DEVOTION
Dive deeper into your faith with Dr. Barry Creamer.
Prayer-In-Verse
As an undergraduate, I learned from John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 14 just how daunting, beautiful, provocative, and comforting poetry can be. The prayer-in-verse is below. Below that, for those who want it, is a paraphrase—not to touch its boundless nuances, but to bridge...
He Is Faithful Even When We Are Not
Some things are hard to believe. Isaiah prophesies that the powerful kingdoms harassing Judah from the north will be overturned within a generation. All Ahaz needs is faith: “If you do not establish your faith, you will not be established” (Isaiah 7:9b). Knowing...
The Family Tree
A genealogy culminating in Noah and his sons as the new hope for mankind is about its progenitor: Adam. “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam” (Genesis 5:1). A lineage arriving at the world divided in Babel is about its progenitors: Noah and his sons. “Now this...
Under Every Stone
Is a demon involved when something bad happens? Many of the people Jesus restores from physical and spiritual infirmities are oppressed by demons (e.g., Matthew 12:23, Matthew 8:23ff). Satan tempts Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11), and Jesus warns Peter that the adversary...
Remembering, Trusting, and Serving Him
In ancient Israel, as much of the Mediterranean Basin, with no police, no formal court system, justice comes at the hand of a kinsman-redeemer, an avenger (same term). In one case, you are involved in the tragic but accidental death of your neighbor. His brother, the...
Yearning for Eternity
Observing the sun through a telescope has blinded a lot of people and melted a lot of optics, and therefore requires a filter to eliminate 99.999%—that’s the real proportion; not hyperbole—of incoming light. So just before dawn I cover my scope’s aperture with solar...