5/20/19-5/24/19 Devo Two - Marvelously Unique

This is the second devotional for the week of May 20 through May 24. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Marvelously Unique

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made"
Psalm 139:14

Human beings are not special—at least according to the London Zoo. In 2005, the zoo introduced a four-day exhibit: “Humans in Their Natural Environment.” The human “captives” were chosen through an online contest. To help visitors understand the humans, the zoo workers created a sign detailing their diet, habitat, and threats. According to the zoo’s spokesperson, the goal of the exhibit was to downplay the uniqueness of human beings. One participant in the exhibit seemed to agree. “When they see humans as animals, here, it kind of reminds them that we’re not that special.”

What a stark contrast to what the Bible says about human beings: God “fearfully and wonderfully” made us in “his image” (Psalm 139:14; Genesis 1:26–27).

David began Psalm 139 by celebrating God’s intimate knowledge of him (vv. 1–6) and His all-encompassing presence (vv. 7–12). Like a master weaver, God not only formed the intricacies of David’s internal and external features (vv. 13–14), but He also made him a living soul, giving spiritual life and the ability to intimately relate to God. Meditating on God’s handiwork, David responded in awe, wonder, and praise (v. 14).

Human beings are special. God created us with marvelous uniqueness and the awesome ability to have an intimate relationship with Him. Like David, we can praise Him because we’re the workmanship of His loving hands.

By Marvin Williams

Reflect & Pray

What are some practical implications of knowing and believing you’re fearfully and wonderfully made? What are some negative consequences of not believing this?

God created human beings to be like Him.

5/20/19-5/24/19 Devo One - Divine Escape

This is the first devotional for the week of May 20 through May 24. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

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Divine Escape

"So from that day on they plotted to take his life."
John 11:53

Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mystery The Clocks features antagonists who commit a series of murders. Although their initial plot targeted a single victim, they began taking more lives in order to cover up the original crime. When confronted by Poirot, a conspirator confessed, “It was only supposed to be the one murder.

Like the schemers in the story, the religious authorities formed a conspiracy of their own. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38–44), they called an emergency meeting and plotted to kill Him (vv. 45–53). But they didn’t stop there. After Jesus rose from the dead, the religious leaders spread lies about what happened at the grave (Matthew 28:12–15). Then they began a campaign to silence Jesus’s followers (Acts 7:57–8:3). What started as a religious plot against one man for the “greater good” of the nation became a web of lies, deceit, and multiple casualties.

Sin plunges us down a road that often has no end in sight, but God always provides a way of escape. When Caiaphas the high priest said, “It is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” (John 11:50), he didn’t understand the profound truth of his words. The conspiracy of the religious leaders would help bring about the redemption of mankind.

Jesus saves us from sin’s vicious grip. Have you received the freedom He offers?

By Remi Oyedele

Reflect & Pray

What road are you going down that could take you further away from God?
He offers real freedom. What do you need to confess to Him today?

Give sin room, and it can take over a life.

5/13/19-5/17/19 Devo Two - God's Amazing Hands

This is the second devotional for the week of May 13 through May 17. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

God’s Amazing Hands

"Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God"
Psalm 31:5

Twenty minutes into a flight from New York to San Antonio, the flight plan changed as calm gave way to chaos. When one of the plane’s engines failed, debris from the engine smashed through a window causing the cabin to decompress. Sadly, several passengers were injured and one person was killed. Had not a calm, capable pilot been in the cockpit—one trained as a Navy fighter pilot—things could have been tragically worse. The headline in our local paper read, “In Amazing Hands.”

In Psalm 31, David revealed that he knew something about the Lord’s amazing, caring hands. That’s why he could confidently say, “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (v. 5). David believed that the Lord could be trusted even when life got bumpy. Because he was targeted by unfriendly forces, life was very uncomfortable for David. Though vulnerable, he was not without hope. In the midst of harassment David could breathe sighs of relief and rejoice because his faithful, loving God was his source of confidence (vv. 5–7).

Perhaps you find yourself in a season of life when things are coming at you from every direction, and it’s difficult to see what’s ahead. In the midst of uncertainty, confusion, and chaos one thing remains absolutely certain: those who are secure in the Lord are in amazing hands.

By Arthur Jackson

Reflect & Pray

Have you committed your life—your earthly and eternal existence and well-being—to God?
How are you showing that you are trusting Him in good times and bad?

Father, help me to be encouraged knowing that Jesus prayed Psalm 31:5 when He was on the cross. In the midst of pain and suffering, He committed His life into Your hands.

5/13/19-5/17/19 Devo One - A Longing in Stone

This is the first devotional for the week of May 13 through May 17. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

A Longing in Stone

"I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."
Deuteronomy 34:4

“Ah, every pier is a longing in stone!” says a line in Fernando Pessoa’s Portuguese poem “Ode Marítima.” Pessoa’s pier represents the emotions we feel as a ship moves slowly away from us. The vessel departs but the pier remains, an enduring monument to hopes and dreams, partings and yearnings. We ache for what’s lost, and for what we can’t quite reach.

The Portuguese word translated “longing” (saudade) refers to a nostalgic yearning we feel—a deep ache that defies definition. The poet is describing the indescribable.

