| Devotional | The Unchanging Flesh Nature
2 Samuel 11:6-15
David's scheme was to bring Uriah home on a military furlough, hoping that he would be considered the father of Bathsheba's child. Uriah was much more righteous than David in this. He would not permit himself to relax until the war was over.
David then resorted to extreme measures. To the sin of adultery he added the sin ...read |
| Devotional | The War Within
James 4:1-3
James was well aware of the fact that conflict among believers comes from the personal war that goes on within each person. This conflict within the believer is also referred to in Romans 7:23: "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my m ...read |
| Devotional | The Word Cleanses Your Walk
John 17:13-19
The Bible speaks of our being sanctified by the Word of God as well as by the blood of Christ and by the Holy Spirit.
Just as Christ is not of the world, so the believer is not of the world. God uses His Word, under the power and work of the Holy Spirit, to bring about the changes He wants in our conduct. Concerning this our Sa ...read |
| Devotional | The Word Is Central
Philippians 2:15,16; Psalm 119:9-16
Never forget the centrality of the Word of God to the believer's witness. The Christian is to study the Word, apply it to himself and then translate it into daily living before a crooked and perverse world. And every believer may be assured that as God's Word is held forth it will have an effect on those who ...read |
| Devotional | Togetherness
Ephesians 5:25-33
No believer lives a spiritually isolated life. Together, we are members of Christ's Body (Eph. 5:30) and have responsibilities to each other. Ephesians 4:25 says, "We are members one of another." Therefore, Spirit-filled believers treat fellow Christians as they would treat themselves. We are not to be domineering, but recog ...read |
| Devotional | Triumph in Tribulation
Romans 5:3; 2 Corinthians 4:7-18
Humanly speaking, no one likes tribulation. Within ourselves we react negatively to difficulties. The word "glory" means "rejoice." No unbeliever can do this, but the believer's whole outlook is changed because of his relationship with Christ. A true Christian can look tribulation in the face and say, "I th ...read |
| Devotional | Truth, Not Popularity
1 John 4:1-6
It is sad, but many who talk about our Saviour and use His name do not believe that He is the eternal God, the Creator of all things, and that He came to die for the sins of mankind.
In the verses previous to this, the apostle discussed false teachers who talk about Jesus but fail to acknowledge that He truly is the Son of God. ...read |
| Devotional | Two Burdens
Galatians 6:1-10
To speak of bearing one another's burdens and then to say that every man shall bear his own burden appears on the surface to be a contradiction. This really is not the case. Two different words are used in the original language that are translated "burden" in Galatians 6:1-10.
The burden spoken of in verse 2 is a burden ca ...read |
| Devotional | Two Burdens
Galatians 6:1-10
To speak of bearing one another's burdens and then to say that every man shall bear his own burden appears on the surface to be a contradiction. This really is not the case. Two different words are used in the original language that are translated "burden" in Galatians 6:1-10.
The burden spoken of in verse 2 is a burden ca ...read |
| Devotional | Two Inseparable Truths
Job 42:1-6
Job had a new comprehension of God, which brought a new comprehension of himself. He acknowledged that he was vile.
Many believers think they have reached the end of themselves when they give mental assent to the doctrine of human depravity and say we are all depraved. But it is one thing to speak of vileness and depravity in gener ...read |
| Devotional | Understanding Your Standing
Romans 5:1-5
Our standing before God is in the grace to which we have constant access (Rom. 5:2). We do not need new credentials each time we come to God, because our standing is constant since we come by means of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us. God does not accept us as we are, but as we are in Christ Jesus. God makes His grace abound to ...read |
| Devotional | Unity, Not Uniformity
Philippians 2:1-5; Psalm 133
The Christian life is not a stereotyped life composed of rules and regulations. It may involve rules and regulations, but the Christian life is essentially the presence of Christ in the believer. This is why Paul said, "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted a ...read |
| Devotional | Victorious Faith Defeats Satan
Job 1: 12-22
According to Job 1:12 the Lord gave Satan permission to afflict Job up to a certain point.
God told Satan that he could do what he wanted with all Job had, but he was not to touch Job himself So Satan set out to prove that Job was not what God claimed him to be, but God's purpose was to show that Job was a man of God.
When th ...read |
| Devotional | Vindicated by God
Job 42:7-17
The vindication of Job was a vindication before his "friends." God called him "my servant" and had him act in the capacity of a priest for the three who had so cruelly slandered him. We not only need to see what God was able to do with Job, we also need to see the God of Job for ourselves.
We learn from Job, and this is part o ...read |
| Devotional | Waiting for God's Time
11 Samuel 2:1-11
Second Samuel 2 opens with these words: "And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron" (v. 1). David found, as we will too, that we never lose anything b ...read |
| Devotional | We Can Do It Also
James 5:16-18
The Bible says Elijah was a man subject to like passions, or as another translation says it, "A man of like nature" (James 5:17, RSV). God permits us to see where Elijah failed so that we need not think we are dealing with a perfect man. He was human just as we are; what sets him apart from most of us is that he fully believed Go ...read |
| Devotional | What Do You Believe In?
Colossians 1: 1-8
Almost everyone talks about faith because almost everyone has faith in something. But faith is only as good as its object. It is important to recognize that we are not saved from condemnation by having faith in faith. Paul commended the Colossians for their "faith in Christ Jesus" (Col. 1:4).
So it is not sufficient to tel ...read |
| Devotional | What to Do With Anger
Ephesians 4:17-27
It is apparent that we should be angry with sin and come to hate that which would separate us from God or cause loss of fellowship. This means there will be times when we will hate what others do because it goes contrary to the Word of God. Such anger may be referred to as "righteous indignation." However, when self becomes p ...read |
| Devotional | When God Says No
2 Samuel 7:1-13
Nathan commended David for his desire to build a temple and then went to his own house. That night God spoke to the prophet, and as an obedient servant, Nathan brought the word to David. The message was no. God was not going to allow David to build a house of worship for Him. The Lord, however, was pleased with the intentions an ...read |
| Devotional | When God Speaks
Job 38:1-11
God spoke to Job out of a whirlwind at this point, and what He said had an immediate effect. God's voice made Job conscious of the presence of God, whom he had not seen and said he could not find. Before this the discussion had been about God as if He were absent. Now Job was suddenly made aware of His nearness.
When a person sud ...read |
Theodore Epp