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Meanwhile, the people of Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out,and there is so much rubble we cannot rebuild the wall." Also our enemies said,"Before they know it or see us, we will kill them and put an end to the work."The Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over,"Wherever you turn, they will attack us" (Nehemiah 4:10-12). (The devotion...
Keep Reading"what my God had put in my heart to do" (Nehemiah 2:11)and Nehemiah 4:1-6 (The devotional writing team is on summer hiatus and prays you'll be blessed by this week's devotionals from Sept. 2020.) Have you ever embarked on a new, challenging endeavor? (Writing these devotionals counts as that for me!) Nehemiah and Co., all those years ago, embarked on a new, challenging e...
Keep ReadingAfter I looked things over, I stood up, and said ... "Don't be afraid of them.Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers,your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses" (Nehemiah 4:14). (The devotional writing team is on summer hiatus and prays you'll be blessed by this week's devotionals from Sept. 2020.) Have you ever faced opposit...
Keep ReadingNehemiah 4 (The devotional writing team is on summer hiatus and prays you'll be blessed by this week's devotionals from Sept. 2020.) What are you trying to rebuild? It isn't likely the walls of a city, but whatever it is, it matters: to you, to God, and perhaps to others. Just know this: opposition will come. Here in this week's scripture passage, for Nehemiah and the Je...
Keep ReadingWhen Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angryand was greatly incensed When they heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's wallshad gone ahead they were very angry. They all plotted to come togetherand fight against Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4:1, 7-8). (The devotional writing team is on summer hiatus and prays you'll be blessed by this week's devotionals f...
Keep ReadingThen Jehoshaphat stood up and said "O LORD God we have no power to face this mighty army. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you" (2 Chronicles 20:5, 12). (The devotional writing team, on summer hiatus, prays you'll be blessed by these devotionals originally published in Feb. 2020.) Ever feel at a loss for words when it comes to prayer? The Bible is chock fu...
Keep Reading"Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.For the battle is not yours, but God's" (2 Chronicles 20:15b). (The devotional writing team, on summer hiatus, prays you'll be blessed by these devotionals originally published in Feb. 2020.) Some Old Testament stories are grim, but they were preserved because each has a lesson for us. Often we can go for years n...
Keep Reading"Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde,for the battle is not yours but God's" (2 Chronicles 20:15). (The devotional writing team, on summer hiatus, prays you'll be blessed by these devotionals originally published in Feb. 2020.) In the regular army, the higher you go up the chain-of-command, the less likely you are to find people who fight. The logi...
Keep Reading"Attention everyone -- all of you from out of town, all of you from Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat -- God's word: Don't be afraid; don't pay any mind to this vandal horde. This is God's war, not yours. Tomorrow you'll go after them; see, they're already on their way up the slopes of Ziz; you'll meet them at the end of the ravine near the wilderness of Jeruel. You won'...
Keep ReadingJehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Israelfell down in worship before the LORD (2 Chronicles 20:19). (The devotional writing team, on summer hiatus, prays you'll be blessed by these devotionals originally published in Feb. 2020.) What's the most human thing we do? Better yet, what's the most humanizing thing we dowhat is it that makes us ...
Keep ReadingHe said to them, "it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."Acts 1:7-8 ESV (This week's devotionals were originally published in Feb. 2022 in conjunction wit...
Keep ReadingHe [Jesus] gave them [the apostles] this command, "Do not leave Jerusalem,but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about."Acts 1:4 (This week's devotionals were originally published in Feb. 2022 in conjunction with the sermon series "Holy Spirit: Power, Presence, Purpose.") Can you think of any child who appreciates having to wait? (Didn't ...
Keep Reading"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."Acts 1:8 (This week's devotionals were originally published in Feb. 2022 in conjunction with the sermon series "Holy Spirit: Power, Presence, Purpose.") The Christian singer and songwriter Matt Maher's beaut...
Keep ReadingHe said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Fatherhas set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spiritcomes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."Acts 1:7-8 (This week's devotionals were originally published in Feb. 2022 in conjunction with the sermon se...
Keep Reading"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you."Acts 1:8 (The Connect Devotional writing team is on summer hiatus. Please enjoy these devotionals which were originally published in Feb. 2022.) This week, Acts 1:4-8 kicks off a new series, Holy Spirit: Power, Presence, Purpose. The first chapter in Acts bridges Luke's gospel account of Jesus' life, death, and...
Keep ReadingThen Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aidand take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (Genesis 50: 24). Have you ever gotten so engrossed in a book that you just couldn't put it down? You got caught up in the characters, the action, or the mystery. You couldn't stop turning p...
Keep Reading(Genesis 37:3-8) Have you ever had a teacher say anything to you that has really stuck with you? I definitely have, one of those teachers being my 12th-grade literature teacher. Towards the end of the year, we wrote short stories, and she spent some time giving us tips and tricks on writing the best stories. One tip was, "Show; don't tell." That is a quick way of saying, ...
Keep ReadingSo when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe -the ornate robe he was wearing - and they took him and threw him into the cistern.The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal,they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead (Genesis 37:23-25). If you could look up "messy, beautiful family" in the...
Keep ReadingNow Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sonsand made him a richly ornamented robewhen his brothers saw [this],they hated Joseph and could not speak a kind word to him" (Gen. 37:3-4). I'm dating myself here by referencing "The Smothers Brothers Show." In their weekly opening guitar duet and banter, Tommy inevitably said to Dick, "Mom always loved you best." Whil...
Keep Reading"It was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you ...it was not you who sent me here, but God" (Joseph, Genesis 45:4-8). As we come to the final Scripture passage of My Messy, Beautiful Family series, pretty much everything we've explored is on full display in the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50). Famine has gripped the world of the Ancient Near East, from Egypt all the...
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