We might say that Mount Nebo was Moses’s “longing in stone.” From Nebo he gazed into the promised land—a land he would never reach. God’s words to Moses—“I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it” (Deuteronomy 34:4)—might seem harsh. But if that’s all we see, we miss the heart of what’s happening. God is speaking immense comfort to Moses: “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants’” (v. 4). Very soon, Moses would leave Nebo for a land far better than Canaan (v. 5).

Life often finds us standing on the pier. Loved ones depart; hopes fade; dreams die. Amid it all we sense echoes of Eden and hints of heaven. Our longings point us to God. He is the fulfillment we yearn for.

By Tim Gustafson

Reflect & Pray

What are your unfulfilled longings?
What places in life are you trying to satisfy with wrong things?
How can you find true fulfillment in God alone?

"The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing—to reach the Mountain,
to find the place where all beauty came from." C. S. Lewis

5/6/19-5/10/19 Devo Two - Someone Who Leads

This is the second devotional for the week of May 6 through May 10. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Someone Who Leads

"As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you"
2 Kings 2:6

Who do you think of when you hear the word mentor? For me, it’s Pastor Rich. He saw my potential and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. He modeled how to lead by serving in humility and love. As a result, I am now serving God by mentoring others.

The prophet Elijah played a critical role in Elisha’s growth as a leader. Elijah found him plowing a field and invited him to be his protégé after God told him to anoint Elisha as his successor (1 Kings 19:16, 19). The young mentee watched his mentor perform incredible miracles and obey God no matter what. God used Elijah to prepare Elisha for a lifetime of ministry. Toward the end of Elijah’s life, Elisha had the opportunity to leave. Instead, he chose to renew his commitment to his mentor.

Three times Elijah offered to release Elisha from his duties, yet each time he refused, saying, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you” (2 Kings 2:2, 4, 6). As a result of Elisha’s faithfulness, he too was used by God in extraordinary ways.

We all need someone who models what it means to follow Jesus. May God give us godly men and women who help us grow spiritually. And may we too, by the power of His Spirit, invest our lives in others.

By Estera Pirosca Escobar

Reflect & Pray

Who are mentors that are currently building into you or who have built into your life?
Why is it vital for us to mentor others in Jesus?

Father God, thank You for placing people in our lives to challenge and encourage us.
Help us to do the same for others.

5/6/19-5/10/19 Devo One - Come and Get It!

This is the first devotional for the week of May 6 through May 10. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Come and Get It!

"Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live."
Isaiah 55:3

I peeked over the grape-stake fence that encloses our backyard. There I saw folks running, jogging, walking, and shuffling around the track that surrounds the park behind our home. I used to do that when I was stronger, I thought. And a wave of dissatisfaction washed over me.

Later, while reading the Scriptures, I came across Isaiah 55:1, “Come, all you who are thirsty,” and I realized again that dissatisfaction (thirst) is the rule, not the exception in this life. Nothing, not even the good things of life, can fully satisfy. If I had strong legs like a Sherpa (mountain-climbing guide), there would still be something else in my life that I’d be unhappy about.

Our culture is always telling us in one way or another that something we do, buy, wear, spray on, roll on, or ride in will give us endless pleasure. But that’s a lie. We can’t get complete satisfaction from anything in the here and now, no matter what we do.

Rather, Isaiah invites us to come again and again to God and the Scriptures to hear what He has to say. And what does He say? His love for David of old is “everlasting” and “faithful” (v. 3). And that goes for you and me as well! We can “come” to Him.

By David H. Roper

I was delighted to see this devotional by David Roper. He was my pastor at Peninsula Bible Church while I was in high school and college. He is a wonderful and godly man! - Reggie

David H. Roper

David H. Roper was a pastor for more than 30 years and now directs Idaho Mountain Ministries, a retreat dedicated to the encouragement of pastoral couples. He enjoys fishing, hiking, and being streamside with his wife, Carolyn. His favorite fictional character is Reepicheep, the tough little mouse that is the soul of courage in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. His favorite biblical character is Caleb—that rugged old saint who never retired, but who "died climbing." Find books by David Roper

4/29/19-5/3/19 Devo Two - Praying the Distance

This is the second devotional for the week of April 29 through May 3. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Praying the Distance

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful"
Colossians 4:2

Kevin wiped a tear from his eye as he held out a slip of paper for my wife, Cari, to read. He knew Cari and I were praying for our daughter to return to faith in Jesus. “This note was found in my mother’s Bible after her death, and I hope it encourages you,” he said. At the top of the note were the words, “For my son, Kevin.” Below them was a prayer for his salvation.

“I carry this with me in my own Bible today,” Kevin explained. “My mother prayed for my salvation for more than thirty-five years. I was far away from God, and I’m a believer now.” He looked intently at us and smiled through his tears: “Never give up praying for your daughter—no matter how long it takes.”

His words of encouragement made me think of the introduction to a story Jesus told about prayer in the gospel of Luke. Luke begins with the words, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).

In the story, Jesus contrasts an “unjust judge” (v. 6) who answers a request merely because he doesn’t want to be further bothered, with a perfect heavenly Father who cares deeply for us and wants us to come to Him. We can be encouraged whenever we pray to know that God hears and welcomes our prayers.

By James Banks

Reflect & Pray

Who’s constantly in your prayers for salvation? How does it help to know of others’ stories of answered prayer?

Abba, Father, thank You that no request is too large or too small for You. Help me to pray faithfully for those who do not yet know You!