Weekly Devotions

Seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth, Isaiah the prophet penned these words. He wrote in a time when a nation’s vital signs—its laws and armies, courts and borders, taxes and tolls, pride and prestige—were tied tightly to its leader, often a king. Everything good (or bad) about a nation was an extension of its king....

Believers took God’s pronouncement at face value—it will be obvious, they thought, when the “messenger of the covenant,” the Lord himself, comes to earth as God has promised. There will be some advance notice....

Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention, designed to safe guardprisoners of war, underscores the demand for humane treatment. POWs must “at all times be humanely treated.” They “must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence and intimidation,” and “measures of reprisal against POWs are prohibited.”...

Wouldn’t it be great to live a life filled with the virtues in today’s Bible passage? Then you could effortlessly display patience with your coworkers, selflessness in your marriage, and compassion in your parenting. It would make all those sorts of interpersonal relationships better if you had this kind of mindset....

It was a shocking thing to say. Jesuswas talking to some religious leaders and told them that tax collectors andprostitutes were entering the kingdom of heaven ahead of them. At that time,prostitutes and tax collectors were considered the worst of sinners....

Jesus told this story to confront his listeners with the ugly truth that they were not as obedient to God as they thought they were. A father asked his sons to work in the vineyard. The first son said no but later changed his mind and went to work. The second son said yes but then never went to work....

My children used to complain, “Dad, it’s not fair!” My response was, “You’re right. But then, God never promised that life would be fair.”...

Those of us who are parents have the awesome task of preparing our children for their future. That future is the fusion of two parts—training for the short time they will be here on earth and training for their future in eternity. That can be a daunting undertaking, involving two totally different approaches to achieving a successful outcome...

A good story can change the way you see something or someone. Jesus’ story about the landowner and the workers he hires does just that....