Posts with the category “in-focus-devotionals”

Counted Blessed Before We Earned a Dollar Reading: Ephesians 1:3-6 Devotional: Before examining your bank account, consider what Paul declares in Ephesians: every believer has already been blessed wit...  Read More

Guarding the Heart Through Generosity Reading: Acts 20:35 and Luke 12:15-21 Devotional: Jesus warned that a person's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions, then illustrated the point w...  Read More

Storing Treasure That Lasts Reading: Matthew 6:19-24 Devotional: Jesus draws a sharp contrast between two kinds of investment: earthly treasure, which is subject to decay and loss, and heavenly treasu...  Read More

The Discipline of Contentment Reading: Philippians 4:11-13 and Hebrews 13:5 Devotional: Contentment is not a personality trait; it is a learned discipline. Paul writes that he discovered contentment i...  Read More

The Danger of Misplaced Love Reading: 1 Timothy 6:6-10 Devotional: Paul does not condemn money itself but warns against the love of it. Money is a neutral tool; the heart that clings to it is where da...  Read More

Walking by Faith Through DisappointmentReading: Habakkuk 2:1-4; 3:17-19Devotional: Habakkuk stands as one of Scripture's most powerful examples of faith refined through disappointment. He brought his ...  Read More

God's Sovereignty Over Our ExpectationsReading: Romans 11:33-36; Jonah 4:9-11Devotional: Jonah grieved deeply over a plant but struggled to grieve over thousands of people. God used that contrast to e...  Read More

Learning to Listen When God RespondsReading: 1 Kings 19:11-13; Jonah 4:4Devotional: God responded to Jonah's anger with a quiet, probing question. He did not condemn. He did not shout. He simply asked...  Read More

The Danger of Running AwayReading: Jonah 1:1-3; Psalm 139:7-10Devotional: When God asked Jonah in chapter 4 whether his anger was justified, Jonah did not answer. He simply left. Running from God in d...  Read More

The Courage to Be Honest with GodReading: Psalm 13:1-2Devotional: One of the most liberating truths in Scripture is that God can handle our honesty. The psalmist does not mask his pain or pretend ever...  Read More

Do Not Keep the Good News to YourselfReading: 1 Timothy 2:3-4 and Matthew 28:19-20Devotional: First Timothy 2:3-4 reveals that God desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the trut...  Read More

Repentance That Moves GodReading: Jonah 3:5-10 and 2 Peter 3:9Devotional: The repentance of Nineveh is one of the most remarkable scenes in all of Scripture. An entire city — wicked, violent, and far ...  Read More

Hearts Opened by GodReading: Acts 16:13-15 and Luke 24:44-45Devotional: Acts 16:14 records that the Lord opened Lydia's heart to respond to Paul's message. Luke 24:45 describes Jesus opening the minds...  Read More

Bad News Before Good NewsReading: Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23Devotional: Before the gospel can be truly received as good news, the bad news must be understood. Romans 3:23 declares that all people hav...  Read More

The God Who Gives Second ChancesReading: Jonah 3:1-3Devotional: The opening words of Jonah 3 are among the most grace-filled in all of Scripture — "the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." J...  Read More

Repentance as the Proper ResponseReading: Luke 11:29-32Devotional: Repentance is not simply feeling sorry. It is a turning -- a deliberate change of direction in which a person moves away from self-re...  Read More

The Danger of Knowing Without RespondingReading: Matthew 12:41Devotional: Jesus pointed to the people of Nineveh as a sobering example. They heard the message, they believed it, and they repented. The...  Read More

The Resurrection Changes EverythingReading: Romans 4:25Devotional: The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a footnote to the Christian faith. It is the foundation. Romans 4:25 makes clear that Christ ...  Read More

Signs Already GivenReading: Matthew 12:38-40Devotional: The Pharisees demanded a sign from Jesus even after witnessing miracle after miracle. It is easy to read that and shake your head in disbelief -...  Read More

Nothing Is Insignificant in God's HandsJonah 1:17Devotional: What appears to be an ordinary or even desperate moment can carry extraordinary purpose. Jonah was not meditating on prophecy inside that f...  Read More

