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Genesis 37:16–27, Deuteronomy 30:15–20, Matthew 12:46–50 One of the most heartbreaking things taught by certain Christian traditions is that God wills bad things to happen to people. One of the reasons they draw that conclusion is that we are able to look back at stories…

Exodus 3:1–15, 1 Samuel 18:15–28, 2 Samuel 7:11–21, 1 Chronicles 29:10–19 There is one question spoken in each of these passages, who am I? When we are born, we have no concept of self. Eventually, we look in the mirror and say, “that’s me.” As…

Genesis 8:20–22, Haggai 1:3–6, Matthew 9:35–38 If you have been reading these devotions with any regularity, you might have noticed that I generally do not put myself into them (e.g., I, me, my). I am making an exception today. I was driving home, and passed…

Psalm 86, Ecclesiastes 7:2–5, Matthew 5:3-10 The world is often full of pain. In fact, were you to watch the news, it would seem that pain far outweighs anything else in the world. One of the biggest reasons for this is our desire to avoid…

Psalm 25, Jeremiah 7:21–34, John 16:7–15, Ephesians 4:15–16 The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive. Proverbs 27:6 Truth can be a painful thing. If delivered in the context of true friendship, the pain of the truth is…