“By the power of your hand, O Lord, destroy those who look to this world for their reward. But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants. Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.” Psalm 17:14-15 We live in a broken world, where there’s something wrong with everything. If we have perfectionist tendencies, we can walk into a room and immediately see something...
2 Oct 2026
Devotion#16 : I have godly heros
“The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them! Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods” (Psalms 16:3-4 NLT). David is encouraged as he sees godly people in his own land living according to their faith. They aren’t chasing after other gods or getting involved in pagan rituals. David takes pleasure in those t...
25 Sept 2026
Devotion#15 : Psalm 15:1
“Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?” Psalm 15:1 David isn’t asking how to be saved. He’s asking who may fellowship with the Lord. Who is able to enter into a relationship where they know God’s presence in their life? We’re not worthy in our own righteousness to enter God’s presence and we’re not saved by maintaining the godly lifestyle described as, “one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous …” (v. 2-5). This is a relief sin...
18 Sept 2026
Devotion#14 : Psalm 14:2
“The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.” Psalm 14:2 I desire to be wise and make wise choices and decisions, but sometimes I feel indecisive. Generally, it’s because I think I don’t have enough information to make the best possible decision. Or I think I don’t have the time or resources to investigate all the different options. Or I feel overwhelmed by choice. God never has these problems! He knows all there is ...
14 Sept 2026
My Book Launch
On Saturday, I launched my new book, 10 Things I Hate About God And How He Won Me Anyway. I recorded my talk, which explains how I came to write the book and how I came up with the title. The story of how this book came into being began in 2005, when we moved to Gisborne. We had arranged to take six weeks' long service leave in May and travel around Australia, but we arrived in the February. This meant I couldn’t look for a job or become overly involved in our church until we returned f...
11 Sept 2026
Devotion#13 : Psalm 13:5-6
“But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.” Psalm 13:5-6 David begins this psalm by saying, “O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?” (v.1) and ends with acknowledging that the Lord has been good to him. Our emotions can change overnight, over hours or in the time it takes to write six verses! Our emotions aren’t always a true gauge of our situation. A single piece of d...
5 Sept 2026
Devotion#12 : Psalm 12:6
“The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.” Psalm 12:6 Purified silver is untainted. Its purity can be depended upon. Likewise, I can depend on God’s promises. Sometimes though, we misunderstand his promises. God protects us from eternal harm, but not from daily difficulties. I would’ve preferred God to promise me a comfortable life! Instead, he tells me I will have trouble. Jesus said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But...
28 Aug 2026
Devotion#11 : Psalm 11:7
“For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see his face.” Psalm 11:7 Constable, in his commentary on Psalms, tells us that “seeing God” is a synonym for having an intimate relationship with God. In the natural world, we make friends with like-minded people. Likewise, if we desire fellowship with God, we become like-minded with him. We also find this thought in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus is telling us how to live a blessed life, “God blesses those whose hearts are pur...
21 Aug 2026
Devotion#10 : Psalm 10:13
“Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.” Psalm 10:13 Likewise, in the New Testament, we read, “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (2 Corinthians 5:10). For the Christian, this isn’t to determine whether or not we will go to heaven, because Jesus has already paid our debt and achieved salvation for us. For the Christian, the j...
14 Aug 2026
Devotion#9 : Psalm 9:9-10
“The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.” Psalm 9:9-10 Our God is both a shelter and a refuge. In 1719, Isaac Watts wrote the hymn, O God, Our Help in Ages Past and describes God as a shelter from the storms of life: O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home. A shelter speaks of a temporary si...
7 Aug 2026
Devotion#8 : Psalm 8:6-8
“You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.” Psalm 8:6-8 God calls us to be good stewards of his creation. However, there’s a balance between destroying resources that are irreplaceable and idolising creation. On the one hand, we know that unique animal species are becoming extinct because humans are destroying ...
3 Aug 2026
God Wants Me To Rest
This Bonus Episode is a chapter from my soon-to-be-published book, 10 Things I Hate About God And How He Won Me Anyway. It's currently available for preorder. See my website for purchasing options: https://www.susanbarneswriter.com/10-things-i-hate-about-god/ God Wants Me To Rest Three-year-olds are too busy to take naps. I learned this indisputable fact after becoming a parent. “I’m not tired, and I’m not grumpy,” my child would insist in a tone that made it perfectly clear it would be ridi...
31 Jul 2026
Devotion#7 : Psalm 7:17
“I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.” Psalm 7:17 In the parable Jesus told about the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:23-34), the debtor was forgiven a huge debt, more than he could ever hope to repay in his lifetime. Instead of being thankful, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a comparatively small amount of money and demanded payment and when he couldn’t pay, had him thrown into jail. The parable is primarily about forgiveness...
Contact Devotions by Susan Barnes
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Devotions by Susan Barnes?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
