Daily Devotional

Pictures of Wisdom: The Wrap

July 19, 2026

Read Proverbs 8:22-32

As a radio person, one of my favorite subjects was radio drama. We learned to paint pictures with our voices. Every sound, every character, we created it so that the person listening would see the story, feel the scene, as if they were right there with us. That was wisdom.

“Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?”

Proverbs 8:1 NIV

Today, as we crown our devotional on Hebrew poetry and wisdom literature, I believe God has been teaching us the same thing: how to see the picture behind the words.

Two takeaways for us:

1. Wisdom speaks in pictures

The wisdom books — Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs — are full of parallelism, imagery, hyperbole, and refrains.

Parallelism puts the same truth in two different ways to drive it home. Imagery paints a picture so the truth sticks.

In Song of Songs we saw it:

“Set me as a seal upon your heart... for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.”

Song of Songs 8:6-7

These are big statements. Unshakable love. That’s wisdom drawing a picture for us.

1. Wisdom points us to Christ

In Proverbs, Solomon pleads:

“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”

Proverbs 4:7 NIV

But Ecclesiastes reminds us that without God, everything is meaningless — vanity.

Ecclesiastes 1:2

True meaning is not found in striving. It’s found in Christ.

“In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Colossians 2:3

So as we close this week, God is inviting us to do two things: Pursue Wisdom and, even more, Pursue Christ.

Prayer

Father, thank You for the gift of Your Word; the wisdom books. Teach us daily to seek wisdom and gain understanding. Guard our hearts, shape our relationships, and help us live in a way that pleases You. Above all, help us to pursue Christ, in whom all wisdom is found.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Rev Joshua Ssali Ssalongo

Daily Devotional

Song of Songs: A Celebration of Romantic Love

July 18, 2026

Please read Song of Songs 8.

Remember the days of love letters? Each one came with a dedication; usually the song of the season. That one song would carry the meaning of the entire letter. That was how people celebrated love.

“Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, it would be utterly scorned.”

Song of Songs 8:4, 6-7 NIV

The Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a whole book of dedications, poetry, and celebration of romantic love as God designed it.

And if every love letter had a dedication song, then the final chapter of this book gives us the greatest one of all. Listen to the Teacher’s dedication to love itself: “Set me as a seal upon your heart... for love is strong as death. Many waters cannot quench love.”

Song of Songs 8:6-7

In chapter 8, the Teacher pictures love as unstoppable: it cannot be quenched by water or drowned by floods. But he also warns us; love has a time, and it must be handled with care.

When we think of Hebrew poetry, the Song of Songs has it all: parallelism, vivid imagery, hyperbole, and refrains. At every turn there is something to learn. Together, they put a strong emphasis on how to manage a romantic relationship in a way that pleases the Lord.

As we navigate this, I invite you to take time to read this love story, and to evaluate how you are handling your romantic relationship. Seek out God’s design, and pursue it.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for showing us Your design for love in the Song of Songs. Teach us to guard our hearts, honor our commitments, and love in a way that pleases You. In Jesus Name, Amen.

By Rev Joshua Ssali Ssalongo

Daily Devotional

ECCLESIASTES: The Search for Meaning

July 17, 2026

Read Ecclesiastes 3.

As people look for relevance, many others are searching everywhere to find meaning. But what is meaning in life? Have you ever paused to ask: Why do I exist? Why am I here? What is the meaning behind what I do? What is the meaning behind what I expect? What is the meaning behind the things I’m involved in? Why do you do what you do? These and more questions keep coming back every time we try to make an impact.

And if we are honest, without an answer, the end story often feels the same: “Meaningless. Meaningless. Vanity of vanities.”

There are many styles of Hebrew poetry found in Ecclesiastes. Let’s look at one: Antithetic Parallelism, poetry that brings out contrast. It places two opposite ideas side by side to show the tension of life.

“A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.”

Ecclesiastes 3:2

Here, birth is set against death, and planting against uprooting. The Teacher is showing us that life is full of seasons, and each has its opposite.

So, in which season are you now?

In Ecclesiastes 12:13, the Teacher gives us the conclusion of the whole matter: “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Therefore, life without God is meaningless and meaning is found in God alone.

