Devotionals by Chaplain (Col) Stephen W. Leonard, USA, Ret.
First Last Word
“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” - Luke 23:34 They treated Him with sheer contempt! With a despicable violence, they destroyed His body. They truly meted out the fiercest pain imaginable. And Jesus had the “gall” to plead with God for their forgiveness. »
Valentine Redux
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes »
Surely a Sinner, Yet Blameless?
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” »
Is the Parousia Going to Happen?
“Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For »
Time Flies, Drags
“They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” - Revelation 6:10 How often have we said, “Where did all the time go?” Yet at the beginning of a »
How I Think Is Who I Am
“For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” - Proverbs 23:7 Everyone; people of every intellect, every economic status, every race, every age, and every language have something in common: they think. As the French philosopher Descartes famously said, “I think, therefore I am.” The Bible is »
What Can Man Do To Me?
"So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’" - Hebrews 13:6 Four times in the larger Christmas story messengers from God have one primary recommendation to their trembling audience: do not fear! Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father; Mary, »
Three Gifts, Not Necessarily Three Kings
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold wisemen (Magi) from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship »
A Backwater Event?
“And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” - Luke 2:7 The birth of »
Matthew, Luke and Christmas
“But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” – Luke 2:19 The Four Gospels tell us about the life of Jesus Christ. The Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, parallel most of these stories of Jesus. But we encounter something unusual in reading Matthew 2 and »
Creation and Conscience
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, for God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things which have been made. So they are »
