“"The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers."” – Ruth 2:20

Aldous Huxley was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including novels and non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems.

He spent the latter part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death. By the end of his life, Huxley was widely acknowledged as one of the foremost intellectuals of his time.

He was visiting with Houston Smith, a well-known professor of philosophy and religion. As they were driving to an engagement, Huxley said, “You know, Houston, it’s rather embarrassing to have spent one’s entire lifetime pondering the human condition and … find that I really don’t have anything more profound to pass on by way of advice than, ‘Try to be a little kinder.’”

In all that we do, we need to be kind to others. Today in prayer, ask the Lord to make kindness a quality that you would tirelessly give others.

"It is the history of our kindnesses that alone make the world tolerable. If it were not for that—for the effect of kind words, kind looks, kind letters, multiplying, spreading, making one happy through another, and bringing forth benefits, some thirty, some fifty, some a thousandfold—I should be tempted to think our life a practical jest in the worst possible spirit." – Robert Louis Stevenson

God’s Word: “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” – Colossians 3:12

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” – Ruth 1:16

Guillaume Bignon gave his Christian testimony: “I grew up in a wonderfully loving family in France, near Paris. I was the second of 3 children. We were nominally Roman Catholic, and would regularly attend mass, but this religious expression seemed to be more out of tradition and maybe superstition than a true life conviction.”

In his mid-twenties he vacationed on the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean. He met an American woman who “lived in New York, and she happened to mention she believed in God”.

As Guillaume recalled: “Her religious beliefs clearly remained the problem, and my new goal in life was essentially to explain to her why all this was untenable, so that she could put this nonsense behind her”.

But as he started studying the Gospels, the truth about Christ became apparent.  Finally, it came down to one question, “why did Jesus have to die?”

Guillaume said: “I had experienced the living God, who revealed Himself to me in the person of Jesus Christ, who according to the Gospel died to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be saved, by faith alone in Jesus alone and not by works of the law. I was all in.”

Today Guillaume is a leading apologist and he shares his Christian testimony.

Seek and follow Jesus with all of your heart. Today in prayer, seek the Lord in all that you do and delight in His working in you.

“The faithful person lives constantly with God.” – Clement of Alexandria

God’s Word: “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” – Proverbs 3:3

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” – Judges 21:25

It’s called the “Golden Triangle in SE Asia”. It’s where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet in the Mekong River area. It provides ideal conditions for opium cultivation, which began during the 16th and 17th centuries. Heroin became a major component of the opium trade after World War II, and the demand for heroin by United States troops during the Vietnam War helped transform the opium economy of the Golden Triangle into a large and profitable heroin economy. Drug trafficking now influences every aspect of politics in the region.

This ungovernable area is run by organized crime bosses and rife with human, animal and drug trafficking. It is the dumping ground for illegal dangerous weapons of war. From M16s found in Cambodian jungle to glittering casinos run by wealthy Chinese to restaurants with endangered tiger meat boldly on the menu, this area is truly lawless.

Sin and chaos rule our lives when Jesus is not on the throne of our heart. Today in prayer, thank Christ that He died for you and has given you a new perspective for living.

“The basis of all sin is selfishness.” – David O. McKay

God’s Word: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” – Judges 17:6

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man." – Judges 16:17

In August 1998, Barry and Lynn Collett died on the second day of their honeymoon.

They had set off for a walk near the River Wharfe at Bolton Abbey, north Yorkshire, and were never seen alive again. They died in the River Wharfe at a crossing called the Strid.

YouTuber Tom Scott states the Strid at Bolton Abby in Yorkshire, England “is the most dangerous stretch of water in the world.” Standing in front of this harmless looking stream, he acknowledges it doesn't look like much. And he's right. “But I stand by it,” he said, “because the water is so deceptive, and so pretty, and there's a path that leads straight down to it and that jump looks very, very possible.”

At its narrowest point, it is only 4 feet across. The waters are not turbulent. But its banks are covered with slick moss. And the depth of the river is excess of 200 feet deep with strong undercurrents.

Scott concluded, “That's why it’s so dangerous, it looks calm and safe. It looks tempting. And it will kill you.”

We can overcome temptations through the power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today in prayer, ask the Lord to lead you away from temptations and to follow Him all the days of your life.