PRAYER

Lord, we confess that without You, life feels empty. We have chased relevance in places that cannot satisfy. Today we come back to the simple truth: to fear You and to obey You. Teach us that this is the whole duty of man. Please help us to live each day not for vanity, but for You, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Daily Devotional

PROVERBS: Wisdom for Daily Life

July 16, 2026

Read Proverbs 3:1-10

Our diverse cultures carry so much hidden wisdom, and often it’s wrapped in proverbs. In the Baganda culture, direct correction was not always the first approach. If you broke a plate or a glass, mum or dad would not scold right away. Instead you would hear, “There are many more in the cupboard” or even, “Come and get some more! Nabino binone!”

What they really meant was: “Be more careful next time.” Sometimes that gentle reminder was followed by spankings. But the proverb came first. Wisdom often works like that. It teaches without shaming. It guides before it corrects.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

The Book of Proverbs is full of short, sharp sentences that contrast the wise with the foolish. They give us practical wisdom for daily life: how to live with integrity, discipline, and the fear of the Lord.

Following Hebrew poetry, we see synonymous parallelism in Proverbs 3:5-6. The same truth is said in different ways:

Trust the Lord is the same as Don’t lean on yourself.

Acknowledge Him and He will direct you.

We also see a command and a promise.

The command: Trust Him and acknowledge Him in all your ways.

The promise: He will make your paths straight.

Beyond the poetry, look closely at the insight here. Scripture sets a clear standard which is total dependence on God; and a clear reward for obedience which is His direction.

This passage is a call to choose wisely among the many options life gives us. May we always be found on the side of compliance rather than defiance.

Prayer

Lord, the Proverbs always present two paths. Please help me to always choose to abide rather than to defy. Teach me to be compliant to Your guidance in every decision. In Christ’s Name, Amen.

Reaching Challenge: Proverbs 3

By Rev Joshua Ssali Ssalongo

Hebrew Poetry

PSALMS; Imagery - God Shepherd / Refuge

July 15, 2025

Read Psalm 23:1-3 and 46:1

Most African cultures use hidden expressions and proverbs that only someone grounded in that culture can truly understand. In the same way, when we hear about "figures of speech" in literature, we can easily connect with one key aspect of Hebrew poetry: imagery. Imagery is simply using pictures and word-pictures to tell us truth about God in ways we can relate to and remember.

God is portrayed as The Shepherd. “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” Psalms 23:1 NIV

He provides so that we lack nothing. He makes us lie down in green pastures - He supplies all our needs. He is also our protection - with His rod and staff He guides us and defends us. These pictures show us the heart of God.

God is also portrayed as our Refuge. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalms 46:1 NIV

In biblical times, a refuge was a safe place you ran to when danger came. Every warrior depended on the strength of his refuge - the fortress. As long as the fortress stood, the people were protected. But if the fortress fell, it was "game over."

In the same way, when trouble, fear, bad news, or pressure comes, God is the safe place we run to. Nothing can break through Him to get to us.

A refuge is not just for emergencies. We can live there daily. With God, we don’t have to face life alone.

What image do you want now, given the situation you are in? Are you seeking a shepherd or a refuge? Whatever it is, look to God. He is All and in All.

Prayer

Lord, You are my refuge and my strength. You are a very present help in times of need. Today I choose to trust You as my Shepherd. Lead me, protect me, and help me to honor You in all I do, every day of my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reading Challenge. Psalm 46.

By Rev Joshua Ssali Ssalongo

Parallelism: Hebrew Poetry in Job

Read Job 3:1-10

July 14, 2026

One mark of Hebrew poetry is parallelism. This is where two lines carry the same thought. Sometimes the lines repeat the idea, sometimes they contrast it, and sometimes the second line builds on the first to take it deeper.

Here is an example from the Book of Job; After everything Job had lost, after his wife told him to _“curse God and die,”_ and after he and his friends sat in silence for seven days and nights, Job finally spoke. His grief poured out in poetry:

”May the day of my birth perish, and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’”

Job 3:3 NIV

This is synonymous parallelism - the same anguish said in two ways. Job isn’t cursing God. He’s crying out from a place of deep pain.

