Posts with the category “daily-devotionals”

Once again we are joining with churches from Fresno/Clovis to start the year with 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting.We are asking everyone who participates in this season of fasting and prayer to read a s...  Read More

As we begin this New Year, my thoughts turn toward God’s care in my life.  There are many times that I feel all alone.  I may even feel that God is distant when I am dealing with life’s difficulties. ...  Read More

One of my favorite scenes in John Bunyan’s classic work The Pilgrim’s Progress is when the main character – Christian – spends time in the house of Interpreter.   Interpreter (who represents the Holy ...  Read More

We have just begun a brand new year and with it come a lot of hopes and fears. We often wonder what changes we will see, what will we face as a family, a church, a nation, and as christians. Will 2023...  Read More

Every time I read through the Old Testament and come to 1 & 2 Kings I am usually amazed at how they can follow the Lord for so much of their lives and then towards the end they turn against Him in one...  Read More

When my wife and I were newly married we heard some advice that has made a huge impact in our relationship. The advice was to try to out-serve each other. It’s a simple shift of mindset, but it makes ...  Read More

My emergency foster care placements were two lovely teenagers. The minute they stepped into our house, I knew they were afraid.  Their fearful eyes and the way they hung on to each other declared thei...  Read More

By now I'm sure we've all heard the New Year's resolution stats right? Most people don't keep up with their resolutions past February. I personally have been hit-and-miss with mine. One of the strateg...  Read More

The context here is the ‘brotherly love’ we are to show to fellow believers in Christ. Showing‘brotherly love’ means loving fellow believers as we would biological family members. Thinkabout it, what ...  Read More

Who are we in Christ?  Who is He to us?  There are a lot of descriptions.  Sometimes we are warriors, and stand and fight. Sometimes we run, and escape to the Lord as our stronghold.  Sometimes we are...  Read More

The day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day, a secular holiday celebrated in parts of the British Commonwealth, including Canada, the country of my birth. Boxing Day was traditionally a day off for...  Read More

The theme of the Psalm is expressed in verse 1.  David’s soul waited in silence and found rest in God alone.  God was his complete source of calmness when his world was falling apart.  He emphasizes t...  Read More

I can’t imagine living in a world without new things.  What if everything stayed the same and never changed?  Or everything just wore out and dilapidated over time without being fixed or replaced? It ...  Read More

This week many are preparing for Thanksgiving, the overshadowed holiday. I call it that because you may have noticed in the last several years that Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier to the ...  Read More

When I read this it reminded me of some instances in my youth when I began to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit but didn’t recognize it as His voice until later in my life. One particular instance sta...  Read More

My wife and I are not Fresno natives. We both grew up in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. Usually we tell people “The Sacramento area” because that’s the nearest major city. We actually lived in a small t...  Read More

It is awfully quiet in here... Moving down the hall into the living room, I glance at the clock over the fireplace. I turn and behold my three-year-old daughter stands framed in the kitchen doorway li...  Read More

On November 17,1971 (exactly 51 years ago to the day) I prayed to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior. My prayer was simple and heart-felt: “Lord Jesus…come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior.” ...  Read More

Have you ever felt abandoned? I remember that's how I felt after high school. My high school years were some of the best times of my life. I had a lot of really close friends, or so I thought. I enjoy...  Read More

In this verse God tells us to ‘give thanks’. But there are two words that precede this commandthat have always bothered me, and they are ‘in everything’. Is it really possible to give thanks ineveryth...  Read More

This was the outcome of God dealing with His people.  He had called to them many times.  They would not hear.  After many decades He scattered them with a whirlwind.  They were sent away to live in a ...  Read More

God desires that I cultivate an attitude of thankfulness in my life.  Every day I should stop and reflect on God’s goodness.   In fact, it is God’s will for me to be thankful.  Sometimes with all the ...  Read More

A few days ago I walked past a convenience store and did a double take when I spotted the grand prize for the California Lottery - $1 billion dollars – the second largest Powerball jackpot in U.S. his...  Read More

At the time of writing this we had just wrapped up our Glow Outreach and both our Maple and Palm sites. For those that don’t know, Glow is a carnival style outreach event on Halloween in which we invi...  Read More

This season has been very difficult in many ways. But the Lord encouraged me so much by this passage. At first I wondered why they weren’t supposed to come too near the Ark of the Covenant and why the...  Read More

I first read through the book of Judges when I was about 18 years old. Before that I had heard some of the stories, mostly ones about Gideon and Samson, but I had never read the book in its entirety. ...  Read More

On the way to visit family in Santa Cruz, I asked my husband, Jim to stop at the small Baptist Church where I accepted Christ many years ago.  We park and are greeted by the Pastor who agrees to let m...  Read More

Are you the type of person who must finish what you start? I'm not. In fact, I'm really bad at finishing certain things. I've been known to start books and never finish them. Start projects and never ...  Read More

The God of Israel allowed His people to be taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon because of their sin. God was punishing His people. He was getting their attention. He wanted their focus on Him, ...  Read More

I want to get some landscaping cobblestones for my yard, for a project I am working on in my front yard.  I have been hiring my grandson, Connor, to help me with that project.  He is 15 years old, and...  Read More

I grew up in a Roman Catholic home and attended Saint Matthew’s Church (as well as it’s elementary school through the 6th grade). I prayed often to Saint Christopher and a host of other “halo-ed” peop...  Read More

As we go through life, everyone’s journey is different. God has set before us, as it were a race to run. This race will be difficult at times.  The temptation is to look at the race others are running...  Read More

The average adult between 18 and 64 needs between 7-9 hours of sleep, but recent studies show that 35% of Americans are sleep-deprived, and 50% struggle with feeling sleepy throughout the day. If you ...  Read More

As some of you may know, I have been facilitating a class here at Campus Bible Church for a number of years now called Financial Peace University. It’s a nine week course by Dave Ramsey to help people...  Read More

Growing up I remember watching the movie "The Ten Commandments." It's actually a favorite of Gary's (my husband). There is a line in the movie that Pharoah says, “So let it be written, so let it be do...  Read More

I love a good story. I love hearing stories and I love telling them. This is no doubt why I appreciate the way Jesus told stories to make a spiritual point. Whether short or long, Jesus’ stories are a...  Read More

Many times, God uses what has happened in my past or present to drive home a lesson He wants me to learn.This week, God took me back to the time my daughters were little. My daughter stumbled into the...  Read More

Every generation has its version of slang. In the 1920s for example, "The bees knees" was an extraordinary person or thing, "Putting on the Ritz" meant to do something with style, and "iron ones shoel...  Read More

When I’m feeling miserable, I choose joy. When I’m in despair, I choose joy. When my life is filled with trials and tribulations, I choose joy.We all have stuff. Whether it’s something as major as los...  Read More

Back in August I had a “blast of faith” one morning, empowering me to believe that the week ahead of me was the week to accomplish building the Grandparenting Summit service teams, to accomplish all t...  Read More