Year: 2019
December 2019
- Devotional Psalm 33 – God our help and shield
Psalm 33 calls us to praise God, our help and shield. As we celebrate Christmas this year, Psalm 33 reminds us to praise God…
- Devotional Psalm 32 – The Blessing of Forgiveness
Psalm 32 speaks of the free and rich grace of God to forgive us of our sin. The psalm speaks of the blessing of…
- Devotional Psalm 31 – Into your hands I commit my spirit
Psalm 31 expresses some of the meaning behind being truly, fully, reliant on God. Psalm 31, which again raises themes of lament and thanksgiving…
November 2019
- Devotional Psalm 30 – Joy comes with the Morning
Psalm 30 is a song of thanksgiving for healing from illness. It separates neatly into two stanzas (or verses, if you will). The first…
- Devotional Psalm 29 – The Only Powerful God
Psalm 29 asserts that only God is truly powerful and reigns, using themes from the surrounding pagan nations and ascribing them not to their…
- Devotional Psalm 28 – A Cry for Justice
In Psalm 28 we read of a king crying out on behalf of his people for justice against enemies from within their own people.…
- Devotional Psalm 27 – Confidence in God
Psalm 27 expresses David’s confidence in God to deliver him from opposition. David expresses confidence in God, confidence in God’s presence in the sanctuary,…
- Devotional Psalm 26 – Proclaiming thanksgiving aloud
Psalm 26 appears to be one of those songs sung as worshippers entered the Temple. In it, the psalmist declares their desire to worship…
October 2019
- Devotional Psalm 25 – Teach Me Your Paths
Psalm 25 focuses on the importance of teaching, of learning to follow God’s ways. It is an acrostic psalm in Hebrew, focusing on a…
- Devotional Psalm 24 – The King of Glory
Psalm 24, a “temple entry” psalm, talks of the standard needed to meet the King of Glory. It teaches us that Christ as our…
- Devotional Psalm 23 – The Divine Shepherd
David’s Psalm 23 is so appealing because we connect with the imagery of a shepherd taking care of his flock, even those of us…
- Devotional Psalm 22 (Part 2) – Praise of the great congregation
The first part of Psalm 22 spoke of the suffering which Christ experienced on the Cross for our sins, from his perspective (as expressed…
September 2019
- Devotional Psalm 22 (Part 1) – Why have you forsaken me?
Psalm 22 clearly divides into two parts. In the first twenty-one verses, King David cries for help and laments his present suffering, fulfilled most…
- Devotional Psalm 21 – Victory in God’s Strength
Psalm 21 expresses the praise of God’s people for their victory in God’s strength. God provides the requested help to their king (Psalm 20),…
- Devotional Psalm 20 – Trust God in the Battle
Psalm 20 appears to be a psalm written for singing (in prayer) before battle by God’s people. The psalm splits into prayer before battle,…
- Devotional Psalm 19 – The Precious Revelation of God
Though the distance between God and us, the creature, is so great that we could never know of the blessings found in him unless…
August 2019
- Devotional Psalm 18 (Part 2) – Praise for God
In the second half of Psalm 18, King David heaps more praise on God. He offers praise for what God has done for him,…
- Devotional Psalm 18 (Part 1) – My God is a Rock
Psalm 18, a Royal Psalm of David, celebrates the deliverance of God’s people from their enemies, inspired by David’s deliverance from his enemies (1…
- Devotional Psalm 17 – Where we find refuge
Psalm 17 encourages us to find refuge in God. King David wrote this psalm to express his own need for refuge, and his trust…
- Devotional Psalm 16 – Confidence in God Alone
Read Psalm 16 Summary Many of David’s psalms were written in response to events in his life. Psalm 16 is one of the exceptions,…
July 2019
- Devotional Psalm 15 – Who may dwell with God?
Psalm 15, a hymn sung as worshipers entered the temple grounds, also addresses this question, demonstrating that it is personal character which allows us…
- Devotional Psalm 14 – The Fate of the Fool
The Bible considers the key sign of foolishness as someone who refuses to acknowledge God and worship him. Psalm 14 expands on this idea,…
- Devotional Psalm 13 – Feeling distance, knowing nearness
Psalm 13 expresses this tension in a believer’s life, as King David feels neglected and distanced from God. Yet this psalm also expresses the…
- Devotional Psalm 12 – Faithfulness among the faithless
Psalm 12 illustrates the cry and response of the faithful when surrounded by the faithless. Written by King David, it describes a time when…
- Devotional Psalm 11 – Confidence when everything falls apart
Written by King David when his life fell apart (possibly Absalom’s rebellion – 2 Samuel 15-19), this psalm expresses confidence in God when everything…
June 2019
- Devotional Psalm 10 – The Wicked and the Righteous Judge
Psalm 10 presents a lament at the wicked and their evil deeds, and asks God to intervene. It probably serves as a twin to…
- Devotional Psalm 9 – Praise to the divine King
Psalm 9 presents a song of praise to God, the divine King who rules and judges the whole world. Written by King David, it…
- Devotional Psalm 8 – Thankfulness for God’s Creation
Psalm 8 gives praise to God for his majesty, reminds us of our comparative smallness, yet gives thanks to God that he has granted…
- Devotional Psalm 7 – God, our refuge
David also suffered misrepresentations and false accusations. While the situation which brought about Psalm 7 is not known to us, it is clear that…
May 2019
- Devotional Psalm 6 – How Long, O LORD?
