Posts with the category “daily-devotionals”

I was a Youth Pastor in Chicago for ten years. I had a huge group of public school kids and they regularly asked me, “How can I live as a Christian among my non-Christian friends at school?” I said, “...  Read More

Several years ago I began memorizing a verse or two of Scripture before going to bed; those which especially speak of God’s glory and greatness. It was to help me when waking up in the middle of the n...  Read More

(Note: Welcome to my on-going devotional series in Acts 16-28. I encourage you to look back at past devotionals and stay current. Today we come to Acts 21).Acts 21:14 “…the will of God be done.”It’s h...  Read More

There’s a song by the Christian artists Tenth Avenue North called “Worn.” It brings me to tears pretty regularly. The song opens with a confession…I’m tired. I’m worn. My heart is heavy From the work ...  Read More

Stress is a part of our lives in the 21st Century.  There are always things that need to be done and sometimes not enough time to do them.  In proper doses, stress motivates us to get scheduled things...  Read More

In 197 AD, Tertullian coined the phrase: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”  That quotation comes from his defense of the Christian faith called The Apology, in which Tertullian wro...  Read More

This is a parable that Jesus tells the chief priests and the elders of the people. He describes two different responses to a command, the first rejects the command out of hand, but then eventually rel...  Read More

Reading this passage so soon after entrenching myself in the events that led up to Christ's death on the cross has caused me to pay close attention to what it really means to say, "I want to know the ...  Read More

Have you ever felt powerless? Some people feel this way if they owe an insurmountable debt or experience a difficult addiction they can't seem to get free from. This type of feeling can leave individu...  Read More

My wide-eyed, startled young daughter stood poised with a black marker by her artwork on the wall. Guess how she answered when I knowingly asked, “Who wrote with black marker on the wall?” “Not me!” w...  Read More

As a person who grew up in the Midwest, where winter lasted from November through April; temperatures often dropped below zero, trees were leafless, grass was dead, and the skies were definitely cloud...  Read More

You might not remember the daughters of Zelophehad. But we all should. What did they do of note? They stood and appealed for their place before God. They did not stage a “sit in.” Nor arrange a demons...  Read More

(Note: Welcome to my on-going devotional series in Acts 16-28. I encourage you to look back at past devotionals and stay current. Today we come to Acts 20).So, now that I have stepped down as senior p...  Read More

God the Father’s ultimate goal for us is that we should be “to the praise and glory of His grace.”  Our lives have been designed by God to bring Him glory.  We are to be the recipients of His grace.  ...  Read More

I’m not being humble when I say that I’m a horrible singer.  I have virtually no musical talent.  So when I worship the Lord, my goal is that the song in my heart will sound better than the song that ...  Read More

What a comfort this verse is! There are two points that jump out at me in the first half of this verse; first, “be still.” For many of us this is actually a very hard command. In this day and age, the...  Read More

Growing up, my parents had a library of stock phrases that they gently quoted to us when we acted up. These were a sort “parenting shorthand” for the important ideas and values they wished to instill ...  Read More

You know, sometimes we read passages and say we believe them but…I think especially in our western world, we gloss over certain phrases. Do we really believe this verse? I mean if we look at the works...  Read More

This morning as I was reading my Bible, I began thinking about my list. No, it is not my grocery list. No, it is not my “to do” list at home. It is not even my “to do” list for my work as Children’s D...  Read More

I love, love, LOVE coaching. I got my first coaching opportunity back in 2010 coaching a six-year-old and under soccer team; the Hungry Sharks. It started as a selfish way to get more volunteer hours ...  Read More

As a Pastor, I have to admit, I slip into a mild depression after Easter. Easter is our Super Bowl. We pour our lives into preaching, meeting new people, showing them love, surviving the week on less ...  Read More

We went to an east Indian funeral service in the middle of March. It was a time and a place of little or no hope. People with empty eyes. Some just openly weeping. A service devoid of honor, with chea...  Read More

(Note: Welcome to my on-going devotional series in Acts 16-28. I encourage you to look back at past devotionals and stay current. Today we come to Acts 19).Acts 19 can be described as "a microcosm of ...  Read More

I've been thinking about this throughout this past month as we have been preparing for our Easter celebrations. We are so grateful for the work that Jesus did on the cross and we want others to find t...  Read More

This week we are reflecting on the sufferings of Christ and celebrating His resurrection that first Easter morning.  Now almost 2000 years removed from the events, I want to remind us of how significa...  Read More

In the Old Testament, God’s people were expected to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year to celebrate the feast of Passover in the spring, Pentecost in the summer, and Tabernacles in the ...  Read More

We are just about to celebrate Easter. It is a wonderful time to reflect on the amazing sacrifice Christ made on the cross for us. It causes us to pause and take stock of what that event means for us ...  Read More

I’m a huge fan of superheroes. Some of that is occupational hazard--any junior high ministry director should probably be conversant in Marvel movies—but I’m also a total nerd and love to geek out over...  Read More

I had been sitting at my computer with my phone in my hand all day long. Weariness was seeping into my bones. The quest continued for eighteen more volunteers to staff the additional hour of Sunday Sc...  Read More

Captain America: The First Avenger is a classic for me. I mean who doesn't love a good underdog story of a scrawny kid who gets superpowers and fights for our country? There's a scene early in the mov...  Read More

How can I know where God is working? And once I know that, how can I join Him in His work? I think it starts with prayer. God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and everything that is living ...  Read More

Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you (John 6:53). My flesh is true food, My blood is true drink (v 55). He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abid...  Read More

(Note: In our study tours of Greece, we usually trace the footsteps of the apostle Paul recorded in Acts, Chapters 16 through 18—“Paul’s Second Missionary Journey.” I invite you to join me in a series...  Read More

Recently I have been thinking about God’s promises found in Scripture and the confidence we have that He will fulfill them.  Many promises relate to our salvation and future hope in Christ.  Other pro...  Read More

The grace which justifies is the grace which sanctifies.  Sanctification is all of grace.  It is initiated by grace, performed by grace, and perfected by grace.  It requires our cooperation as saints,...  Read More

We recently celebrated baptism in both our services as a number of young women baptized before the congregation. It’s such a special time as we hear their testimonies of what God has done in their liv...  Read More

Dallas, Spring Break, 2022. My long-distance girlfriend, Lauren, was flying out to meet my family for the first time. At first, everything was going great: my family loved Lauren, and everybody was ge...  Read More

So many times in the latter books of the Old Testament you read about areas that are being measured. Sometimes I understand why they are doing it and other times I’m not sure. But when I read this I w...  Read More

In 1969 I sat in my English class listening to the professor expound his political beliefs about the population explosion, the world famine to come, the war in Vietnam, free love, drugs, and the neces...  Read More

In high school our cheerleaders had a cheer that went like this, “Bullard Knights what time is it? It’s time to get loud. It’s time to represent.” And if there’s one thing that loyal fans do well, it’...  Read More