Posts from July 2020

Read: 1 Samuel 9-12 Focus Verse: “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king.” (1 Samuel 12:16-17).  Devotion: Can the king bring rain? Can an…

Read: 1 Samuel 4-8 Focus Verse: “So Samuel said to all the Israelites, ‘If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” (1 Sam 7:3).  Devotion: The ark of the LORD was captured and the LORD…

Read: 1 Samuel 1-3 Focus Verse: “I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind.” (1 Sam 2:35a).  Devotion: Those who were already priests by birth we find out are acting like scoundrels. Those promised to be priests forever have become wicked and abuse their power. It’d be easy to assume you could get away with…

Read: Ruth 1-4 Focus Verse: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!” (Ruth 4:14).  Devotion: Boaz certainly does! He’s famous as the grandfather of David! The redemptive process to get to this point, however, was no simple matter. The closest relative was unwilling to financially…

Read: Judges 19-21 Focus Verse: “Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD.” (Judges 20:26).  Devotion: So some pretty insane stuff leads Israel to war against one of its own tribes. They loose the battle…

Read: Judges 16-18 Focus Verse: “So he told her everything. ‘No razor has ever been used on my head,’ he said, ‘because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb . If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.” (Judges 16:17).  Devotion: So that’s exactly what they did. Sampson lost his strength.…

Read: Judges 13-15 Focus Verse: “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” (Judges 14:18a).  Devotion: While I think Sampson’s riddle was about himself, the underlying message is he got his strength from the LORD. So what is sweeter, and what is stronger? The LORD! In the midst of the storm, in the midst of Israel’s chaos, being ruled, fighting off…

Read: Judges 10-12 Focus Verse: “Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess.” (Judges 11:24b). Devotion: A war was about to break out. Jephthah tried to prevent fighting and negotiate, but the other nation wouldn’t listen. His reasoning really got to me though. They are disputing a plot of land and it’s reasoned that it’s God who granted the land in…