Read 1 Kings 8:22-30
“And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart” (v. 23).
The story is told of a traveler who came upon the great Mississippi River one winter evening. He saw that it was frozen over and wondered if it might be able to hold him. He crept carefully to the edge of the river and then proceeded cautiously on his hands and knees hoping he could slowly make his way to the other side. As he inched along, he was startled by the sound of a horse-drawn sleigh barreling across the ice with a load of coal. No doubt the man flushed with embarrassment as he realized his fear of breaking through was unfounded.
Sometimes we are guilty of looking at the promises of God like this man viewed the solid ice. We are reluctant to trust Him fully with our problems, cares, and uncertainties. When we look back at the history of the Christian faith, we clearly see that the heavy loads our forefathers endured have proven time and time again that our God is enough. (Daniel Edwards)
I’m so glad I learned to trust Him,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
— Louisa M. R. Stead

This week's featured devotional is the Wednesday, April 2, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "Frozen River Halladale, Melvich" by jack_spellingbacon used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read Matthew 19:13-15
“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 14).
During my years as a faculty member in private, church-supported schools, I have had several pastors/headmasters, but there was one whose life had a very special feature, especially in a world like we know today. His wife was a master Sunday school teacher who often wrote Sunday school lessons for publication. His older daughter was a missionary, and his younger daughter was a young mother who was an expert church pianist. He was a great pastor and administrator. What was his special feature? He was saved at the age of four, later sanctified, and held on all the years of his ministry and life I know about.
The ideas of some people about children are astounding. Some believe young children are incapable of responding to God’s call to salvation. Note the illustration. Some even believe a young child should not be taken to church at all. Readers! They should be taken to church as soon as they are able to go, and given every opportunity to come to God. To fail in this is to disobey the Savior’s clear command! (Joel Miller)

Jesus loves the children, every one of them!
This week's featured devotional is the Monday, March 24, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: This image of children in Ghana, West Africa, was taken during the 2012 missions trip by Church of God (Holiness) World Missions.

Read Joshua 6:6-20
“So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city” (v. 20).
It can be easy to look at familiar Bible stories with the end already in mind. We learned about the march around Jericho back in Sunday school, and we watched the cardboard-block wall tumble.
So I have to ask myself the question—if I had been among the Israelites marching around the city on the seventh day, how loud would I have shouted? Maybe I would have waited until others started before I opened my mouth; maybe I would have matched my “hurrah” with the person’s next to me; maybe I would have only pumped my fist about halfway in the air, just in case. I know what I should have done. If I were a part of that multitude, I should have shouted as if the God I served were all-powerful, as if He were fighting for us, as if He were giving us the victory.
On that seventh day, after that seventh trek around the city, those nomadic descendants of ex-slaves “shouted with a great shout.” But how could they be so sure? Was there a brief moment, while their shout still echoed in the silence, that they wondered whether God was going to come through? They were walking in obedience to a God who had promised them the victory; they added that little mustard seed to an otherwise certain defeat, and the walls of their impossibility came crashing down (ASE)
“Faith . . . laughs at the impossibilities, and cries, ‘It shall be done’ ” (Charles Wesley).

This week's featured devotional is the Monday, March 17, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "IMG_1240" by shildsen used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read James 1:1-3
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (v. 2).
During the time we were going through the difficulty, I did not think of it as a tribulation, but looking back on it I believe it was. We had experienced the birth of our second child and a few days later my wife had gall bladder surgery. She recovered rapidly and returned home only to begin experiencing pain in her stomach. A trip to the doctor resulted in her return to the hospital and exploratory surgery. A severe infection had developed in her stomach cavity. She lingered near death for two weeks before beginning to recover. After three weeks in the hospital, she was allowed to return home for weeks of bed rest.
We had only become Christians a few weeks before all of these things developed. I cannot say that we counted it joy to be going through those things, but apparently we displayed a true Christian attitude while enduring those weeks. Following these experiences, we encountered people who had visited us during those difficult days, and they expressed that they had come to encourage us but went away encouraged.
The joy of that period of our lives was that we experienced the mercy of God and His undergirding strength which resulted in our being able to be a blessing to others. (Larry DeOrnellis)
A true attitude in affliction is possible as we have joy in the midst of our difficulties because we realize God counted us worthy to be tested.
This week's featured devotional is the Wednesday, March 12, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "Peace and the passing storm" by Chinchu2 used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read Acts 20:13-27
“For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (v. 27).
The hospital called me asking for my help because a woman was told she had not long to live, and she wanted someone to be with her. When I entered the room I saw a very small emaciated woman, whom I later learned was eighty-seven years old and weighed eighty-six pounds. Ruth was scared. My concern was her soul, and I wasted no time in inquiring about her relationship with the Lord. She assured me that she was trusting Christ for salvation, but her fear stemmed from the thought of being alone at the hour of death. I promised Ruth as I sat on her bed that I would stay until family members had time to arrive.
There is a lesson in that narrative just as today’s passage suggests. The message of the gospel is best delivered by someone with skin. Paul taught publicly and went from house to house. He was there. He could be seen. His touch could be felt. His voice could be heard at close range.
We should be thankful for mass mailing, blogs, email, and texting, but nothing will replace human presence — the touch of the hand, the arm around the shoulder, or the embrace. Most of us who have come to Christ came because of a personal encounter with a real, live, caring human. The gospel without arms, legs, and voice is not nearly as effective as the gospel preached in person. (Lonnie Witt)
The depth of our commitment to the proclamation of the gospel can be demonstrated by just how much direct effort we put into its declaration.
This week's featured devotional is the Friday, March 7, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "Caronlina Hospital Bed" by bfi Office Furniture used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.