MSI Press Blog

    Recently released: audiobook edition of  God Speaks into Darkness   by J Bennett Easterling. Book description: These brief devotionals speak to the enormous challenges facing our world today. So many of you are grieving loss of loved ones, or risking your life daily to help others, or facing loss of your livelihood, financial ruin or uncertainty. The Psalms and teachings of Jesus offer treasures of hope for today and promises us a brighter tomorrow. You will find in these meditations that God wants to comfort his own and then use us to help and bless one another. Keywords: Christian devotionals for hard times; hope in darkness devotional; Psalms for grief and loss; Jesus teachings for troubled times; Bible encouragement for crisis; Christian comfort in suffering; God’s promises in uncertainty; daily devotionals for grief; spiritual healing after loss; finding hope in scripture; Christian inspiration for caregivers; devotionals for frontline workers; trusting...

  Excerpt from  God Speaks into Darkness PREFACE We learn so much about ourselves in times like these, do we not? How are you coping with the incredible tragedy of the coronavirus? Has it stretched your faith or weakened it or shattered it? Hopefully, you and your family are well. You’ve likely heard the adage, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”  I trust it has prompted you to dig down deeper into the bedrock of your faith and draw closer to God. Also, as believers, this is a rare opportunity reach out to befriend others and speak encouragement and hope into troubled hearts. Tragedy is opening many doors. For centuries, people have found wellsprings of encouragement in the Psalms . These brief meditations inspired by the Psalms also include some of the teachings of Jesus on the same topics. The scriptures used have been paraphrased into language more common to today’s readers. My prayer is that they will be a source of inspiration to you in these challengi...

Excerpt from God Speaks into Darkness   Your Tears Matter in Heaven Inspired by Psalm 126 My wife Dot keeps in her Bible a gold-embossed bookmark with these words, “ All the beauty in the world is in your smile. ” As we do our daily devotions, I like to pull that little reminder out and show it to her. It always brings the response I’m looking for—her wonderful warm and loving smile. The only thing that moves me more is her tears. It breaks my heart to see her cry—all the more so if I have caused it by some thoughtless word. Can you relate to this? Those you love are the very ones who can wound you the deepest—and you can do the same to them. In a word, tears of those we love matter. Likewise, we break God’s tender heart when we ignore or reject him: “High on the windswept mountains, I hear voices crying, crying. It is my children who have turned their backs on me. They have wandered far away and become lost. They are disoriented and destitute. O my rebellious children, c...

   Excerpt from  God Speaks into Darkness Helper of the Helpless Inspired by Psalm 10 A terrifying new flu-like disease, the coronavirus, is sweeping the globe. The World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic; the President declared a national emergency. Nations around the world have closed their borders, barring public gatherings and shutting down schools and churches, restaurants, businesses and sports events in a race to save lives. Doctors and health care workers are risking their lives to save people. Mortality rates are ten times as high as with other flus. Some nations are digging trenches for mass graves. The stock markets and people’s life savings are in free-fall. Legislators are passing emergency relief measures. Food pantries and soup kitchens are overwhelmed. Feeding stations are springing up to feed the masses needing relief, lines of cars extending for miles as people wait in line. In some countries, people have been trampled by others driven wild ...