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
Pleading the Fifth
Leviticus 5:1
“If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity.”The fifth chapter of Leviticus and the fifth amendment of the United States Constitution don’t quite harmonize. Consider for a moment the contrast between the simplicity of God’s prescribed ethic of honesty here and our protective rights given us by America’s founding fathers. What is it a police officer says to a witness when taking him in for questing? “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do might be used against you in a court of law.” Effectively, that right is given to the individual as a countermeasure to the corrupt practices that often coincide with court proceedings. The right could be restated this way: “You better not say too much because a well-versed attorney could twist your words in a way that proves detrimental in court.” Use the wrong words about what you saw or didn’t see, what you did or didn’t do, and rhetoricians are waiting in the wings to pounce. No doubt our own society today has been ripped apart by mistrials, cities have been dismantled by corruption, and whistleblowers who should’ve testified didn’t come forward for fear of reprisal.
But Leviticus 5:1 supersedes the nuances of modern legal codes with a moral code that is founded on an individual’s responsibility to God first and foremost. In other words, God places the impetus on a man’s moral responsibility rather than on his civic duty. Whereas modern headlines today tend to focus on the judicial aspect of corruption—“So and so lied to Congress! So and so accepted a bribe that tampered with the court decision! So and so had a conflict of interests! So and so withheld unclassified information from the public!”—the headline in this ancient commonwealth would’ve simply read, “So and so sinned against God by not speaking the truth!” Note that. To keep quiet for the sake of self- preservation is iniquity. Not just a dereliction of civic duty nor a procedural act of self-preservation. But sin.
Friend, keep bearing witness today even to your own hurt. The devils can twist your words, but don’t let them stop your tongue.
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From Immanuel’s Veins
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Sabbath Psalm (from William Cowper’s hymn, ‘There is a Fountain Filled with Blood’)
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Grace is More
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A Little Clarity
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Buried in the Sinews
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Cometh the Tide
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Better than BBQ
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Sabbath Psalm (A revision of A. Cleveland Coxe’s hymn, ‘O Where are Kings and Empires Now?”)
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Picture Perfect
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Pressing Onward
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Unwritten Prayers
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Blood on Our Hands
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Goodness: the Greatest Blessing
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Frederick Brewster’s hymn, ‘Lord God, Our Thanks to Thee We Raise’)
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Shimmering in the Fire
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On Holy Ground We Tread
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You, Me, and Other Gemstones
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Self-Sacrifice
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Faith, Worked Out
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Mary Ann Lathbury’s hymn, ‘Break Thou the Bread of Life’)
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Love—in Excess
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A Hand-Me-Down Art
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Gendered Language
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The Afterglow
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Moses and the Red Letters
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of John Peterson’s hymn, ‘Holy Spirit, Now Outpoured’)
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Crime and Forgiveness
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Unbreakable
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On the Face of It
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The Distinguishing Mark
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A Plot Twist
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Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Frank Bottome’s hymn, ‘The Comforter Has Come’)
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Come Away with Me
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A Critical Departure
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Down with the Ship
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The Good Fight
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A Horror Story
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Sabbath Psalm 47 (Revised from John Peterson’ hymn ‘Jesus is Coming Again’)
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Come All Who Thirst!
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A Reassuring Truth
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What's On the Menu Today?
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Choices and Consequence
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What Have We Become?
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Sabbath Psalm 46 (Revision of John Bakewell’s hymn ‘Hail, Thou Once-Despised Jesus!’)
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When Adjectives Fail
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Epics and Epitaphs
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A Team Effort
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What a Guy!
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A Holy Touch
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Sabbath Psalm 45 (Revision of Thomas Kelly’s hymn ‘Hark! Ten Thousand Harps and Voices’)
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Name Your Price
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Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Smell
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A Most Fulfilling Prophecy
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Marked by the Blood
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Dressing the Part
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Sabbath Psalm 44 (Revision of John Peterson’s hymn ‘Open Wide, Ye Doors’)
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Facts and Feelings
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Priesthood: A Balancing Act
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Beautiful Glory—Glorious Beauty
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Lamplighters
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A Mobile Home
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Sabbath Psalm 43 (Revision of Giovanni P. Da Palestrina’s hymn ‘The Strife is Over’)
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An Open Door
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Gold Rush
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Practicing God’s Presence
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An Ark Like No Other
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A Heavenly Contribution
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Sabbath Psalm 42
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A Crackling Fire
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Picnic Time!
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There is a Fountain
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A Book Signing
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A Recurring Theme
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Sabbath Psalm 41
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Are You Listening?
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Almighty Love
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Got Justice?
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A Song to Share
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Fable of Farce?
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Sabbath Psalm 40
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A Revolutionary Idea
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The Avenger
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A Silver Lining
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Liberty by Submission, pt. 2
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Liberty by Submission, pt. 1
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Sabbath Psalm 39
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A Bit More Context
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Laws on Slavery (An Introduction)
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The Art of Worship
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A Deep Light
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A Word on Honor
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Blessed Rest
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What’s in a Name?
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The Law in Essence
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Further In
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Lead Me to Calvary
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The Gospel Call
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Supreme Court Justice
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An Intervention