“Let us learn more about the power of temptation in order to avoid it.” – John Owen

God’s Word: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” – Matthew 6:13

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her” – Judges 7:2

In her book “A Spectacle of Glory”, Joni Eareckson Tada writes: “When I was in Germany speaking at a church, a blind woman named Elizabeth served as my interpreter. You can imagine the two of us on stage—me with my wheelchair and Elizabeth with her white cane. During a break, someone placed an English language magazine on my lap. It looked like a good read, but with my quadriplegia, I couldn’t hold the periodical or turn its pages. “Elizabeth,” I said, “how ’bout if you hold the magazine and turn the pages, and I will read out loud. That way we can both enjoy it.”

And that’s just what we did. I needed her; she needed me; and together we accomplished something that blessed both of us. That is how the body of Christ should work! Our combined weaknesses become delightful strengths. First Corinthians 12 describes how we all need each other, just as a physical body needs feet, hands, ears, and eyes to move forward. If we isolate from other Christians, we impoverish them—and ourselves.”

It is in our weakness and our struggles that Jesus Christ receives glory. Today in prayer, praise the Lord that when we are weak, Jesus is strong and all the glory belongs to Christ.

“God’s glory is His reputation. To live for God’s glory means to live so that God’s reputation is enhanced (heightened in quantity and quality) and not diminished in any way.” – Charles Ryrie

God’s Word: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"” – Judges 6:14

On the night of September 25th, 1928 Joseph Babalola, age 24, suddenly became restless and could not sleep. This went on for a week and he had no inkling of the causes of such a strange experience. The Nigerian road construction worker then heard God’s call to warn others of “impending doom”. Joseph became a preacher, and crowds began to follow him. His messages focused on an insight of God’s judgement and the need for repentance. He faced opposition and was briefly jailed for preaching against witchcraft.

The people of Nigeria didn’t resist Babalola’s message. His revivals were characterized by zealous preaching and healing of the lame. At one revival, Babalola prayed for several people stricken with malaria and they were immediately healed.

The Lord used his servant Joseph to trigger a spiritual awakening during his time. Babalola is credited with the expansion of churches throughout West Africa. All because he followed Jesus’ call.

What is the Lord calling you to do? Today in prayer, look to Jesus to supply all of your needs and then follow Him with all of your heart.

“God doesn’t call people who are qualified. He calls people who are willing, and then He qualifies them.” – Richard Parker

God’s Word: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"” – Isaiah 6:8

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel.” - Judges 3:12

Author Meghan O'Gieblyn, explores meaning, morality, and faith. She recalls the role of thinking and reason during her days at Bible College:

“When I was a Christian, I had a naive, unquestioning faith in the faculty of higher thought, in my ability to comprehend objective truths about the world. ... People often decry the thoughtlessness of religion, but when I think back on my time in Bible school, it occurs to me that there exist few communities where thought is taken so seriously. We spent hours arguing with each other—in the dining hall, in the campus plaza—over the finer points of predestination or the legitimacy of covenant theology.

Beliefs were real things that had life-or-death consequences. A person’s eternal fate depended on a willingness to accept or reject the truth—and we believed implicitly that logic was the means of determining those truths. Even when I began to harbor doubts…. I maintained an essential trust in the notion that reason would reveal to me the truth.”

Today, no longer a believer, she has her doubts:

“I no longer believe in God. I have not for some time. I now live with the rest of modernity in a world that is “disenchanted.” ... I live in a university town, a place that is populated by people who consider themselves called to a “life of the mind.” Yet my friends and I rarely talk about ideas or try to persuade one another of anything. It’s understood that people come to their convictions by elusive forces: some combination of hormones, evolutionary biases, and unconscious needs. Twice a week I attend a yoga class where I am instructed to ‘let go of the thinking mind.’”

Backsliding leads to despair. Today in prayer, confess any sin in your life, repent from it and seek to grow closer to Jesus every day.

“It is a miserable thing to be a backslider. Of all unhappy things that can befall a man, I suppose ‘backsliding’ is the worst. A stranded ship, a broken-winged eagle, a garden overrun with weeds, a harp without strings, a church in ruins—all these are sad sights. But a backslider is a sadder sight still.” – John Charles Ryle

God’s Word: “But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” – Galatians 4:9

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

"After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.” – Judges 2:10

In 2021, Paul Maxwell, a former Desiring God writer and the author of the book “The Trauma of Doctrine”, announced he is no longer a Christian. Maxwell is a high-profile preacher with a Ph.D. in theology at Wheaton and a B.A. in Biblical language from Moody.

Despite writing several Christian books, he announced in 2021 on his Instagram that he was no longer a Christian. He also said, “… it feels perfect. I’m really happy.”

