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Walk in Wisdom
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These daily devotionals are written to help you remain rooted and grounded in God's Word each day. We have one devotional for each weekday, and one for the weekend.
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Latest Devotional
Better Judgment
Numbers 35:31-32
“Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest.”A crucial reason for the severity of God’s like-for-like punishment of murderers is expressed in the following verse, but even without that widened context the justness of this law resonates. Not because the penalty of death matches the crime of murder—a life for a life—but rather because the punishment here is juxtaposed explicitly against a payment of ransom. In other words, this Scripture doesn’t read, “You shall give no mercy to the murderer but only justice,” nor “You shall not let the murderer go free but shall kill him,” even if these are implicit in the text; instead, it reads, “You shall accept no ransom,” revealing how greed can corrupt justice if not kept in check.
Think about it, friend: how easy would it be for a lenient judge or even perhaps a greedy family member of the deceased to exploit a crime for his own gain? How tempting might it be for even a stalwart District Attorney to posit a murderer’s pardon as mercy, waxing on about the social conflicts in the criminal’s early life that led to such unhinged brutality, arguing how thorough counselling from expert psychologists might remediate those baser impulses, and selling the story to the papers all while raking in blood money behind the scenes?
Cursed is our ability to turn sin that grieves God’s heart and ruins our neighbor’s fortunes into a profitable enterprise! Our society has it all backwards these days. Rather than being triggered by grotesque sins against humanity, people are triggered by just acts of retribution. But don’t let the pop psychologists fool you. The reason so many violent criminals get off Scot free in our society today isn’t because of compassion and empathy but because of money. Someone paid a ransom to someone else, either behind the scenes, or out in the open, supposing it was enough to atone for a stolen life.
But I’m so grateful to have a just God Who desires better and demands better and does better!
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Latest Devotional
Better Judgment
Numbers 35:31-32
“Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest.”A crucial reason for the severity of God’s like-for-like punishment of murderers is expressed in the following verse, but even without that widened context the justness of this law resonates. Not because the penalty of death matches the crime of murder—a life for a life—but rather because the punishment here is juxtaposed explicitly against a payment of ransom. In other words, this Scripture doesn’t read, “You shall give no mercy to the murderer but only justice,” nor “You shall not let the murderer go free but shall kill him,” even if these are implicit in the text; instead, it reads, “You shall accept no ransom,” revealing how greed can corrupt justice if not kept in check.
Think about it, friend: how easy would it be for a lenient judge or even perhaps a greedy family member of the deceased to exploit a crime for his own gain? How tempting might it be for even a stalwart District Attorney to posit a murderer’s pardon as mercy, waxing on about the social conflicts in the criminal’s early life that led to such unhinged brutality, arguing how thorough counselling from expert psychologists might remediate those baser impulses, and selling the story to the papers all while raking in blood money behind the scenes?
Cursed is our ability to turn sin that grieves God’s heart and ruins our neighbor’s fortunes into a profitable enterprise! Our society has it all backwards these days. Rather than being triggered by grotesque sins against humanity, people are triggered by just acts of retribution. But don’t let the pop psychologists fool you. The reason so many violent criminals get off Scot free in our society today isn’t because of compassion and empathy but because of money. Someone paid a ransom to someone else, either behind the scenes, or out in the open, supposing it was enough to atone for a stolen life.
But I’m so grateful to have a just God Who desires better and demands better and does better!
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A Roll Call
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Kingdom Rising
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A Tale of Two Pilgrims
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Sabbath Psalm (Revised from Charles Wesley’s hymn ‘Depth of Mercy’)
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A Leprous Colony
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Word Spreads
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Dry Seasons Pt. 2
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Dry Seasons
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For the Record
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Sabbath Psalm (From Priscilla Owens’ hymn ‘Jesus Saves!’’)
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Monumental Letters
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A Second Impression
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Fighting Words
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Either-Or
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Striking Justice
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Sabbath Psalm (From Lidie H. Edmund’s hymn ‘My Faith Has Found a Resting Place’)
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The Fall of Balaam
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Justice—A Double-Edged Sword
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Spoken For
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A Divine Intervention
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Promises Performed
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Out of the Ordinary
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Dying Request
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Hand in Hand
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When God Speaks for You
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A New Genesis
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Sabbath Psalm (Revised from John Peterson’ hymn ‘A Flag to Follow’)
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In Broad Daylight
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No Place Like Home
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Balaam’s Final Oracle
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Faith—An Oasis
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Balaam’s Second Oracle
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Henry F. Lyte’s hymn ‘Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken’)
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Balaam’s First Oracle
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A Language Barrier pt. 2
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A Language Barrier pt. 1
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No Solicitors!
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Out of the Shadows
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Sabbath Psalm (Revised from Palmer Hartsough’s hymn ‘I Am Resolved’)
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The Way of Kings
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Lost Books
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The Truth Bites
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The Hand-Off
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Rebels All
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Mary D. James’ hymn ‘All for Jesus’)
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Come to the Waters
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Eulogies for the Living
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Sin is Oh So Draining
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In Christ Alone
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Guardians of the Gift
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Sabbath Psalm (From E. W. Blandy’s hymn, ‘Take the World but Give Me Jesus’)
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A Sappy Symbol
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Rhetorical Righteousness
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A Powerful Posture
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Making Memories
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Tribes and Tongues, pt. 2
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Sabbath Psalm (Adapted from Philip P. Bliss’s hymn, ‘Let the Lower Lights be Burning’)
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Tribes and Tongues, pt. 1
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Stop the Rot!
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Jesus Love the Little Children
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Beating Hearts
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One-Sided
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Sabbath Psalm (Adapted from Joseph Scriven’s hymn, ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’)
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The Beginning of Wisdom
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The Grasshopper Principle
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Do You See What I See?
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Time Out
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A Reconciling Rebuke
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Sabbath Psalm (From Fanny Crosby’s beloved hymn, ‘Near the Cross’)
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Unrighteous Rhetoric
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A Story Shared
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Moses’ Complaint pt. 2
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Moses’ Complaint pt. 1
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Famished
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Sabbath Psalm (Adapted from George Matheson’s hymn ‘O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go’)
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Burning
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High Notes and Low Notes
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Silver Chords
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The Waiting Room
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The One and the Many
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Sabbath Psalm (A revision of John W. Peterson’s hymn ‘A Student’s Prayer’)
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Transitions
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The Gold Standard
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Between the Angels
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An Acceptable Approach
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Waxing Lyrical
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of John W. Peterson’s hymn, ‘Just One Step at a Time’)
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Locks of Love
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A Nazirite New Year
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Love is Jealous, Love is Kind
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Get Your Hard Hat Ready
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Blue Collar Cloth
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Fanny Crosby’s hymn ‘All the Way My Savior Leads Me’)
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Beyond the Blue
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A Most Sacred Order
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Awaiting the Dawn
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Tribal Standards
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Count Me In
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Hallelujah!