The Carrot Principle
"To you I lift up my eyes" (Ps. 123:1).We have probably heard the expression: "Dangling a carrot in front of someone's nose."This concept goes back to earlier times when farmers used to dangle carrots and other...
Youth Group Devo: Therefore
Quick Backdrop:OK, let's admit it. Sometimes reading is not the most exciting thing in the world to do. As fate or divine providence would have it, God's Word is, well, words, that require reading. So, sometime...
An Angel of Salvation
"But we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor" (Heb. 2:9).Many years ago, a friend related a story from his childhood. He had grown up in a g...
An Angel of Hope
"But in these last days He has spoken to us through a Son" (Heb. 1:2).When I was serving a rural North Carolina congregation in the mid 1980s, I became quick friends with one wonderful family. This clan lived a...
An Angel of Good News
"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:30).Most of the news we listen to, and perhaps the news we relish, is bad. We seem to have a penchant for the tragedies of others, for th...
An Angel of Promise
"You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at His birth" (Luke 1:14).A few weeks ago, my wife and I discovered some old family video—on VHS! Here we rediscovered some rare family footage that ...
Youth Group Devo: God’s Rumble Strips in Scripture
Quick Backdrop:While everything in the Bible is important, Scripture has some built-in words and phrases that serve as clues that we are about to come upon something special. They're biblical rumble strips simi...
Youth Group Devo: Preparing for the Big
Quick Backdrop:This devo is the second of a two-part devo exploring two lesser-known people who play a big part in Jesus' birth, thereby giving us key insight into the nature of Jesus' life and the reason for H...
Devo: Expecting the Big
Quick Backdrop:Quick thought exercise: Besides Mary, Joseph and Jesus, who are the other people who immediately come to mind when you see the words nativity or manger scene?Jesus' birth attracted some interesti...
Devo: When Friends Fail
"But I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I heard from the Father" (John 15:15)We find it difficult to fail, but often we find it more disconcerting when friends fail us. That ...