Psalm 6, an individual song of lament intended for corporate singing, is one psalm which appears to confront the suffering experienced from our sin.…
- Devotional Psalm 5 – Lead me in your righteousness
In Psalm 5, another song of individual lament by David, we see this question answered. We can cry out to God in times of…
- Devotional Psalm 4 – Finding Peace in God
Psalm 4 is a song written in a time of distress, possibly similar in circumstances to Psalm 3. Psalm 4 expresses confidence in God,…
- Devotional Psalm 3 – Save Us, O Our God
In Psalm 3, the first psalm explicitly attributed to King David, we see David cry out to God for help as he flees the…
- Devotional Psalm 2 – Jesus Reigns
Psalm 2 encourages us to give homage to King Jesus, God’s anointed ruler. Like Psalm 1, it serves as an introduction to the wider…
April 2019
- Devotional Psalm 1 – Blessed is the man
Perhaps you have heard of “two ways to live” which is an evangelistic tool for helping people understand their need for Christ. We either…
- Devotional Haggai 2:20-23 – A seal on a promise
In Haggai 2:20-23, God sent one final message, promising once again to bless his people and glorify his name, with Zerubabbel as the ‘seal…
- Devotional Malachi 4:1-6 – The coming of the LORD
We have looked at Malachi’s final confrontation with God’s people in two parts. In the first part of this oracle from God, we saw…
- Devotional Malachi 3:13-18 – Hard words
Malachi moves on from a discussion of showing generosity to God, his ministers, and the poor with a final confrontation. In the first part…
- Devotional Malachi 3:6-12 – Rekindling generosity
One way in which the faithlessness of God’s people was clear in Malachi’s day was in their giving to God, which God firmly rebukes…
March 2019
- Devotional Malachi 2:17-3:5 – Where is the Justice?
In Malachi’s fifth message (Malachi 2:17-3:5), God answers their complaint of a lack of justice by promising the sending of the Messiah. The Messiah…
- Devotional Malachi 2:10-16 – Faithless husbands, faithful God
One place justice was absent was in the marriages of Israel. In his fourth message, Malachi takes aim at the men of Israel (chapter…
- Devotional Malachi 2:1-9 – Troublesome priests
In the third message of God to his people through Malachi, the corrupt practices of the priests are brought into focus. In verses 1…
- Devotional Malachi 1:1-6 – Cold Hearts, Empty Worship
God sent the prophet Malachi to encourage God’s people to renewed trust, repentance of their sins, and promising the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah.…
- Devotional Malachi 1:1-5 – The Covenant Love of God
God sent a prophet, Malachi (whose name means “My Messenger”) to encourage God’s people to renewed trust, repentance of their sins, and promising the…
February 2019
- Devotional Haggai 2:10-19 – Cleansed and blessed
In Haggai 2:10-19, we see God address the sinfulness of his people. He reminds them of their sinfulness through an analogy, applies that analogy…
- Devotional Haggai 2:1-9 – The Promise of Better Things
God spoke again to his people through Haggai (2:1-9), encouraging them to remain devoted to their God. God acknowledges their present situation, announces his…
- Devotional Haggai 1 – Reshaping our Priorities
The book of Haggai opens with a call to God’s people to reshape their priorities. They should reflect on their present barrenness, return their…
January 2019
- Devotional Hebrews 13:22-25 – Blessings and Greetings
For thirteen chapters, the author of Hebrews has encouraged, warned, and exhorted us to persevere in the Christian faith. Jesus fulfils all God’s promises…
- Devotional Hebrews 13:15-19 – Sacrificing the Fruit of our Lips
Last week we read of how the author of Hebrews encouraged us to bear Christ’s reproach and go to him “outside the camp,” focusing…
- Devotional Hebrews 13:9-18 – Outside the Camp
Life in this world is shifty, changing, and uncertain. Society’s views can change in a generation, leaders in an instant, lives upturn in a…
- Devotional Hebrews 13:1-8 – Life in the Christian Community
The author of Hebrews has written of how Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament types and prophecies. The author has warned us multiple…