We know that feeling! Don’t we? When life hits us with things we can’t control, when hope feels gone and strength runs out, we can identify with Job’s lament.

But notice this: even in his darkest moment, _“In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”_ _Job 1:22 NIV_

That’s the example for us. When we face unexplained loss, sickness, or pain, our first response should be to take it to the Lord in prayer; honestly, but without bitterness.

Prayer

Lord, in the middle of life’s hard seasons, keep our hearts and minds steadfast on You. Teach us to bring our grief to You without sinning against You. May Job’s example inspire us to remain faithful even when we don’t understand why and how we came to the calamities. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reading challenge; Please read Job Chapter 1 and 2. This will give you perspective for today’s devotional.

By Rev Joshua Ssali Ssalongo

Theme: A Journey Through The Poetic Books

Topic: The Heart of God in Poetry

Read Proverbs 1:1-7

July 13, 2026

Have you ever read the Bible and felt like some parts just hit different? Not because they are giving you rules, but because they are giving you pictures, songs, questions, and feelings. That’s the Poetic section of the Bible.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 1:7 NIV

This week, I invite you to walk with me through what the Bible calls “Wisdom Literature” or the Poetic Books. We will slow down, feel deeply, and let God speak to us not just with commands, but with beauty.

The poetic books don’t just give us information. They give us formation. They teach us how to suffer well, how to worship honestly, how to live wisely, how to find purpose, and how to love purely. Starting this week, let’s read with our hearts open.

1. Job: Faith in the Fire. Why do righteous people suffer?

2. Psalms: 150 songs of worship, lament, thanksgiving, and hope.

3. Proverbs: Wisdom for Daily Life. Short, sharp sentences that contrast the wise and the foolish.

4. Ecclesiastes: The Search for Meaning in life - Solomon says meaningless but this until you find the true meaning in Christ.

5. Song of Songs: Celebrating Love. A beautiful picture of romantic love and marriage as God designed it.

For the next 5 days, we will visit each one of these books and draw something for our edification. I invite you into God’s wisdom through the Poetic Books of the Bible.

A take Home: Purpose each day to read one chapter from a different Poetic Book; say, Mon: Job, Tue: Psalms, Wed: Proverbs, Thur: Ecclesiastes and Fri: Song of Songs.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for giving us Your Word in poetry. Teach us to see the pictures You paint, to hear the songs You sing, and to feel the heart behind Your words. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

By Rev Joshua Ssali Ssalongo

Theme: When God is with US!

Please read 2 Samuel 17.15-29

All nations employ an intelligence network to weaken the enemy camp. They send agents disguised as loyalists or ordinary citizens to spy out the enemy to know and exploit the weaknesses so that they can overcome the opponent. Usually agents are planted within the nation to help wreak havoc from within.

David used the last strategy by planting spies in Absalom’s camp. He had support, while Absalom suffered from disloyalty within his administration. Hushai was David’s inside man and as David had instructed, Hushai passed information about Absalom’s inner cabinet plans to David through two young men, Ahimaaz and Jonathan. They were aided by an unnamed servant woman who hid them from being discovered. Her support for the two agents lends credence to other citizens remaining faithful to David. Hence, the two alerted David to cross the Jordan River and avoid bloodshed. It would seem Absalom’s administration was hacked and lacked overwhelming support from the general population.

Across the Jordan River, David found yet other citizens willing to give foodstuffs and material supplies for his people. They showed their continued preferential loyalty and support to David; David was their king, not Absalom!

Ahithophel, the wise counsellor, who originally had been David’s advisor, had lost Absalom’s confidence. Hushai undermined his influence with contrary advice to Absolom. Worse still, by his betrayal of David, he had no place with him anymore. His opportunistic loyalty to Absalom had failed. Consequently, he chose the tragic way out, suicide. Absalom was therefore further weakened.

