Life This Side of Heaven
Audible devotions for your day every Monday to Saturday. Join us as we rejoice in His grace, knowing from His Word that He loves us and forgives us, and confident that He is with us every step of the way – on this side of heaven. Devotions for real life.
Episodes
September 30, 2020 • 4 min
It’s surprising when you discover something about another person that you didn’t know – when you think you already knew all there is to know about them. In Ezekiel, God tells us something about Himself that might make us ask, "Doesn't everyone know this?" The truth is, they may not.
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September 29, 2020 • 4 min
Have you ever noticed how easy to lose those things that we take for granted? Want proof? Think of how easy it was to take your fellow-members for granted at church . . . right up until last March. So Paul had the church at Philippi take a remarkable inventory. It's also useful for you and me. So, break out your clip board and join in.
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September 28, 2020 • 4 min
Have you ever noticed how easy it is for you and me to deflect our failings by pointing to the faults of others. It was a popular activity for those living in Exile during Ezekiel's day and they even came up with a saying they wore out to voice their complaint. In Ezekiel, God had heard enough. But instead of blaming others, God has given us something much better.
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September 26, 2020 • 4 min
In Psalm 116, the psalmist asks, "What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me?" That's a question you and I face as well. What is the best way to worship and give thanks to God for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life that He has given to us in His Son? His answer may surprise you.
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September 25, 2020 • 4 min
It shouldn’t surprise us to know that we aren’t the first people to be humbled when they gazed up at the night sky. Looking up at those very same stars, David marveled at God's creation in Psalm 8. But the words of God, that Isaiah shares in this text, is something that really takes your breath away.
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September 24, 2020 • 4 min
Have you ever watched the sport of rowing? In American colleges and universities it’s sometimes referred to as “crew.” And it’s at this time of the year that you may see teams out for practice on rivers. If you listen carefully, Paul's encouragement to the church at Philippi to "conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" sounds a lot like the encouragement and instructions that a coxswain might call ...
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September 23, 2020 • 4 min
Why does God have us wait? Having heard the good news of our salvation, that God has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west by His Son’s death for us on the cross, and having been called to faith by the Gospel, wouldn’t the best thing that could possibly happen next - be to close our eyes and be with Him in heaven?
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September 22, 2020 • 4 min
Do you feel bound? Have advancing years and failing health made you a shut-in? Are you off your feet and recovering from surgery? Are you doing fine, but staying close to home this year because of Covid? Are you cut-off from family and friends? You may not be in chains but you may feel a little fettered like Paul. You and I can take a cue from the apostle and take a closer look at the opportunities that God has given to us even t...
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September 21, 2020 • 4 min
God isn’t fair. Well, He isn’t … at least not the way you and I think of fair. And that's good!
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September 19, 2020 • 4 min
In Psalm 143 David prayed words that any hiker might appreciate. He said, “May your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” However, David explains what he means. He begins by saying, “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.”
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September 18, 2020 • 4 min
As the apostle instructed weak Christians not to judge their brothers on practices which are neither commanded nor forbidden in Scripture, and as he admonished those who were strong in their faith not to look down upon those who were still learning the distinction, he shared a familiar phrase from God’s Word in Isaiah. He said, “It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will ...
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September 17, 2020 • 4 min
In John Donne’s famous prose from 1624, the writer says that now famous line: “No man is an island.” Donne may have been familiar with the words which the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write here in Romans. In this passage, God’s Word reminds us that, as God's redeemed children, we are connected to one another in Christ. The apostle writes, “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.” This has a ...
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September 16, 2020 • 4 min
When you and I suffer injury and injustice it hurts. It’s frustrating when we’re powerless to anything do about it. Have you ever scratched you head and wondered why God doesn’t seem to see it and deal with it? You're not alone. Jacob's son, Joseph, may have had these same questions in Genesis.
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September 15, 2020 • 4 min
Jesus explained to Peter that since there’s no limit to the mercy that God has given to you and me there should be no limit on the mercy we share with one another. But in order to show what that looks like, Jesus shared a startling parable with the disciples.
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September 14, 2020 • 4 min
Peter asked our Savior, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" He may have felt that was quite extravagant. Instead of the usual three times, which some felt was the limit, Peter doubled it and threw in one more for good measure. However, what our Savior said next must have really left the disciple with his jaw wide open.
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September 12, 2020 • 4 min
Have you ever smiled when passing a white wooden chapel on the prairies and thought it was quaint? Have you ever found yourself lowering your voice to a whisper and standing in awe inside a large cathedral? The one thing they have in common is that Jesus reminds us – whether the group of God’s people that’s gathered to worship in His name is large or small – He is there.
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September 11, 2020 • 4 min
When dealing with a brother who is fallen into open sin, and refuses to listen to the call to repent from you, and from the family of faith, Jesus says, "treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” That may sound as if Jesus is saying to “treat him like gum stuck to the bottom of your shoes.” But that’s not what He’s saying at all. What He is saying may surprise you.
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September 10, 2020 • 4 min
God’s love is so great, so untiring and so persistent that He relentlessly pursues His wandering sheep to rescue them from death. God calls you and me to take note of those in our midst who have wandered off, who have become lost, with a similar single-minded desire to see them reunited.
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September 9, 2020 • 4 min
At first, our Savior’s words here in Matthew sound jarring and unwelcome. It sounds like He’s talking about radical surgery, one of those operations with a name than ends in “ectomy”. Our first instinct is to clasp our hands over our ears and not hear another word. But consider carefully what our Savior is telling us here in Matthew.
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September 8, 2020 • 4 min
When Jesus settled the disciples' dispute, of who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, it's unlikely that the child He called to stand in their midst was wearing his Sunday best. And, if you notice, Jesus didn’t ask someone to first scrub down their child, spruce him up, and bring them to Him for this object lesson.
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