Devotionals

Prayer and the Scourges of God “Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.” Ps 27:7 “It is necessary that we should be subject, from first to last, to the scourges of God, in order that we may from the heart call on him; for our hearts are enfeebled by prosperity, so that we cannot make the effort to pray.” John Calvin God uses our prayers in the midst of our problems to manifest...

“Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.” Ps 27:6 “Just as singing is a natural effect of joy in the heart so it has also a natural power of rendering the heart joyful…There is nothing that so clears away for your prayers, nothing that so disperses dullness of heart, nothing that so purifies the soul from poor...

“But be sure that you always out rejoice your adversaries. If something is worth fighting for, it is worth rejoicing over. And the joy is essential in the battle, for nothing is worth fighting for that will not increase our everlasting joy in God.” John Piper “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the...

Psalm 27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. We must not think worse of him or his ways for the hardships we meet with his service. There is enough in God to furnish us with matter of joy in the...

A Fortress of Faith The LORD is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid? Ps 27:1 A believer is to be known not only for his peace and joy; but by his warfare in distress. Robert Murray McCheyne Introduction: If you are a Christian, you are engaged in war. The moment you placed your faith in Jesus, you became a soldier in the army of God....

My Testimony: An Introduction Psalm 27 is like a dear and trusted friend to me. If you have ever had someone stand by your side during a very dark and painful time in your life, you know what I mean. It started several years ago, when I changed my normal devotional pattern from going through the entire Bible in a year, to focusing on one passage of Scripture. For 365 days, I meditated on Psalm 27. Early in the morning, I...

Help for the Straying Heart The purest saint at the moment of his greatest strength is as weak as he was before his conversion.  What has happened is that he has switched from his little human battery to the infinite power of God.  He has quite literally exchanged weakness for strength, but the strength is not his; it flows into him from God, as long as he abides in Christ. — A. W. Tozer:  The Incredible Christian, page 33) INTRODUCTION:  We are...

Great Peace “God never pursues his glory at the expense of the good of his people, nor does he ever seek our good at the expense of his glory.  He has designed His eternal purpose so that His glory and our good are inextricably bound together.” — Gerry Bridges INTRODUCTION:  We live in a dangerous world.  Read the papers or listen to the news and you will be reminded of just how evil and unpredictable it is.  Consequently, many people are gripped...

The Poison of Profession without Practice “Open sin, and avowed unbelief, no doubt slay their thousands.  But profession without practice slays its ten thousands.” — J. C. Ryle INTRODUCTION:  Religious ritual can be so deadly.  It is like a sugar coated poison.  It tastes sweet and good going down.  It isn’t until later, after many doses, that we discover its deadly consequences.  We maintain a form of religion but it is without power.  We still participate in the ritual but the joy...

A Battle Cry “The Bible was not given to make us comfortable, but to shake us up with radical life changing truth.” — J. I. Packer INTRODUCTION:  God has one great purpose.  His purpose is to manifest His glory through a people He would create and redeem by His grace.  His people, chosen in eternity past, would bring Him glory by the way they live for Him on earth (Ephesians 1:11-12).  His plan cannot be thwarted.  Even sin is used to bring...