praise ⁽⁵³⁾

Psalm 107:1–3, 17–22; Genesis 9:8–17; Ephesians 1:3–6 (read online ⧉) Destined to be a child of God. This is such a comforting phrase. As in all comfortable things, there is a danger. This comforting phrase is often, and understandably, taken as being directed toward individuals.

Job 33:14–30, Nehemiah 12:31–43, Luke 15:3–7 (read online ⧉) Elihu (from Job) is probably the most enigmatic person in the Book of Job. He just appears and disappears. It is almost as if there is something more going on than just a tirade. Now, Elihu…

Psalm 147, Deuteronomy 26:1–11 (read online ⧉) There are plenty of tales around Thanksgiving. While historians try to break out the supposed truth of what “really” happened, people are still adding pieces of their own making to the legend and story that surround the “first”…

Psalm 84:8-12, James 2:14–26, Romans 12:1–8 Depending on your preferred translation of the Scriptures, Psalm 84:10 may or may not speak about standing at the threshold of God. In a previous devotion, we connected this to our Welcome Team, as those who were the transition…

Isaiah 1:10–31, Habakkuk 1:2–4, Luke 17:5–10 In many courtrooms, there is an image or a statue of Lady Justice. Lady Justice is the supposed personification of the ideal judicial system: blind (no favoritism), sword (swift and cutting decision), scales (balance of “good” and “evil”), toga…