Maxwell served as a professor of Philosophy at the Moody Bible Institute (MBI) from 2015—2017. Before that, Maxwell was an acquisitions editor for church leader resources with Moody Publishers and a teaching and research assistant for Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Knowing Jesus and having a deep personal relationship with Him needs to be our first priority in life. Today in prayer, thank Jesus that He saved you and you can know Him better.

“They that deny a God, destroy man's nobility: for certainly man is of kin to the beast by his body; and if he be not kin to God by his spirit, he is a base and ignoble creature.” – Francis Bacon

God’s Word: “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.” – Galatians 4:8

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.” – Joshua 24:17

In his book “Delighting in the Trinity”, author Michael Reeves writes: “Since God is, before all things, a Father, and not primarily Creator or Ruler, all his ways are beautifully fatherly. It is not that this God “does” being Father as a day job, only to kick back in the evenings as plain old “God.” It is not that he has a nice blob of fatherly icing on top. He is Father. All the way down. Thus all that he does he does as Father. That is who he is.

He creates as a Father and he rules as a Father; and that means the way he rules over creation is most unlike the way any other God would rule over creation. The French Reformer John Calvin, appreciating this deeply, once wrote: We ought in the very order of things [in creation] diligently to contemplate God’s fatherly love . . . [for as] a foreseeing and diligent father of the family he shows his wonderful goodness toward us. . . .

To conclude once for all, whenever we call God the Creator of heaven and earth, let us at the same time bear in mind that . . . we are indeed his children, whom he has received into his faithful protection to nourish and educate. . . . So, invited by the great sweetness of his beneficence and goodness, let us study to love and serve him with all our heart.”

Our loving Father protects and guides us through all of the events in our lives. Today in prayer, praise Jesus that He protects you from all types of harm.

“The moment we begin to tread upon the thin ice of our own abilities, we have traveled beyond the realm of God’s promised protection and provision.” – Bart J. Leger

God’s Protection: “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings” – Psalm 17:8

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.” – Joshua 24:14

In his book “Called”, author Mark Labberton describes a time with author/Pastor John Stott: “I witnessed John’s faithfulness in public and private, as a highly visible speaker and as a nearly invisible spiritual shepherd to many. What I saw served to cement my conviction about life abundant as a follower of Jesus. It was on a trip to India and Bangladesh where, in a dark, dilapidated courtyard surrounded by small fire pits, blackened pots and a group of simple homes housing a handful of people, I heard the global Christian leader give one of his most memorable sermons. I saw that the abundant life I hoped for—that he and those to whom he spoke shared—was carried with them on the inside. Inside, they were not bound; they were no longer small.

John had been asked by a friend, a priest serving in Burma, for a tender and intimate favor: John, he said, I am serving so far away from my dying mother in Madras; you might be able to reach her sooner than I can. She is poor, in declining health, and her teeth are falling out one by one. Would you make a pastoral visit to her the next time you are in India? And so we set off, with scant information about location, to find his friend’s elderly mother. After hours of searching, moving self-consciously through streets of shacks and shelters so different than the more established structures we’d left only three hours before, we arrived at the door to this woman’s home. Eventually, she emerged from the shadows, frail but beaming with tearful joy. At her insistence, she knelt at John’s feet and kissed them, and then the two of them spoke through our translator for awhile.

At the end of our visit, she asked John to speak and to give her a blessing. A small piece of carpet was honorifically placed for him in the center of the mud floor, and without anything like the kind of pulpit to which he was often accustomed, John preached on John 3:16. It was John Stott at his fullest. Filled with love for Jesus and for his fellow pastor, John spoke to the mother who had believed, in spite of her poverty, not as a stranger but as God’s own. The mother who provided such a rich inheritance to her son received the blessing of her son’s gratitude as John interceded.

His words were simple and clear. His tone was compassionate and dignified. His intellectual rigor and verbal skill were fully intact. And his assurances were personal and tender. He was fully present to her and to the goodness of God. It was the sermon of his life, and it has shaped my view of following Jesus ever since. That scene was a rich moment of God’s grace. A priest in Burma, a widow in India, a world-renowned British preacher and his young American intern—we were so deeply connected in the family of Christ, by Christ and in Christ that a transcendence beyond all of us and our meager circumstances took place, filling us.”

Wherever the Lord has planted you, serve Him faithfully. Today in prayer, praise Jesus for the gifts and talents He has given you and seek to serve Him faithfully.

