Father, God.Today I have been pondering the nebulous conversation about 'the sons of God and the daughters of men' (Genesis 6:2) and some of the fantastic attempts to clarify what results in the tragic assessment of God...that You were deeply saddened, You regretted, that You had created humankind (Genesis 6:6). Yet, in Noah, righteous and blameless, You show mercy and grace. I can't help but arri...  Read More

Blessed New Year!As my devotions drew to a close last year (which was yesterday), I read these words from E.M. Bounds in The Power of Prayer:  "God accepts our prayers through the atoning blood, and gives Himself, His presence, and His grace in return." Bounds states on many occasions that God, who is Truth, has bound Himself to His Word. So, praying His Word gives us the assurance of His answers ...  Read More

"But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears?" (Malachi 3:2a, CSB).Today the Day of the Lord is nearer than it has ever been. The fitting conclusion of Malachi prophesies the coming of Jesus first and last. The Revelation focuses on the last. The black and white truth is laid out. There will be those who dread His appearing for their judgment will be ult...  Read More

The closing pages of both Old and New Testaments are filled with the glory of the LORD. Both prophets and seer are given a vision that reminds us that in the end, the One Who was before time, will be seen for Who He is. He has always been glorious. In our brokenness, we so often fail to see His glory. Worse yet, we human beings strive to claim His glory as our own and deny Him that which is His du...  Read More

The Spirit of grace and prayer (Zechariah 12:10). Such is the work of the Spirit that He opens our eyes to what we have done, how great is our need, and how through grace alone we can encounter the love of God as we seek Him. The language of Zechariah implies a season of repentance and restoration. There will come a time when the season of repentance is past (Revelation 20). However, grace and pra...  Read More

"The bow of war will be removed, and he will proclaim peace to the nations." (Zechariah 9:10b, CSB)Our monthly pastor's prayer gathering via Zoom contained a lesson on Hebrew parallelism, among other things (it was really a prayer meeting that was blessed with the presence of God and, co-led by our own Pastor Walt). As we have been reading about Jerusalem in both Zechariah and Revelation, I have b...  Read More