Posts by David Hall

Some Common Things to Hold  “Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.”1 Thess. 5:20-21   Puritans had an interesting take on “prophesying.” That’s what they called preaching—an exhortation to godly living based on the revealed Word of God. Today, it’s hard to say, without some kind of smile or smirk, that last Sunday morning at the…

Great is Thy . . . Unfailing Love  In a previous morning devotional, I referred to Ps. 44:26, which concludes by speaking of God’s “unfailing love” that was looked to for deliverance. What a strong concept to meditate and depend on: God’s unfailing love (which, by the way, was the Hebrew word Pastor Harrington referred to in yesterday’s devo). It is his love that…

A Memory Verse . . . that teaches much more than one thing Many of us have favorite verses that have sustained us through many a danger, toil, and snare. Verses such as Ephesians 2:8-9, if well stored in our minds, teach us that we are not saved by works (lest we boast) but only by God’s grace. That liberating verse teaches many other things as well. Equally, the…

Faith Among Futility “Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love.” (Ps. 44:26) Like many of you, we find it helpful (and easy) to read a psalm together to set our expectations for the day. One of the psalms we read this week was Psalm 44—a psalm that David composed and dedicated to the director of music (see below). This psalm is divided into two…

The Most Unusual Midway Morning Worship Services in Recent Years  I love thy Kingdom, LordThe house of thine abode,The church our blest Redeemer savedWith his own precious blood. First, the winner of the FREE BOOK CONTEST, who guessed the significance of the dates from my previous devotional, is Richard Vogh. He rose to the occasion and won going-away. The runner-up…

The Most Unfortunate Man Ever: Lazarus Returned        “‘Lazarus, come forth.’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.” John 11:43-44  Below is a short piece of fiction, spurred by a note by Alexander Whyte, who served as Professor of New Testament at New College, Edinburgh, as well as pastoring several Free…

Lazarus and Liberalism           “When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.” John 11:43-44         The reason we dislike liberalism so much is that it is not merely a philosophy that majors in…