temptation ⁽²⁹⁾

Nehemiah 13:19–22, Isaiah 56:4–7, Mark 2:27–28, Hebrews 4:9–11 We really are bad at taking a Sabbath. Even in the “good old days” restaurants would be filled on Sundays with people leaving church and eating. So now we have memes that say, “consciously choosing to slow…

Lamentations 3:16–33, Job 2:11–13 James 1:9–18 Wikipedia summarizes Nathan Robinson’s take on platitudes as: “A platitude is even worse than a cliché. It’s a sanctimonious cliché, a statement that is not only old and overused but often moralistic and imperious. ... [they] have an aphoristic…

2 Chronicles 12:1–8, James 1:12–15 When we read the Old Testament, the phrasing is often such that we could say God caused most suffering. In fact, there are many who truly believe that despite the balance of scriptures. Let’s take the story of Rehoboam and…

Proverbs 29:22–25, Philippians 2:5–11, Galatians 6:1–5 Tell the truth. That is a maxim for life. However, often we succumb to the temptation to lie. We can be surprised when it pops out, or we could plan for it. There are times where lying is appropriate…

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…