Posts with the category “daily-devotionals”

The more I study God’s Word, the more I learn about God’s love.  It is one of those truths in the Scriptures that we will never fully understand.  Our inability to totally understand the depth of God’...  Read More

Are you in a dark place right now? Are you hurting, in pain, sick, or weary? Are you seeking wisdom for a difficult situation? Do you simply not know where to go or what to do? This verse provides som...  Read More

Theology is important. The essential quality of eternal life, according to John 17:3, is the knowledge of God. But too often, theology is boring. As someone who works with junior highers, I find that ...  Read More

Who do you think said this?? If you guessed Job you would be wrong. It was Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:14–15)! As obedient as he was to take God’s message to his people there were times he wished he didn’t ...  Read More

Most people probably don’t think of themselves as strong and courageous.  That’s why we need verses like Joshua 1:9 – to remind ourselves that we can be.  By the grace of God, we can be strong and cou...  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 one's shoe...  Read More

I hear it coming…. a quiet tremble, then a screaming rumble! A shocking boom follows it and then the violent shaking begins. Next, I hear the crashing of items thrown off the counters and watch the ch...  Read More

When I was growing up, I remember a famous runner and author named Jim Fixx. Every day he effortlessly ran many miles, had very low body fat and had no indication of any health problems whatsoever. He...  Read More

I did not want to go. I really did not want to say what was in my heart. But it had to be done. It was the day and the hour. So I went. I had a word with the older, respected man in the church. He was...  Read More

Karon and I have a 3,000-year-old bronze-age juglet from the time of King David. It was given to us by the grandson of the cobbler who first recognized the Dead Sea Scroll from a little Bedouin boy. Y...  Read More

This summer I passed another milestone marker in my life.  It seems it was just a few years ago and it was my 50th High School reunion.  Then it was my 50-year college reunion.  Next it was our 50th a...  Read More

This is one of those verses that for me when I read it, I can easily think, yeah I can do that. But then someone wrongs me, and my thoughts immediately turn to revenge. I think it’s a primitive view o...  Read More

Have you ever had an idea that seems like a good idea inside your head, but goes horribly wrong when you actually try it? Let me tell you about one of those times in my life.I was 10, maybe 11 years o...  Read More

So much of 1 Peter is about suffering. After you read it you shouldn’t be at all surprised that you encounter suffering in your life. I wonder why I continually have to be reminded of that fact. Truth...  Read More

Some people think the will of God is mysterious and enigmatic—hard to understand.  But this passage makes it crystal clear.  While there are puzzling questions in life that require patience and wisdom...  Read More

It probably comes as no surprise to hear that three out of four people report feeling stressed or anxious about speaking in public. If I’m being honest, to my wife’s disbelief, to this day I experienc...  Read More

Most people think of the Fourth of July as a day off work, and a chance to get together for a cookout with family and friends. Then after dark, light things on fire and watch fireworks.One of my most ...  Read More

It was a peaceful moment.  My mom was gently teaching me to float on my back in the river. With me in tow, she walked on the riverbed backwards. All of a sudden, my mom unexpectedly fell into a deep h...  Read More

Life is really uneven. Six years after my salvation, I was called to pastor a small church. While there were ups and downs, it was mostly a marvelous experience, high and holy! But by 15 years later i...  Read More

Fresno Is My Present HomeIn my first eleven years in Toronto, Canada, we lived in several apartments in York Township. Over the rest of my life (with the exception of my Navy days), I lived in Califor...  Read More

Over the past days, I have been thinking about how fast time flies.  Have you ever found yourself saying, “Where has all the time gone?”  It seems like just yesterday that our girls were little childr...  Read More

This is a powerful verse, a convicting verse, and the answer to anyone who asks, “Do I need a savior?” The answer to that question is of course a very solid YES. The great equalizer among humans is th...  Read More

The other day I drove up to my house and—glancing out my car window—flinched to see all the weeds growing in my yard.  Clearly I had neglected them for too long, and now I would have to pay the price....  Read More

Who do you trust? Who is someone that you absolutely know will have your back no matter what? When considering those questions I have several people that pop into my head and I hope you have some too....  Read More

It's amazing how different we can be from one another. I love sitting behind a desk dealing with schedules and charts. I love balancing a checkbook (yes I still do that even in this digital age) and e...  Read More

I have been known to wake up with “a tude”—attitude! In Psalm 73, Asaph the Psalmist is complaining about unbelievers and how they seem to have everything going for them, while his life seems so full ...  Read More

My wife, Jenn, is a 2nd grade teacher at Red Bank Elementary School in Clovis Unified. During her summer break she has been taking a few continuing ed classes. She took a class the other day called “T...  Read More

Have you ever played that old game called Perfection? I remember playing the game with my friends as a kid. I cringe a little bit as I think back to that annoying timer ticking down as you try to get ...  Read More

Lynn and I were married in 1969. In the 5½ decades since that time we have had experiences beyond counting. We have owned six houses, and lived in at least seven other apartments or rental houses. I h...  Read More

“Man overboard! Man overboard! This is not a drill.” I was around twenty years old when I first heard these words while on the way to “Yankee Station”—the place off the coast of Vietnam where we launc...  Read More

In this story found in 1 Kings 19 the prophet Elijah is told to go stand on a mountain and wait for God to pass by. There’s a huge, powerful wind that comes, followed by an earthquake, and then fire b...  Read More

I don’t know about you but I am tired of seeing how sin and evil are affecting our world today.  The Apostle Paul wrote that things will continue to get worse as the day of Christ’s return draws near....  Read More

I love working with kids. I’ve worked with kids or youth in some form since I was eleven years old. I’ve been told that something in my persona “switches on” whenever I interact with kids. I do feel m...  Read More

There is a promise from God in Scripture for every conceivable situation we may encounter in life.  And since we’re always facing some sort of situation—a need, a trial, a perplexing dilemma, a decisi...  Read More

Have you ever heard the “christian” phrase tossed out that “God will not give you more than you can handle?” I think it is actually a very common belief and yet it is not correct. Like all lies from t...  Read More

As a young adult, walking into a church for the first time, I felt intimidated. Up to that point, I worked hard at being invisible to people—always quiet and very much in the background. As a new beli...  Read More

Do you remember playing the game “Sorry!”? I was playing not too long ago with my sons, and I forgot how fun and simple the game is. Like me, my sons are highly competitive and so whenever either of t...  Read More

“If you’re not barefoot, then you’re overdressed”—Unknown Since moving from Chicago to California in 2020 I’ve realized that summer seems to have a different meaning to Californians than it does to me...  Read More

A couple of decades back I prepared a surprise for Lynn. A work she would not have believed if told. In cooperation with my brother Mark from Pleasanton I bought a newer car for her, on the sly, as a ...  Read More

I was a typically naïve, young sailor on his first training day on a ship at sea. I was ready for the salty crew to treat us with their typical disrespect. I stood back as one of my fellow newbies was...  Read More