“As long as I see any thing to be done for God, life is worth having; but O how vain and unworthy it is to live for any lower end!” – David Brainerd

God’s Word: “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” – 1 Peter 4:11

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you." – Joshua 23:16

Steve Jobs, Apple's late cofounder and CEO, displayed incredible drive and creativity. But like all of us, Jobs struggled with idolatry. Surprisingly his idol wasn't technology; it was food. Steve Jobs was obsessed with food in ways that dominated his life and relationships. As a teenager he experimented with strange diets. At one point he went for two weeks eating only apples. The various diets, often based on raw food, gave Jobs an exhilarating sense of control.

Like all idols, his obsession worked at first. It was part of Jobs's larger project of attaining to superhuman control over his surroundings and other people—intimately linked with his perfectionism. Indeed, Jobs's idolatrous relationship to food may have cost him his life. In October 2003 a scan turned up islet cell cancer, a rare version of pancreatic cancer that is slow-growing and consequently almost always curable with prompt surgery. But Jobs's idol—food as a method of control—failed him. As his biographer Isaacson writes:

Jobs decided not to have surgery to remove the tumor, which was the only accepted medical approach. "I really didn't want them to open up my body, so I tried to see if a few other things would work," he told me years later with a hint of regret. Specifically, he kept to a strict vegan diet, with large quantities of fresh carrot and fruit juices … For nine months, as his friends and family pleaded with him to have the surgery, Jobs refused.

Not until July of the next year did he consent to remove part of his pancreas. During the surgery, doctors found that the cancer had spread. Jobs would never again be free of cancer, and just over eight years later he was dead at age fifty-six. He was in the terminal stage, not of cancer, but of idolatry, when the idol ceases to deliver but exacts its full demands for unwavering worship.

Don’t let any idolatry slip into your life. Let the living God be the God of your life. Today in prayer, thank Jesus that He is worthy of our worship and confess and repent from any sin of idolatry.

“Idolatry is an attempt to use God for man’s purposes, rather than to give oneself to God’s service.” – C.F.D. Moule

God’s Word: “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” – 1 Corinthians 10:14

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“So be very careful to love the LORD your God.” – Joshua 23:11

In his book “Life for Leaders”, author Mark D. Roberts writes:

“Work is one way, perhaps even the main way, we can glorify God in this life.

This may sound confusing if you tend to think of glorifying God as what we do in church when we sing praises to God. No question, this counts as glorifying God. But there is so much more to glorifying God than praising God, no matter how essential and wonderful this might be.

Let me use a personal illustration. I love it when my adult children want to spend time with me. I am doubly happy when they tell me how much they love me. These are, indeed, some of the sweetest moments of my life. But I wouldn’t want Nathan and Kara to spend their whole lives doing this. My wife and I have raised them, not just to be with us and to express their love to us, but also and mainly to be responsible citizens, influential leaders, and faithful disciples of Jesus.

My children honor me when they work hard in school, when they mentor high school kids, stage manage plays, contribute to academic conversations, or write pieces that inform and inspire others. To use language I would not ordinarily use, I am glorified when Nathan and Kara work, when they work hard, when they use well their gifts, when they excel at the tasks for which they are well suited.”

Love Jesus with all of your heart. Today in prayer, thank Jesus for His love for you and let Him know that you love Him.

“Let us make God the beginning and the end of our love, for he is the fountain from which all good things flow and into him alone they flow back. Let him therefore be the beginning of our love.” – Richard Rolle

God’s Word: “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'” – Mark 12:28-30

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.” – Joshua 23:6

When John Newton, the composer of the hymn “Amazing Grace” lost his wife, Polly, his reaction was not what people expected. The next day he resumed his duties as a pastor, including preaching three sermons and also preaching her funeral sermon. As he wrote to a friend shortly after Polly’s death, “The Lord strengthened me, and I was strong. … It was the Lord’s doing, and it was marvelous in my own eyes and in the eyes of my friends.

Indeed, some who knew me not said it was overdone and charged me with a want of feelings.” Through many writings and sermons afterwards, it was clear he felt great joy over the knowledge that Polly was saved and now living in heaven.

Be strong in Christ and do not be timid in following Him. Today in prayer, thank Christ for His wonderful love towards you and seek to follow Him in all that you do.

“It does not require great learning to be a Christian and to be convinced of the truth of the Bible. It requires only an honest heart and a willingness to obey God.” – Albert Barnes

God’s Word: “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” – 2 John 1:6

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“Now that the LORD your God has given your brothers rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan.” – Joshua 22:4

In his book “Shabbat Rest and Renewal”, George Robinson writes: “We are not beasts of burden. We should not live to work. We should not be chained to routine. Shabbat unchains us.

