Junk Food or True Nourishment

Feb 27, 2013 | Devotions | 1 comment

Isaiah 55:1-9 The context of these words as originally written by the prophet Isaiah concerned the Israelite exiles held captive in Babylon. Many of them had grown so accustomed to Babylonian ways that they had forsaken the practice of their faith. Ridiculing these...

A Challenge to Our Faith

Feb 26, 2013 | Devotions

Isaiah 53: 1-9 This chapter begins with a challenge to our faith. It then offers us a story that, when read from a point in time after Easter, pulls us through an explanation of the gospel that leaves us refreshed in our faith and filled with gratitude for God’s...

Servants for Justice

Feb 25, 2013 | Devotions | 1 comment

Isaiah 42:1-9 From internal historical references, this section of Isaiah has been dated to approximately 545-539 B.C.E. The author would thus have been addressing the Israelites toward the end of the Babylonian exile. In these specific verses, a servant is presented...

Trust in the Lord

Feb 24, 2013 | Devotions

Psalm 27:1-14 Like the 23rd Psalm, Psalm 27 eloquently expresses a central theme of the biblical faith: trust in the Lord. Also like the 23rd Psalm, Psalm 27 looks realistically at a fear-filled world that surrounds us and threatens to overcome us, yet the Psalmist...

Have You Heard?

Feb 23, 2013 | Devotions

Isaiah 40:1-11, 21-31 Today is my son, Nathan’s birthday. Twenty years ago, we were waiting and waiting and waiting for him to be born. I was induced the day before and still labored for almost 24 hours. I grew weary, but he eventually emerged and was so worth...