by Sherry Sommer When my father, a native of Shiraz, Iran,* passed away a year ago, he left me some Persian carpets made of wool.  The carpets are beautifully and intricately designed, and each [...]

by Carolyn Schmitt During our Devotional team discussion, it was agreed that the “context” for each of the scriptures in Chapter 6 referred back to Verse 1 in various ways.   It’s easy to say a [...]

by Aaron Bjorklund   “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward [...]

by Kathleen Petersen When you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, they have their [...]

by Grace Hunter When you read the book of Job you encounter a common mindset:  If bad things happen to me or my family, I must have broken God’s rules. If I live by [...]

Sherry Sommer When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in [...]

by Bruce Hanson Fasting “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their [...]

by Grace Hunter   Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ‘For if you forgive men when [...]

by Aaron Bjorklund   "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'" Matthew 6:13 NIV Evil is bigger than the devil. In ancient cultures, including Jewish culture, evil was seen as [...]

by Carolyn Schmitt My, how time flies!  Just three months ago it was the first Sunday in Advent, then we celebrated Jesus’s birth and the start of 2024 and now we are three weeks [...]