In conclusion if Absalom were to succeed, his kingdom would have been very shaky. Even more importantly, was God’s evident providence for David as His chosen king. God’s approval for David ensured loyalty from the people. Absalom’s rebellion was doomed. He was fighting more than David; he was fighting God! The righteous may fall, but they are never knocked out. As Jesus said to Saul, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 26.14). It is safer to be in the will of God. When we seek God’s kingdom He gives us the people’s hearts.

Prayer: LORD, I choose to seek Your kingdom first in my life that Your favour rest on me. Amen.

By Rev Canon Dr John Senyonyi

Theme: “The Foolishness of God…”!

Please read 2 Samuel 17.1-14

When Paul reflected on the mystery of salvation by the Cross of Jesus, he concluded, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1.25). For how can an instrument of defeat be a banner of victory? When God called me out of an academic role it sounded irrational to us and others. God’s work is often understood in retrospect.

Absalom now sat on his father’s throne. His wise counsellor, Ahithophel, wanted to seize the opportunity to beat David at his weakest and entrench Absalom in the new kingdom. It was a good military strategy. Indeed, his plan was wise by human standards – attack David before he has had time to refresh and plan to recapture his kingdom. It missed only one thing, God was not in it, for only “the purpose of the LORD will stand” (verse 14; Proverbs 19.21).

Otherwise Absalom had no reason to vet the wisdom of Ahithophel and call in Hushai for additional counsel. Hushai had the advantage since being called last gave him time to prepare to defeat the plans on the table. He crafted his counsel around David’s superior military stratagem, fear for defeat at David’s hands - an exaggerated predictable conquest by David. He further told Absalom to mobilise “all Israel” presumably to use numbers against David. His war plan though founded on sound reason, was primarily speculative!

Interestingly, Hushai’s counsel appealed to Absalom more than the advice of Ahithophel. For God was the determining factor between the two combatants as He usually is when righteousness meets wickedness. God had not abandoned David; Absalom was not God’s anointed.

Two clear lessons for us:

a. In all our plans, let us make God the Lord of all. The principle is many without God is weakness, while one with God is always the majority.

b. God does not abandon the righteous though they may suffer and face hardships. Therefore, forsake sin and trust God to triumph for you.

The sovereign God is our sole safe refuge!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, teach me to trust that your invisible hand underneath your people, as you promised in Deuteronomy 33.27, is enough. Amen.

By Rev Canon Dr John Senyonyi

Theme: The Curses of an Enemy Avail Nothing!

Please read 2 Samuel 16.1-23

In the 1980s a Ghanaian man, John Obiri Yeboa, shook the young Pentecostal churches in Uganda. Some, captivated by the miraculous, easily acquiesced to his teachings. He cursed whoever did not agree with him in God’s name. Some of us boldly rejected his heresies. He died in 1987 but we live on by God’s Grace.

My interest is drawn to the middle character in this chapter, Shimei, from the same tribe as king Saul, the tribe of Benjamin. Although David had no hand in ending Saul’s kingship, Shimei hated that the kingship had passed to Judah, David’s tribe. His curses either blaming David for the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, or maybe he heard of how David plotted the death of Uriah and took over his wife. Now David was fleeing from his son because of these very sins.

David’s nephew, an army man, Abishai, wanted to solve this little problem with a sword – revenge on Shimei! However, David would have none of it; he was king for all Israel, Benjamin included. More importantly, he knew God made him king and he would continue being king by God favour. Revenge belongs to God. Like David, Jesus taught us to love our enemies and to do good to our enemies. There is no greater or sweeter revenge than this. Your enemy has the better of you if you are provoked to fight back. But the choice of no revenge returns unquenchable fire into the enemy’s heart and lap, without you lighting it!

Secondly, David told Abishai (verse 12), “it may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his (Shimei) cursing today.” David knew that his life and his kingship were in God’s hands. The curses of his enemies were not the final word about his life; they could not dictate his destiny. It belongs to God to lift up a person and to put them down: “For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.” (Psalm 75.6-7) When men curse you or malign you, wait for God’s final word. You’ll be lifted up by God!

Though the world rages around us, remember God never says, ‘Oops’. He holds the raging seas in his hands! Amen.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, keep me steadfast in righteousness for my life is in your hands. Amen.

By Rev Canon Dr John Senyonyi