Devotionals & Poems

Posts in category Friendship with God

“I am…the truth…”

“I am…the truth…”

Not only is Jesus the way to God (and heaven) as we saw last week in John 14:6, but He is also the Truth about God, of God, and from God; in verse 9 He said “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” If you really want to see and know God then […]

Our good Shepherd

Our good Shepherd

Sheep and shepherds were a big part of ancient Israel, the nation of whom God had said was “the flock of My pasture” Ezekiel 34:31, and His commitment to them through the prophet Isaiah was that He would “feed His flock like a shepherd” 40:11. Then in Psalm 100:3 they acknowledge that “we are His […]

What pleases God?

What pleases God?

In Isaiah 58 God lays out the details of a fast He has chosen, which entails a lot more than just abstaining from food or some other pleasure and luxury; the fast that meets God’s approval will be followed by deeds of His heart in service and ministry to others! What I see here is […]

The final word

The final word

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” Psalm 46:1. A refuge is a shelter, a place of protection, a fortress, and a place of hope. The message here in Psalm 46 1-7 is that even when the earth and all that is in it are in turmoil, in God there […]

The trespass offering

The trespass offering

Never give up (Parables of Jesus par...

Never give up  (Parables of Jesus part twenty six)

In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus “spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” In Luke’s account this is recorded on the heels of Jesus teaching about His return and the conditions on earth leading up to it, thus we can take encouragement to remain steadfast and not become disheartened […]

The wedding feast (Parables of Jesus...

The wedding feast  (Parables of Jesus part twenty two)

In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus in this story likens the kingdom of heaven to a king whose son was to be married and many were invited to the reception, but those invited took it lightly and refused to come putting their own interests ahead of the kings invitation, even treating the messengers who brought the invitation […]

The sheep that went astray (Parables...

The sheep that went astray  (Parables of Jesus part eight)

Our next stop in the parables of Jesus brings us to that of the lost sheep recorded both in Matthew 18:10-14 and Luke 15:1-7; I am using Luke’s account today. In Bible symbolism sheep often represent people, for example “The Lord is my shepherd” Psalm 23:1; “All we like sheep have gone astray” Isaiah 53:1; […]

The great banquet (Parables of Jesus...

The great banquet  (Parables of Jesus part five)

Another parable of Jesus is recorded in Luke 14:16-24 where He tells the story of a host that was giving a great banquet; the custom was that the invitations would be sent out in advance and when the feast was ready a notice would be sent out. His friends had received the invitation, apparently accepted […]

God’s loving care

God’s loving care

Psalm 34:18-22 is teeming with God’s truth of which we can only touch briefly in a short meditation. It begins by saying “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart…” which means your inner being, your feelings and intellect become crushed and broken; then it goes on saying, “…And saves such as […]