Devotionals by Chaplain (Col) Stephen W. Leonard, USA, Ret.
Heart
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23 How true! Guard your heart! For it is the organ that constantly pumps life through your body. Your brain is essential for thinking, conversing and directing your body's functions, but the heart keeps your body »
Nomads, Chameleons, or Pilgrims?
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion." »
No Nonchalant God
"Then Job answered and said, ‘Today also my complaint is bitter; my hand is heavy on account of my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. »
Last Breath
"It is appointed unto man to die once, and after that the judgement." Hebrews 9:27 As a witness to someone's last breath you are in the presence of the most momentous events of their whole life - the threshold of eternity. My wife, sister, and I watched this past September »
Vengeance as a Life Attitude?
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but »
Fertile Soil in the Heart
"Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, »
Unity Demands Discernment
"I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts »
Penetrating Tough Skin Souls
"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." Matthew 11:12 "Grab it and growl" is one of the late Paul Anderson's frequent quotes. In a sense, it captures the meaning of this text. The »
The Amazing Diversity and Complexity of the Human Mind
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’" Genesis 1:26 "One may understand the cosmos but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star" (G.K. Chesterton). There is nothing more complex in all creation than the creature created in God's image. Add »
You Are a Creature in Time
"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16 "Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away; they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day," so reads a verse from the hymn »
First Visitors
"When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about.'" Luke 2:15 Unusual, to say the very least. The Christmas story of the nativity is so »