Category Archives: grace
responding to grace
1 Samuel 1:1-2:11 Hannah’s dedication of Samuel to the LORD shows us what prayer can do. It can bring about a double glory to the LORD. For the LORD gets glory when his servants pray to him, seeking his justice. … Continue reading
remembering an old shoe
Ruth 4 “LORD, you have blessed me beyond measure. I was a foreigner in your land and you showed me kindness and grace. You brought me to my redeemer, and he gave me a son. Who knows what you have … Continue reading
gleaning in a field
Ruth 2 “I definitely did not expect this, LORD. The master of the harvest is showing favor to me. His name is Boaz, and Naomi explained to me that he is one of our family’s redeemers – whatever that means. … Continue reading
clinging to Mara
Ruth 1 “LORD, are you there? Do you listen to the prayers of a Moabite woman? I thought you loved me. You brought a wonderful family into my life, and showed me what it is like to live within your … Continue reading
blessed by grace
Judges 17 Micah was not a judge, and his story does not chronicle God’s intervention in the lives of his people as do the stories of the judges. Instead, Micah’s story illustrates what the spiritual atmosphere was like at the … Continue reading
Posted in dependence upon God, discernment, grace, heresies, sovereignty of God
Tagged Judges 17
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courageous women
Judges 4 Deborah and Jael are examples of courageous women who stepped outside the boundaries of cultural expectations to follow the LORD wherever he took them. For Deborah, it was a gift of prophecy that led her to step into … Continue reading
sin, bondage, warfare, rest
Judges 3:7-31 The cycle was sin, bondage, warfare, rest for a number of years, and then sin again. God raised up warriors who executed his judgment upon the oppressors, but it was the idolatry of the people that caused the … Continue reading
God’s sovereignty and missions
Joshua 2 Rahab’s choice to protect the Israelite spies is an example of how our human wills work in conjunction with God’s sovereign choice in salvation. Rahab would become an Israelite, even an ancestor of Christ (Matthew 1:5). The LORD … Continue reading
in retrospect: dos and don’ts
Deuteronomy 27 Our relationship with God is by grace, not on the basis of what we have done or not done. It also not on the basis of what we are doing, might do, or will do. We did not, … Continue reading
in retrospect: gifts of rejoicing
Deuteronomy 26 The firstfruits and tithes were not taxes of obligation. They were gifts that the Israelites had opportunity to give because God had promised to bless them with an abundance. The little ceremony that accompanied the gifts was a … Continue reading
Devotions 