“Go, return on your way…” (1 Kings 19:15) These words came from the Lord to the prophet Elijah when he was at his wits end. Elijah was done fighting, done feeling alone, and done running. “It is enough”, he said to the Lord, “take away my life” (19:4). Can you relate? God’s people are not immune to failure, and certainly not immune from the feeling of failure. Busy schedules, social pressures, work demands, health concerns, expectations, financial burdens and a number of oth

Today's reading (Dt. 31:1-29) is book-ended by acknowledgement of Moses' mortality. Moses was old and he was going to die. He wouldn't be able to lead Israel forever, and now having brought them to the Promised Land, it was time for Moses to go be with the Lord. Deuteronomy 31 serves as a "passing-of-the-torch" chapter that sees Moses handing the reins over to Joshua as the new leader of Israel. In this transition of leadership, Moses is sure to: Encourage Joshua (6,7) - Twic

God expects a lot out of those that follow Him, but He also provides for His followers to a great degree. In our reading today (Dt. 7:1-26) these two truths are prominently shown through God's example and teaching to Israel. Here's what this passage shows us: God Provides Victory (7:1, 2) - The opening verses of this text tell us what God has done or will do. We are told that God will bring them into the land and that He will give the enemy over to them. These action words of

One summer, my family traveled to Turner Falls to enjoy a weekend or so of vacation. My siblings and I were bound and determined to swim in every place we could during the trip (I still remember my horrible sunburn) and we eventually found ourselves at one of the ponds that had a waterfall feeding into it. Not being a very good swimmer myself, I inched closer to the waterfall as best I could clinging to rocks and mapping out every step. You can guess what happens next. I, a y