Author Archives: SFOI

Daily Devotional 8-13-21 Planted by God Lebanon’s cedars are emblematic of the Christian, in that they owe their planting entirely to the Lord. This is quite true of every child of God. He is not man-planted, nor self-planted, but God-planted. The mysterious hand of the divine Spirit dropped the living seed into a heart thatContinue reading “Daily Devotional 8-13-21”

Daily Devotional 8-12-21 The Eighth Beatitude: The Persecution of the Gospel “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for yourContinue reading “Daily Devotional 8-12-21”

Daily Devotional 8-11-21 Spiritual Amnesia…? In his recently released, Christians: The Urgent Case for Jesus in Our World, widely respected Australian journalist, Dr Greg Sheridan writes: ‘In the West… religious belief has been in serious decline in recent years. The loss of faith is part of a broad movement in the culture. It is alsoContinue reading “Daily Devotional 8-11-21”

Daily Devotional 8-10-21 Anticipating the Day of the Lord In the Old Testament, the prophets spoke of the day of the “visitation of God.” It was seen sometimes as a day of great comfort and rejoicing, and at other times as a day of great distress and judgment. At the birth of Jesus, God visitedContinue reading “Daily Devotional 8-10-21”

Daily Devotional 8-9-21 Planning for Eternity What will the future be like? What will your income be in five years? What will your health be like in three years? Will civilization be safe for your children and your grandchildren? We ask questions like these, even if only to ourselves. Businesses and ministries also plan forContinue reading “Daily Devotional 8-9-21”

Daily Devotional 8-6-21 Know Your Enemies What enemies are around? Errors abound, and new ones appear every hour: Against what heresy am I to be on my guard? Sins creep from their lurking places when the darkness reigns; I need to climb the watchtower and give myself to prayer. Our heavenly Protector anticipated all theContinue reading “Daily Devotional 8-6-21”

Daily Devotional 8-5-21 The Seventh Beatitude: Pax or Hapax? “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt 5:9). Pax, of course, is Latin for peace. But, “Hapax?” Yes. It’s short for hapax legomenon. It’s a transliteration from the Greek, and means, “a thing said only once.” Hapax (pronounced with anContinue reading “Daily Devotional 8-5-21”

Daily Devotional 8-4-21 Nice People or New People…? A question sometimes put to me is this: ‘Why are many non-churchgoers nicer than some who say they’re Christians?’ Shouldn’t we expect God’s people to be living lives reflecting Jesus’ teaching? Certainly Paul the Apostle expects this. In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1 he says: I therefore,Continue reading “Daily Devotional 8-4-21”

Daily Devotional 8-3-21 Unraveling the Mystery The place we will occupy in the future will be similar to places we occupy now, but there will also be differences. The heavenly place will be a place of manifest glory. Our bodies will have continuity with our present bodies. There will also be discontinuity. Our new bodiesContinue reading “Daily Devotional 8-3-21”

Daily Devotional 8-2-21 Understanding the Future When we ask questions about matters that elude our full understanding, we tend to look for models or patterns that are similar to what we do understand. We seek for clues to a new and different paradigm. The shift from earthbound thinking to conceiving of heaven is a massiveContinue reading “Daily Devotional 8-2-21”