Passage, Paragraph, and Prayer

After God spoke to Noah, Noah’s perspective changed. He now saw all his usual haunts and acquaintances (besides seven of his family members) as places and people that would be *under water* and completely destroyed. God wants us to have a similar perspective. Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).

The poet Robert Frost famously talked about two roads diverging in a yellow wood. In Psalm 119:101, the psalmist talks about forks in the road of our life that we encounter every day. Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

God gave Noah enormous tasks, and then Noah went to work and did them, just as commanded. How do we do a better job complying with what God has commanded us? Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).

Psalm 119:100 concludes a string of three verses where the psalmist reflects on the outstanding effects of God’s word by listing three groups of people who cannot stand up to its wisdom. In this devotion, we consider how God’s word gives us more understanding than our elders, even those recognized for their wisdom. Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movemen...

Even though it might not be very devotional content, at some point when talking about Noah’s ark, we have to talk about dinosaurs—both to satisfy human curiosity and to address the criticisms of skeptics. Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).

Psalm 119:99 continues a string of three verses where the psalmist reflects on the outstanding effects of God’s word by listing three groups of people who cannot stand up to its wisdom. In this devotion, we consider how God’s word gives us more wisdom and insight than our teachers, especially when they do not approach their subjects from a biblical, Christian worldview. Music Credit: Johann Sebast...

God commanded Noah to bring pairs of all the land creatures with him on the ark. But to enable him to fulfill that command, God also performed a miracle—which would be essentially the last sign and call to repentance for the rest of humanity. Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).

Psalm 119:98 begins a string of three verses where the psalmist reflects on the outstanding effects of God’s word by listing three groups of people who cannot stand up to its wisdom. In this devotion, we compare the wisdom God’s word gives to the wisdom of the Church’s enemies. Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

The Bible doesn’t record the history of Noah and his family just because they were the sole survivors of the Flood. There is another, even more important reason that Noah and his family figure prominently in the Scriptures. Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).

A really good novel or well-written essay can give you food for thought for weeks or even months, but only God’s word gives you subject matter you can muse on throughout the day, every day, no matter what else you may be doing. Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

The construction assignment God gave Noah put him in a situation where he would have to testify about God’s word to his unbelieving neighbors. The commandments we have from God are really no different. We need God’s mercy and strength to fulfill them. Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).

In this devotion, we wrap up the twelfth stanza of Psalm 119 by considering the unexhausted and inexhaustible treasures lying there for everyone, of every age and ability, in God’s word. Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

How could God say to Noah, “An end to all flesh has occurred to me,” and not include Noah and his family? How could Noah and his family be exempted from ”all flesh”? Perhaps more importantly, how do we exempt ourselves from the destruction that is coming on all flesh on the Last Day? Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,”...

The wicked love to lie in wait for the faithful and to trap them—to trap them doing wrong, or to trap them with questions they can’t answer. What is the solution for the faithful? Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

As we read the description of the earth in Genesis 6:9–11, we can’t help but ask, “Is this describing life on earth more than 4,000 years ago, or life on earth today?” Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).

Even though we don’t like the idea of belonging to someone else, it’s simply a fact that everybody is the property of someone else, to one extent or another. (Think of how often you use “my” or “mine” in relation to those around you.) So when the psalmist says that we belong to God, the question is not whether that is morally right. The question is whether that is to our advantage and what kind of...

Noah is described as “blameless in his generations,” and that really meant something in his time. Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).

Memorials often urge us never to forget the tragedy or atrocity being memorialized, so that we don’t repeat it. The psalmist urges us to follow his lead in resolving never to forget God’s precepts for a very different reason. Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

Genesis 6:9 begins the third of the ten “accounts” that make up the book of Genesis (2:4ff; 5:1ff; 6:9ff; 10:1ff; 11:10ff; 11:27ff; 25:12ff; 25:19ff; 36:1ff; 37:2ff). The “account of Noah” begins by talking about Noah’s righteousness and blamelessness. In this devotion we consider what those two traits entail. Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “...

How are you doing with your affliction? Whether your affliction is a disease, adverse people or circumstances, wrestling with your conscience, wrestling with unhealthy desires, wrestling with the meaning of life, or facing up to the reality of death, are you able to successfully confront and deal with that affliction, or are you perishing in it? Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brand...

In Genesis 6:9 we’re told that, in the midst of an increasingly and breathtakingly wicked world, Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generations, and he made his way through life with God. But before we get there, Genesis 6:8 tells us where that righteousness came from—not from Noah, but from the favor of God. Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria...

In the first three verses of the twelfth stanza of Psalm 119 (vv. 89–91), the psalmist praises the Lord’s word by going back to its first use, the creation of the universe, and noting how we can still see the effects of that first use to this day. In vs. 91, he also uses this evidence to comment on God’s name, the Lord of Hosts. Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto,...

The only reason we are able to rage is because we humans were originally created in the image of God, and God is capable of rage too. But his rage is much different from ours. Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).

In the first three verses of the twelfth stanza of Psalm 119 (vv. 89–91), the psalmist praises the Lord’s word by going back to its first use, the creation of the universe, and noting how we can still see the effects of that first use to this day. Music Credit: Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio from Brandenburg Concerto, No. 1, Movement 4

How does God feel about our sins? What do they do to him? Genesis 6:5–6 answers these questions in soul-stirring language. Music Credit: J. S. Bach, “Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten,” aria from “Jesu, der du meine Seele,” BWV 78 (Leipzig, 1724).