Category: Daily Devotional

Over the days leading up to Christmas, let us look at a chronology of biblical accounts around Jesus’ birth. Our first is the angel who visits Zechariah as he was ministering in the temple. Luke 1:5-25 tells us the story: 5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] of the division…

Obadiah 1 The vision of Obadiah. Edom Will Be Humbled Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:We have heard a report from the Lord,    and a messenger has been sent among the nations:“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations;    you shall be utterly despised.[a]3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,    you…

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. Hosea 11 Hosea, the prophet of God in the 8th century BC, prophesied in northern kingdom of Israel. During the reign of Jeroboam II, the northern kingdom experienced a good deal of prosperity. But, the Israelites were spiritually and morally bankrupt, in idolatry…

Amos 7-9 Warning Visions 7 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings. 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, “O Lord God, please forgive!    How can Jacob stand?    He is so small!”3 The Lord relented…

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Genesis 49:10 In Genesis 49, Joseph has reunited with his father and family. Joseph is the second-in-command ruler in Egypt. The famine has brought Jacob’s family to Egypt where…

Amos 4-6 Israel Has Not Returned to God 4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,    you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy    and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:    “The time will surely comewhen you will be taken away with hooks,    the last of you with fishhooks.[a]3 You will each go straight…

You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Psalm 2 (verses 7-9 emphasized) One does not have to read very far into the book of Psalms before it becomes clear that king David is a special focus of the Psalms. In our verses today, the immediate look is to…

Amos 1-3 1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds[a] of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years[b] before the earthquake. Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors 2 And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion    and utters his voice from Jerusalem;the pastures of the shepherds…

One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne. Psalm 132 God’s covenant with David reveals that right worship and everlasting authority are inseparable. David’s predecessor, Saul, was removed from the throne of Israel when Saul acted rashly and did not worship God in the appointed manner and he did not kill…

Joel 1-3 1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel: An Invasion of Locusts 2 Hear this, you elders;    give ear, all inhabitants of the land!Has such a thing happened in your days,    or in the days of your fathers?3 Tell your children of it,    and let your children tell their children,    and their children to another generation. 4 What the cutting…