Passage, Paragraph, and Prayer

Everyone gets angry, and even the psalmist says, and teaches children to say, “Indignation seizes me.” But what drives the anger is important, as the psalmist also makes clear.

Music Credit: Johann Se…

Different English versions will translate Genesis 4:1 different ways. One common translation is: “I have brought forth a man with the help of the LORD.” But another possible translation (one that, fo…

The psalmist says he takes comfort in the Lord’s decrees from of old. What are those decrees, and how do they comfort us?

Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Mo…

The first angels mentioned in the Bible are cherubim. In this devotion, we take a closer look at this particular class of angels, which are usually portrayed as standing guard.

Music Credit: J. S. Bac…

We like to be liked. That can make it difficult to remain a Christian, since God promises that those who hold to the truth will face insults, mocking, and worse.

Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, T…

God not only proclaimed Adam and Eve banished; he had to drive them out. We, too, often have difficulty accepting the realities of a fallen world.

Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, d…

One familiar evening hymn describes a scenario “when other helpers fail and comforts flee.” Psalm 119:50 describes one comfort that will never fail us, even in the worst affliction.

Music Credit: Joha…

Once again, just as he did in Genesis 1:26, God refers to himself here as “us.” What is he teaching us about himself?

Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria …

How tragic it is when a person’s hopes are dashed so often that he no longer even desires to have hope. In this first verse of the seventh stanza of Psalm 119, the psalmist asks that God would never …

By banishing Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, God deprived them of a number of good things he himself had given them. But he did so for their own good.

Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit sc…

“I will lift up my palms to your commands,” the psalmist says. What does that mean? In this devotion, we learn both about prayer and about what we can expect to received from God’s word.

Music Credit:…

After the fall into sin, Adam and Eve, with their sense dulled from sin, clothed themselves with fig leaves. God now clothes them properly, and in so doing reinforces their sense of shame and reinfor…

We amuse ourselves with what we love, both because what we love naturally leads us to have fun with it, and because amusing ourselves with it helps to ensure we will continue to love it. The psalmist…

Eve’s name, which means “life,” didn’t just allude to the fact that humans got to keep on living, instead of all being struck dead. It also alluded to the spiritual and eternal life that God would gi…

Karl Marx once famously described religion as “the opiate of the masses,” which implies it’s for simple people leading ordinary lives. But the psalmist reminds us in Psalm 119:46 that we cannot be pu…

For all the consequences of sin Adam and Eve and their descendants would have to endure, there was one they didn’t, or at least didn’t have to, if they believed in God’s promise. And that fact was a …

Many people feel trapped and stuck in a very small world due to their circumstances and, more importantly, their religion. Only Christianity gives us perfect freedom, no matter how limiting our physi…

The other consequences for sin would be trivial if it weren’t for the ultimate one—death. We can shake our fist at the reality, thick-headedly try to undo it ourselves, try to hide from it as long as…

Having resolve to keep God’s law is a good and Christian thing. But what does it mean to “keep God’s law”? And where does the strength come from to act on that resolve?

Music Credit: Johann Sebastian …

Ever tried to plant a garden? Weeds and animals try to ruin your work, and in the meantime, delicious fruit grows in the wild all on its own. God talks about this consequence of sin in Genesis 3:17–1…