Today’s Bible Reading: 1 SAMUEL 4:12-8:22 1 Samuel 5:2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon.   Here is a great picture of God’s greater purpose in the midst of peril. We often can’t see God’s plan played out when our problems present themselves. We can’t always understand the deeper workings of God’s hand whose ways are higher than our ways and whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Is 55:9). Somehow

Today’s Bible Reading: 1 SAMUEL 1:9-4:11 1 Samuel 3:10 Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant hears.”   Most of us want to hear from God. We want Him to speak to us directly. We want to have a divine dialogue with Him. There are some though who have no desire to hear from God. They have no interest in any communication from Him or with Him.   Our text presents this contrast in the stories of th

Today's Bible Reading: RUTH 4:13-22, 1 CHRON 2:9-55, 4:1-23, 1 SAM 1:1-8 Ruth 4:17 Also the neighbor women gave him the name, saying “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.   Reading genealogies doesn’t typically excite most Christians. They often skim over them or overlook them entire as they systematically read scripture. They are not the go to passages for practical insights or principles to live by. Th

Today’s Bible Reading: RUTH 1:1-4:12   Ruth 1:16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.   Our God is daily on display. Not only through His creation, but in the lives of those who confess Him. We are witnesses of Him. Our life displays Him and our lips declare Him. What we do and what we say reflect on Him. How we handle cris

Today’s Bible Reading: JUDGES 19:1-21:25   Judges 20:28 . . . and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, “Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”   Our tendency is to give up when we are defeated; we stop when we are stopped. When our battle is lost we bail. But one defeat doesn’t mean we are d

Today’s Bible Reading: JUDGES 16:1-18:31   Judges 16:22 However the hair on his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.   Many of us have experienced spiritual failure. We have fallen. Our faith has failed. Temptation got the best of us and we sinned. We are not proud of it and wish that we never fell, but we did. We would give anything to go back and change it, but we can’t. We are stuck with the guilt and the consequences of our actions. For some the words of our

Today’s Bible Reading: JUDGES 11:29-15:20   Judges 14:8-9 After some time, he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion. He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass   Appetites must be addressed. They crave fulfillment.

Today’s Bible Reading: JUDGES 9:22-11:28   Judges 10:6 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve him.   We all encounter times of temptation and testing. We have moments when we are misguided and misled. Our journey is riddled with times when we are de

Today’s Bible Reading: JUDGES 7:1-9:21   Judges 7:10-11 But if you are afraid to go down, go down with Purah you servant, an you shall hear what they say and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.   There are times when we know what God has directed us to do but we have doubts in doing it. There is no ambiguity in what He has asked, but there is apprehension in acting upon it. Our confusion confounds us and constrains us from complying. The wa

Today’s Bible Reading: JUDGES 3:31-6:40   Judges 5:3 I even I will sing to the Lord. I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel   Songs are written all the time. They tell stories of our struggles, our loves, our pain and our victories. We all have songs embedded in our heart and implanted in our memory. When recalled, they help us remember life’s happiness and hardships. They give us a handle for hope and a reason for rejoicing.   Music touches our heart and soul. Through

As April showers saturate the earth and stimulate spring foliage may this month's insights help you to flourish and thrive in your faith....