Shabbat is meant to be a day of peace. It offers us a chance for peace with nature, with society, and with ourselves. The prohibitions on work are designed to make us stop–if only for one day of the week–our relentless efforts to tame, to conquer, to subdue the earth and everything on it. The prohibition against making fire is also said by the rabbis to mean that one should not kindle the fires of controversy against one’s fellow humans. And, finally, the Sabbath offers us a moment of quiet, of serenity, of self-transcendence, a moment that allows us to seek and perhaps achieve some kind of internal peace.”

The Lord desires us to rest and have peace in Him. Today in prayer, thank Jesus that His yoke is light and He gives rest to all who are weary and come to Him.

“The stops of a good man are ordered by the Lord as well as his steps.” – George Mueller

God’s Word: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” – Joshua 21:45

Magna Carta is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton, to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift and impartial justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons.

The Magna Carta had an influence of English law and the United States Constitution's Fifth Amendment guarantees that "no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law", a phrase that was derived from Magna Carta.

So it is surprising that the Magna Carta, which was drawn up as a treaty between a king and his subjects, was annulled just weeks after it was written because neither side stood by their commitments. This nullification led to the First Barons' War.

The Lord is faithful in all that He promises; His promises stand throughout eternity. Today in prayer, thank Christ that you can depend upon His promises and He is true to His Word.

“The message of promise is the beginning and end of everything that is included in the Bible. It undergirds every word, sometimes openly, sometimes subtly, but it is always there. God’s promises are the common thread that unites the Old and New Testament, the core that makes sixty-six books into one.” – Mark Tabb

God’s Word: “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” – Numbers 23:19

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“Then the LORD said to Joshua: ‘Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.’” – Joshua 20:1-3

In August 2017, violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, after a militant group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claimed responsibility for attacks on police and army posts. In retaliation, Myanmar’s government razed at least 55 villages and waged a brutal campaign against the Rohingya, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee.

Through the years than 700,00 refugees have walked for days through jungles and mountains to seek shelter in Bangladesh. In these refugee camps there are approximately 1,500 Rohingya Christians—who are also persecuted by non-believing Rohingya.

One Christian refugee wrote from the refugee camp: “There are seventy-eight families who are followers of Jesus, and we (my family and me) are taking care of them. They have all converted from Islam to Christianity. They are mostly my relatives and neighbors from Myanmar.”  

Today in prayer, pray for the 69 million refugees in this world and thank Christ that He is your refuge in this turbulent world.

“Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;

Leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.

All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;

Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing.” – Charles Wesley

God’s Word: “Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” – Psalm 2:11-12

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

"So on that day Moses swore to me, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.'” – Joshua 14:9

During the 1980s, Canadian professor and researcher, Dr. Beverly Fehr conducted several research studies on love and commitment. The first study was very simple. She had two equivalent groups. One group came up with all of the attributes and characteristics of love, while the other group brainstormed all the attributes and characteristics of commitment. She simply then compared the two lists and found that around two-thirds of the words used for commitment were also used for love. What was her conclusion of this overlap? Commitment is intrinsic to the very notion and concept of love. The two are intertwined and inseparable and affect one another.

Following the Lord wholeheartedly means total commitment. Today in prayer, thank Christ that He went to the Cross fully committed to you and choose to follow Him with your whole heart.

“Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all.” – Augustine

God’s Word: “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.” – Romans 6:17

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath." – Joshua 7:21

In 2001, art junkie Stéphane Breitwieser was arrested; over five years he had stolen some 239 works of art with an estimated value of a whopping $2 billion—from as many as 200 museums all over Europe. Michael Finkle, author of The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession, after interviewing Breitwieser in 2019 wrote:

“When it comes to stealing from museums, Breitwieser is virtually peerless. He is one of the most prolific and successful art thieves who have ever lived. Done right, his technique —daytime, no violence, performed like a magic trick, sometimes with guards in the room — never involves a dash to a getaway car. When he sees a piece he likes, said Breitwieser, ‘I get smitten. Looking at something beautiful, I can’t help but weep.’ He never sells anything he steals, but simply brings the work home to adore. ‘The pleasure of having,’ he said, ‘is stronger than the fear of stealing.’”

Greed and covetousness are sins. Today in prayer, confess any sin of covetousness and seek Jesus with all of your heart.

