The Home Devo (Page 31)

                  Micah isn’t exactly a household word. Too bad. Though obscure, the ancient prophet had his stuff together. Eclipsed by the much more famous Isaiah, who ministered among the elite, Micah took God’s message to the streets. Micah had a deep suspicion of phony religion. He saw greed in the hearts of the leaders of the kingdom of Judah, which prompted him to warn the common folk not to be deceived by religious pretense among nobility. In true prophetic…

                  Obadiah’s name, meaning “worshipper of Yahweh,” offers an interesting counterpoint to the message of judgment he pronounced on Edom, Judah’s neighbor to the southeast. As a worshipper of Yahweh, Obadiah placed himself in a position of humility before the Lord; he embraced his lowly place before the almighty God.             That God sent a man named “worshipper of Yahweh” to the people of Edom was no mistake. Edom had been found guilty of pride before the Lord (Obadiah…

  The story is told of a very generous farmer.  Approached by his friends one day, they asked him, “We don’t understand you.  You give more than the rest of us, but you always seem to prosper more than us.  How is that?”  The farmer replied, “I keep shoveling into God’s bin, and God keeps shoveling more and more into mine, and God has the bigger shovel.” James Reston was a syndicated columnist for the New York Times for more…

                  Out of all the prophets, we probably know the least about Joel.  We also have trouble indicating the time frame in which it was written, because unlike the other book of prophecy, Joel gives no information of his time frame.  There is no mention of being with other prophets and there is also no mention of any kings that would have ruled.  A possible explanation might be due to a period in Judah’s history when they had no…

                     Ever heard an angry toddler yell that? He’s determined to accomplish something on his own and refuses your help. As parents, we chuckle and watch those fierce little ones in amusement, knowing we could help if only they would let us. In some ways, we’re all like toddlers. We insist we know better than God. We don’t need His help, His guidance, His input. The Israelites were guilty of this, too. Despite all that God had done…

                  How important is the daily study of God’s Word to my life? What benefit is there of having a thorough understanding of God’s laws? How does a lack of knowledge of God’s Word affect me? These are questions that we can get answered as we look at the ministry of the prophet Hosea to God’s people. Hosea prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel during a time of economic prosperity for God’s people, but a time of spiritual…

                  How much does God love me? To what degree is God still willing to demonstrate His love to me despite my many failings? Through the prophet Hosea, we learn of God’s great love for His people. The prophet Hosea ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel during the days of the reign of Jereboam the son of Joash. From an economic standpoint the nation was enjoying a time of prosperity and growth (cf. 2 Kings 14:23-29); however, from…

  DISCUSSION                                                        Prayer is a major part of the Christian faith, yet most Christians feel like their prayer life is inadequate.  One of the reasons why most feel as though their prayer life is not what it should be is because we don’t receive an answer as fast as we would like.   The prophet Daniel is known for his prayer life.  Even in the midst of the threat of being…

  DISCUSSION                                                     One of the strangest stories of the Bible is found in Daniel 5.  King Belshazzar is enjoying his fill in a massive party that entailed drinking and probably a lot of rated R activity.  All the while they are praising all the various gods of gold, silver, bronze, wood, stone and probably anything else they could imagine.  Amidst all their revelry, the fingers of a human hand appear out…

  DISCUSSION                                                                          Courage is defined as mental or moral strength to  venture , persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.  As we read the first few chapters of the book of Daniel, courage is a word that comes to mind.  Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were all friends who were faced with great fear, yet they…

  DISCUSSION                                                                                As the vision of Ezekiel ends, God gives him a glimpse of what the future of this Temple will bring.  The vision that he revives is one where he is standing at the door of the Temple and watching as water flows from the threshold.  This water continues to flow from…

  DISCUSSION                                     As God further reveals this vision to Ezekiel of the future Temple, He has some special instructions to the Levites.  As we know, the Levities were the priests of the nation and were responsible for making sure that all the offerings and sacrifices of the people were being done in the appropriate way.  Even though these priests were ordained by God, there was still a possibility of them being corrupt…