January 22 marked the 49th anniversary of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision that overturned limitations on abortion in almost every state. Since that time, about 60 million unborn…
[This devotion is based on a sermon on Psalm 104 preached June 13, 2021. The audio is available here.]
Why did God create beautiful sunsets and majestic mountains? Why did He…
God is King!
Yet Psalm 95 emphasizes something unusual about this king. Who can approach a king?
In the book of Esther, recall that no one was allowed to enter the kings…
On Wednesday afternoon April 7, Phillip Adams, armed with two firearms, approached the house of prominent Rock Hill physician Robert Lesslie. He shot two HVAC technicians working at the property. Adams then forced entry into the house, where he shot and killed Dr Lesslie, his wife, and two of their grandchildren, ages 5 and 9. Phillip Adams later killed himself. At this point, apparently no one knows why.
We live in a world where terrible events happen all too frequently. And many feel as if our world is getting worse.
Look around this world, this country, this city – what concerns you?
Psalm 92 declares that the righteous will “flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to…
Psalm 91 includes great promises concerning God’s protection of His people. Verse 10 summarizes them all: “No evil shall be allowed to befall you” (Psalm 91:10). In Sunday’s sermon (video, audio), we considered as examples of the fulfillment of these promises the miraculous deliverance of the Apostle Paul and all his shipmates from a terrible storm, as recorded in Acts 27, and Paul’s statement to Timothy shortly before his certain execution: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18 NIV). The Apostle may well have had Psalm 91 in mind when he wrote those words. He clearly does not consider his upcoming execution as an evil attack, but rather God’s providentially bringing his earthly mission to a close, taking him to Himself.
Paul had this understanding concerning the evil acts of evil men for decades prior to his death. Consider the following quotations from the book of Acts and some of Paul’s letters, cited in chronological order (with my comments in square brackets]. The Apostle sees himself as an instrument in God’s hands to be used for His glory. This includes considerable suffering, as promised immediately upon his conversion. But in every difficult encounter, God was with him (Psalm 91:15), working out His good and wise purposes for His church, including the salvation of individuals and people groups.
I encourage you to meditate on these excerpts, and take heart