“Covetousness is perhaps the most serious sin in the West today, and no covetous person will inherit the kingdom of God.” – Ron Sider

God’s Word: “Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." – Luke 12:15

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.” – Joshua 7:11-12

On 16 April 2014, the South Korean passenger-cargo ferry “Sewol” capsized and sank with the loss of 304 passengers and crew.

Just two months prior, it was reported that “Sewol” again passed a vessel safety inspection by the South Korean Coast Guard following an intermediate survey to ensure the ship remained in a general condition which satisfied requirements set by the Korean Register of Shipping.

The South Korea government's Board of Audit and Inspection revealed that the Korean Register's licensing was based on falsified documents. After the incident, the company reported that the ship was carrying 124 cars, 56 trucks, and 1157 tons of cargo. The amount of cargo carried was twice the legal limit.

On 12 February 2015, Kim Kyung-il, the coastguard captain responsible for rescue efforts, was sentenced to four years in prison for negligence and falsified reporting.

The Lord warns us to protect us. Today in prayer, thank Jesus for His Commandments and seek to follow Him in all that you do.

"The law is not over us, to condemn us, but under our feet, to be a guide for our path. In saying that, it is the moral law, as reflected in the Ten Commandments, to which I refer, which we have the pleasure of obeying to the glory of God and out of gratitude for our salvation." – Richard D. Phillips

God’s Word: “For in my inner being I delight in God's law” – Romans 7:22

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"” – Joshua 5:14

When we seek the Lord, He will help us even by sending His angels. There is a story about a Gideon International worker named Don Gleaves was assigned to take a trip to the Ukraine, in 1994. A local Gideon was taking Don to an area about three or four hours away. Out in the middle of nowhere their car broke down. It was distributor cap that had broken apart. There was no way to put it back together. Don and the driver stood on the side of the road praying and a car passed them and pulled over. A man got out and walked back to them and without saying a word handed them a distributor cap. It fit perfectly. The man wouldn’t take any money; he just turned around and left.

Every day we need to seek the Lord and ask Him: “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” Today in prayer, seek to do the will of Christ and let others see Christ at work in you.

“It is a vain thought to flee from the work that God appoints us, instead of seeking it in loving obedience.” – George Eliot

God’s Word: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” – James 1:22

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

In his book “Encounters with Jesus”, Pastor Timothy Keller writes: “Every other religion and philosophy says you have to do something to connect to God; but Christianity says no, Jesus Christ came to do for you what you couldn’t do for yourself. Every other religion says here are the answers to the big questions, but Christianity says Jesus is the answer to them all. So many systems of thought appeal to strong, successful people, because they play directly into their belief that if you are strong and hardworking enough, you will prevail.

But Christianity is not just for the strong; it’s for everyone, especially for people who admit that, where it really counts, they’re weak. It is for people who have the particular kind of strength to admit that their flaws are not superficial, their heart is deeply disordered, and that they are incapable of rectifying themselves. It is for those who can see that they need a savior, that they need Jesus Christ dying on the cross, to put them right with God.”

Troubles will come to all of us, but God can give us strength to do His good will. Today in prayer, give Jesus your troubles and trust in Him to strengthen you.

"The way to grow strong in Christ is to become weak in yourself.” – Charles H. Spurgeon 

God’s Word: “But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” – Joshua 1:8

In a talk entitled “Why Bible Study Can Change You”, Nate Dancer said: “Number one, the Bible shows us how deeply we need the Lord. And, poverty of spirit is an essential element for finding freedom from sexual sin. When you approach the Bible with an open heart and open mind the Spirit will show you that you can do nothing, and that the life God has for you is one that you are incapable of producing for yourself. This will definitely help produce in you a deep need for him.

Number two, it gives you a window into reality. This is so needed because this world is just permeated with deception. The Bible is the only thing that tells us the truth--the pure truth. Jesus said, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." So, it leads us to truth.

It also gives us something to live for that's greater than ourselves. That is KEY to overcoming sexual sin and the Bible will help to expand your horizons. It will show you that there are things that are vastly more consequential than, if I could say it this way, our little lives.

Those are just a few ways the Bible helps us.”

Everyone needs to be a student of the Word of God, no matter what age. Today in prayer, read through your favorite Bible verses and ask the Lord to help you commit them to memory.

“I am convinced that one of the greatest things we can do is to memorize Scripture.” – Billy Graham

God’s Word: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:15

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2024, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN JOSHUA, JUDGES, AND RUTH †