Walk in Wisdom
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Latest Devotional
A Call to Reason
Judg 9:16, 19–21Tuesday, March 4
A Call to Reason
Judges 9:16a & 19-21
“Now therefore, … if you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you. But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo … and devour Abimelech.” And Jotham ran away and fled and went to Beer and lived there, because of Abimelech his brother.
We can read Jotham’s declaration here as a specific prophecy against the perpetrators of the horrific violence toward his own family, or we can read it as a broader principle of the consequences inherent to vice in general, but either way, it adds up to the fundamental principle expressed by our modern adage, “you’ve made your bed—now you have to lie in it.”
I wonder: did it never occur to the leaders of Shechem that if Abimelech is heartless enough to murder his entire family in cold blood, that he wouldn’t stop there? Were they so foolish in their own lust for greater economic leverage to think that Abimelech would simply put away his sword after seizing power? They’re happy to send him out against their rivals as a rabid wolf, but do they think he’ll just nestle at their feet like a lapdog when the carnage is complete? Did no one in that board room stand up to say, “Wait guys—I know this looks fireproof in the short term, but what about the long term? What if the fire we unleash on Gideon’s family comes back to burn us in the end?” Ah, but that’s the whole trick of vice, isn’t it? That’s the lie going all the way back to the serpent in Eden. Lust, greed, and envy only consider the present. Sin only sees the dangling fruit and thinks, “I’m hungry now.” Sin never looks behind for warning or ahead for rebuke. It doesn’t think—it just acts.
Friend, before you scroll the internet today, consider tomorrow. Before you send that angry text message, ponder the consequences. Before you shake hands in that business transaction or put money down on the big game or press that bottle to your lips or gossip to your neighbor about your mutual friend, listen to that voice of reason calling out from Mt. Gerizim against your own rebellion, and stop the fire before it starts.
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The Parable of the Bramble
Judg 9:8–11, 14 -
Sabbath Psalm, March 1-2
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Preaching from the Mountaintops
Judg 9:7 -
Live by the Word
Judg 9:5 -
What a Waste!
Judg 9:4 -
A House Divided Cannot Stand
Judg 9:1–2 -
Repetition and Remembrance
Judg 8:33–34 -
Not All that Glitters is Gold
Judg 8:24, 27 -
A Garland for Gideon
Judg 8:22–23 -
The Whole Story in Three Words
Judg 8:4, 10 -
Watery Words
Judg 8:1–3 -
Answering the Late Call
Judg 7:24–25 -
A Double-Sided Sword
Judg 7:20, 22 -
Stolen Valor
Judg 7:10, 16–18 -
Motivational Speech
Judg 7:9–11 -
He Leads Me By Streams of Water
Judg 7:4–7 -
A Line in The Sand
Judg 7:2–3 -
Moving Forward
Judg 7:1 -
Faith and The Second Guess
Judg 6:39–40 -
Morning Miracles
Judg 6:36–38 -
Jerubbaal Sr.
Judg 6:30–32 -
Doers of the Word
Judg 6:25, 27 -
An Ode to Fear
Judg 6:22–24 -
A Word that Could Move Mountains
Judg 6:11–12, 15 -
Sin is So Unproductive
Judg 6:1–4 -
I Will Awaken the Dawn
Judg 5:31 -
Song of the Stars
Judg 5:20–21 -
Sabbath Psalm (January 25-26) (Adapted from Fanny Crosby’s hymn “Tell Me the Story of Jesus”)
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The Duet, pt.2
Judg 5:16–18 -
The Dynamic Duet
Judg 5:1–2, 10–11 -
Sola Deo Gloria
Judg 4:17–18, 21 -
Faith and Force
Judg 4:14–16 -
Gender Gaps
Judg 4:6, 8–9 -
Sabbath Psalm (January 18-19) (Adapted from the Latin hymn “The Strife is Over,” translated by Francis Pott)
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A Familiar Voice
Judg 4:1–2, 4–5 -
A Bone of Contention
Judg 3:31 -
Wired Different
Judg 3:20–21, 27, 30 -
The Original Rocky
Judg 3:15–16 -
A Turning Point
Judg 3:12–14 -
Sabbath Psalm 27 (January 11-12) Adapted from William How’s hymn, “O Word of God Incarnate”)
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Last Man Standing
Judg 3:7, 9–11 -
Tests, Hard Fought
Judg 3:1, 4 -
The Eyes that Pitied Me
Judg 2:16, 18 -
Shadows of Doubt
Judg 2:10–11, 14–15 -
Diamonds in the Rough
Judg 2:7–8, 10 -
Sabbath Psalm (January 4-5) (Adapted from Bessie Porter Head’s hymn, “O Breath of Life”)
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A Slow Drip
Judg 1:27–34 -
Another Rahab
Judg 1:22, 24–25 -
Strong Bones
Judg 1:16 -
Of Milk and Honey
Josh 24:16–18 -
The Bland and the Beautiful
Josh 23:1–2, 14 -
Sabbath Psalm (Adapted from A.C. Palmer’s hymn, “Ready”)
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War, No More
Josh 22:32–33 -
The Meek Shall Inherit the Land
Josh 22:21–22, 28 -
Swords to Plowshares—and Visa Versa
Josh 22:10–12 -
For the Joy Set Before Us
Josh 22:7–8 -
Curtain Call
Josh 22:1–4 -
Sabbath Psalm (From G.A. Young’s hymn, “God Leads Us Along”)
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The King’s English
Josh 21:13–15 -
A City at the Center of the World
Josh 20:1–3, 7 -
It is Finished
Josh 19:51 -
Working Class
Josh 19:49–50 -
A Bright, Morning Star
Josh 19:10, 13, 15 -
Sabbath Psalm (Adapted from Fanny Crosby’s hymn, “All the Way My Savior Leads Me”)
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The Receiving End
Josh 18:2–3 -
A Most Sacred Place
Josh 18:1 -
Just Do it!
Josh 17:16–18 -
Providence in the Pit
Josh 16:4 -
A Champion Emerges
Josh 15:16 -
Sabbath Psalm (Adapted from Donald Thrupp’s hymn, “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”)
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The Chronicles of Caleb
Josh 15:14–15 -
The Bigger Picture
Josh 14:15 -
Meet Me at Hebron
Josh 14:12–14 -
Caleb, the Lionheart
Josh 14:6–7, 10–11 -
How Great the Day!
Josh 14:5 -
Shall We Gather at the River?
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A Eulogy, in Brief
Josh 13:1 -
Adding All Of It Up
Josh 12:1, 7 -
Poetic Justice
Josh 11:21–22 -
Breaking Ground in God’s Country
Josh 11:16 -
Miracles in the Mundane
Josh 10:14 -
On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand
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A Lesson on Prayer Requests
Josh 10:12 -
Grace That is Greater
Josh 10:6–8 -
A Tale of Two Cities
Josh 10:1–2 -
Holy Water, Boys
Josh 9:22, 24–27 -
Try Not to Laugh
Josh 9:3–6 -
Paradise and a Paradox
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Chaff in the Wind
Josh 9:1–2 -
The Holy in the Common
Josh 8:30–32 -
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down
Josh 8:28–29 -
A New Twist in the Tale
Josh 8:4, 5–6, 7 -
A Fighter Like His Father
Josh 8:1, 3 -
Fingerprints
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This Spells Trouble
Josh 7:26 -
A Deathbed Confession
Josh 7:20–21, 25 -
Up, and At ‘Em!
Josh 7:10–12 -
See Saint Run
Josh 7:4–6 -
A Little Leaven
Josh 7:1