Devotionals by Chaplain (Col) Stephen W. Leonard, USA, Ret.
CHANGE OF PLANS?
“But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. -Acts 9:1-2 »
LOVING THE LOVER
“To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood… -Revelation 1:5 “Keep yourselves in the love of God. -Jude 21 What is wrong with Jesus telling you He loves you? Is this a stupid question or does it point accurately to a problem with »
ELECTION RESULTS
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. -Romans 13:1-2 This is being written before »
HE OWNS THE CATTLE ON A THOUSAND HILLS
“The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. -Psalm 50:1-2 The words of this title today come from the most famous verse of Psalm 50, made more famous »
A GLIMMER IN THE DARK
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse of utter destruction. »
MARY BEFORE THE BIRTH OF JESUS
“And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ -Luke 1:38 She was a major part of the incarnation. After the baby who was called Immanuel, meaning “God with us, truly God in flesh, Mary was THE central part. »
MARY GIVES BIRTH
“And she gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. -Luke 2:7 It was the most important birth ever! Mary had traveled a lot of miles in this journey even »
MARY AS MOTHER
“And He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And His mother treasured up all these things in her heart. -Luke 2:51 Mary had much more to ponder than most mothers. After all, she was the only virgin out of all mothers to conceive »
ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.’ -Luke 2:13-14 Can you picture the fictionalized “angels of Director Aronofsky’s movie Noah appearing to the shepherds »
CHRISTMAS POVERTY
“For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. -Matthew 26:11 Perhaps Christmas is a day your mind is focused on family rather than the poor; then again, maybe you really are thinking of the poor and serving them on a day like today. »
THE MYSTERIOUS MAGI
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, wise men 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 Him. »
ETERNITY IN THE NEW YEAR?
“But these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. -Matthew 25:46 Eternity, for all the sure promises of our future home, is a great unknown for us mortals; the Bible says it is “beyond imagination. Nevertheless, for all our yearnings for the return of the »