The God Who Loves the UndeservingReading: Jonah 3:1-5; John 3:16; Romans 5:8Devotional: The most staggering truth in the book of Jonah is not the fish. It is that God loved Nineveh. He loved a city so...  Read More

The God Who Pursues the DisobedientReading: Jonah 1:17; Luke 15:11-24Devotional: God could have let Jonah drown. He did not. Instead, He prepared a great fish, a strange and sovereign rescue, to prese...  Read More

Disobedience Has a Reach Beyond OurselvesReading: Jonah 1:4-16; Romans 14:7Devotional: When Jonah ran, he did not run alone in his consequences. The sailors on that ship were thrown into terror becaus...  Read More

There Is Nowhere to HideReading: Jonah 1:3; Psalm 139:7-12Devotional: Jonah boarded a ship headed in the exact opposite direction from where God told him to go. He was not confused about the destinati...  Read More

When God Calls, He Means ItReading: Jonah 1:1-2; Matthew 28:19-20Devotional: God's call is never accidental. When He spoke to Jonah, He gave a specific person a specific mission to a specific place. T...  Read More

The Table of Fulfilled HopeReading: Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26Devotional: The Passover meal was itself a promise — a yearly remembrance pointing Israel forward to a deliverance yet to come....  Read More

Living by a Life That Is Not Your OwnReading: Galatians 2:15-21; Acts 28:17-28Devotional: Paul stood before the Jewish leaders in Rome and declared that his chains were worn because of the Hope of Isr...  Read More

Hope Is Not a Wish — It Is a CertaintyReading: Romans 5:1-5; John 14:1-6Devotional: The world uses the word hope to mean uncertainty — a longing for something that may or may not come to pass. Biblica...  Read More

The Servant Who Bore Our GriefReading: Isaiah 53:1-12Devotional: Isaiah painted a portrait of a suffering servant centuries before the cross existed. This servant would be despised, acquainted with gr...  Read More

A Promise That Spans GenerationsReading: Genesis 12:1-3; 2 Samuel 7:12-16Devotional: From the moment God called Abraham, a thread of promise was woven through history. God pledged that through Abraham...  Read More

Training Your Mind to See MercyReading: Philippians 4:8Devotional: Recognizing God's mercy is not automatic. It requires a disciplined and intentional mind. Paul urges believers to fix their thoughts ...  Read More

The Big Picture of God's ProvidenceReading: Romans 8:28Devotional: Looking at any single piece of Paul's journey, the picture appears bleak. Arrested, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and stranded. But the fu...  Read More

Comfort Received, Comfort GivenReading: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4Devotional: Paul received comfort from God in the storm, and then immediately turned and offered that same comfort to everyone around him. Th...  Read More

When God Speaks Into the StormReading: Acts 27:23-25Devotional: Paul was surrounded by chaos. The ship was battered, hope was gone, and fear had gripped every soul on board. Yet in the middle of that ...  Read More

Mercy in the Ordinary MomentsReading: Lamentations 3:22-23Devotional: God's mercies are not reserved for dramatic moments alone. They show up in the small, easily overlooked details of daily life. A k...  Read More

Judgment, Grace, and the Open Door 2 Corinthians 5:10-11, 20-21 Paul's message to Felix included the reality of coming judgment. This was not cruelty on Paul's part. It was the most loving thing he co...  Read More

Self-Control and the Lordship of ChristGalatians 5:16-24 Paul spoke to Felix and Drusilla about self-control, a word that addressed their patterns of lust, unchecked appetite, and moral compromise. Ga...  Read More

The Danger of Delayed Decisions Hebrews 3:7-15 Felix heard the gospel. He felt the weight of it. He was alarmed, perhaps even frightened. And then he said he would deal with it another time. Hebrews 3...  Read More

The Weight of Righteousness Romans 3:21-26 Paul reasoned with Felix about righteousness, the standard God has established for all humanity. Romans 3 makes clear that every person has fallen short of t...  Read More

The Courage to Stand Alone Acts 24:10-21 Paul stood before a corrupt and powerful governor without a lawyer, without political allies, and without any guarantee of safety. Yet he spoke with clarity an...  Read More