corinthians 10:1-6, 13-18 Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. (v. 17) The wife of a well-known, brilliant professor once recounted to me a conversation with her future mother-in-law, who gave this advice: “Make sure you don’t compliment him too much. It will go to his head, and he’s already too boastful.” […]
October 2023 Prayer Guide
ALBANIA — The Words of Hope team in Albania seeks to develop biblical content that is produced by Albanians for Albanians. Because of this, they are focusing on training emerging authors. Last spring a special workshop was held for Albanian devotional writers. Now the team is working to keep in touch with the participants, collect […]
The Indescribable Gift
Read: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 God loves a cheerful giver. (v. 7) In the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey spends his life serving others, often at the cost of his dreams. George believes his efforts have been wasted, but a heavenly messenger gives George a glimpse of his irreplaceable impact on the world. This […]
Good Grief
Read: 2 Corinthians 7:2-13 Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation. (v. 10) In recent years, protests have erupted across America. Depending on which side of an issue you identify with, you’ll consider a given protest needlessly destructive or justifiably disruptive. But at its best, protest takes on the shape of lament: honest assessment […]