Today's Devotions

Showcase: Assorted Treats

  • A Dangerous God +

    Scripture Exodus 4:24-26 Read More
  • Everyday Tasks: The Two Marys at the Gravesite +

    Everyday Tasks Read More
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barren1Do we really want to be transformed by God? In the passage (below) from Isaiah, not only a person is transformed but an entire nation, a makeover of both the spiritual and ecological elements. God’s transformation not only lays low evil doers and cynics, it is God’s heart recognizing those who were willing to turn toward Him. The biblical transformation Isaiah prophecies is rooted in a rejuvenation for those people who have turned—willingly—their faces to see Him, and submit to Him alone.  He takes the things and people that are “wasted”, “deaf”, “blind”, the “castoffs”, “the down and outs”, and returns them into reflections of His glory.

15-16 Doom to you! You pretend to have the inside track.
You shut God out and work behind the scenes,
Plotting the future as if you knew everything,
acting mysterious, never showing your hand.
You have everything backward!
You treat the potter as a lump of clay.
Does a book say to its author, 
"He didn't write a word of me"?
Does a meal say to the woman who cooked it,
"She had nothing to do with this"?

17-21 And then before you know it,
and without you having anything to do with it,
Wasted Lebanon will be transformed into lush gardens,
and Mount Carmel reforested.
At that time the deaf will hear 
word-for-word what's been written.
After a lifetime in the dark,
the blind will see.
The castoffs of society will be laughing and dancing in God,
the down-and-outs shouting praise to The Holy of Israel.

For there'll be no more gangs on the street.
Cynical scoffers will be an extinct species.
Those who never missed a chance to hurt or demean 
will never be heard of again:
Gone the people who corrupted the courts,
gone the people who cheated the poor,
gone the people who victimized the innocent.
Isaiah 29:16-18 (The Message)

So the question remains, do we recognize our need to be transformed, or do we think we are not in need of the Almighty’s recreating?

Reflections to Consider

  • Warfare Spirituality

    The Trinity function as farmers of our souls, actively caring for God’s creation: an ongoing, radical reclamation of His creation. Read More
  • You are free

    The Jesus who calmed a sea of deadly, stormy waves, whose arrival sent thousands of demons cringing and cowering to Read More
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Publications

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Music

  • Magnificent

    Few songs capture the entrancing, humbling, overwhelming awe I experience in the presence of God. Magnificent, a song by U2 Read More
  • I'll Go Crazy

    I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight Every generation gets a chance to change the world - U2 Read More
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Audio & Video

  • When God Smiles

    Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaks about his abiding faith during years of South African apartheid with 'What Is Enlightenment Magazine's editor Read More
  • Lost in the Wilderness

    Jesus’ parable about the lost sheep has always struck a chord in me. I appreciate the willingness of our Lord Read More
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Favorites

  • Praise Adonai by Paul Baloche +

    Who is like Him The Lion and the Lamb Seated on the throne Mountains bow down Every ocean roars To the Lord of hosts  Read More
  • An Interview with Paul Washer by Tim Challies +

    You probably know Paul Washer as the man who preached the infamous "Shocking Youth Message," a sermon that has tallied Read More
  • Glorious by Paul Baloche +

    Look inside the mysterySee the empty crossSee the risen SaviorVictorious and strong Read More
  • Paul's Prayers +

    How do we pray? What should we pray for? Yes, there is the Lord's prayer--Jesus teaching his disciples, and us, Read More
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Hidden Blessings

  • Thinking on Jesus Each Hour, Frank C Laubach +

    Practicing God’s Presence To his followers Jesus said ‘Come with me, walk with me, talk and listen to me, work Read More
  • Just a Little Talk with Jesus, Cleavant Derricks +

    Now let us have a little talk with Jesus. Let us tell Him all about our troubles. He will hear Read More
  • Jesus be the centre +

    Center is a song that speaks of the essence of our life in Christ, and echoes the words the Christ Read More
  • The Community of Jesus +

    What does it mean to be a Christian? Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC, makes a compelling Read More
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