Posts with the category “daily-devotionals”

(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 25).In Acts 25 we are back at the trial of “Paul...  Read More

I have read through the book of Isaiah numerous times.  On one of the last times reading through the book, the Lord drew my attention to these verses in the 46th chapter.  Maybe my mind was drawn to t...  Read More

This is one of the best-known and most-quoted verses in the Bible on parenting.  On the surface there is a precious promise here: if we train our children in the ways of the Lord, when they get older ...  Read More

This is part of the vision given to John on Patmos about the end of all things. Revelation is a prophetic book and is full of wild imagery and symbolism and it can often be hard to discern and interpr...  Read More

You can tell a lot about a person by the spaces they inhabit. Let me give you a tour of one of my spaces—my office here at Maple. It’s nestled in the back corner of C Building, down a few doors from J...  Read More

You know that feeling you get when you have messed up and you feel so bad and just want forgiveness but know you really don’t deserve it? I hate that feeling! But for some reason it can take me awhile...  Read More

Whew!  Our trailer is packed with everything, even things we will never use. My hubby has checked to be sure the trailer is securely hitched to our vehicle. We ease our tired bodies into the front sea...  Read More

Whoever said there’s a thin line between love and hate was on to something. Because while I’d never say that I hate any of my family members, some I have a hard time getting along with. Some of my fam...  Read More

When I say “You are salt and light” I am quoting from Jesus' sermon in Matthew 5:13–16. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no l...  Read More

Some people have a heart to see God’s kingdom. They have tuned their hearts to know it, and make decisions in alignment with what they see. My dad could not see me leaving the historic family church. ...  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 24).Acts 24:10 “…I cheerfully make my defense…” ...  Read More

The phrase “to lean” means we rest on something for support.  Daily we need support to work through the things we experience and feel.  We can look for support in the right or wrong places.  Leaning o...  Read More

The fear of the Lord is a difficult concept for many Christians to grasp.  As God’s children, we marvel at the love our heavenly Father has for us, and we have a hard time understanding what role fear...  Read More

At the end of his letter to the Corinthians, Paul exhorts them with a few instructions. This seems like a simple verse but there are a number of key commands here for us to follow. The first is watch....  Read More

How did I become a knight?In a previous devotional, I mentioned the “coming-of-age” ceremonies my father designed for me and my two younger brothers. These types of ceremonies are common in various cu...  Read More

In the past as I have read through this passage of Moses going up on Mount Sinai I have always been a little critical of the Israelites impatience with waiting for him to come back down. They had just...  Read More

The word home is supposed to be a beautiful word, producing memories of home cooking, treasured times and healthy relationships. Home is designed to be a safe haven where God’s peace prevails. King So...  Read More

You may be familiar with the author Stephen Covey and his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In the book, one of Covey's encouraged habits is to begin with the end in mind. The idea is that wh...  Read More

Rest is defined as “Cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh yourself, or recover strength.” When you think of Jesus offering you rest, what comes to mind? Maybe a nap after lunch. Maybe bing...  Read More

Last January our daughter, Anne, invited us to join her and her family on a trip to Hawaii. She paid for the house for us all, and arranged flights for Lynn & me to get there. We were to fly out of Fr...  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 23).Acts 23:6 “I am on trial for the hope and re...  Read More

We live in a time of a lot of uncertainty.  There is a big political divide, a faltering global economy, a stock market that is up and down trying to find direction, along with terrorism and wars in s...  Read More

Have you ever wondered why people cry? Maybe you never really thought about it deeply.  But from what we know, humans are the only creatures that weep.  Some animals are capable of shedding tears in r...  Read More

The Christian life is not promised to be easy, it is not promised that after accepting Christ we will live a comfortable, easy, or prosperous life, contrary to what some prosperity preachers might say...  Read More

Time with God is often messier than we like to admit.I grew up in church and heard countless sermons about the importance of prayer and reading my Bible. Read your Bible more and you’ll feel closer to...  Read More

This is so amazing. It really shows us both sides of the character of God. On one side,  He is just. Cain killed his brother out of jealousy because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, the fat of the "firs...  Read More

I’ve shared this story often, but in elementary school, one of my favorite days of the year was “Field Day”. It was a day in which we would compete in a variety of field events in an attempt to earn r...  Read More

A mom’s work is never done! When my kids were pre-school age, I remember the complete and utter exhaustion.  I worked on the house, dinner and caring for my kids and hubby faithfully. But it was reall...  Read More

Most of us have expressed frustrations with time demands. “I’m so swamped at work, I can’t seem to stay ahead of it all.” “I feel like all I’m doing is putting out fires.” “I work late every night, I ...  Read More

I think the Psalms might be my best friends! They give us some of the most marvelous invitations in all the inspired word! It is almost beyond belief! But then we serve an unimaginable God, who accomp...  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 22).Acts 22 puts us with the apostle Paul, defen...  Read More

There is a lot going on in our world today that can cause us to experience anxious moments and worry.  When we become anxious about something, our thoughts fixate on the problem or issue and not Chris...  Read More

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like growing up in the same family as Jesus?  Some older brothers and sisters act like they’re God, but imagine having an older brother who WAS God!Jesus...  Read More

Imagine being invited to a fancy event or party, where the host is a very important or well known person, maybe an important political leader or community leader. Now imagine once you are seated, he b...  Read More

I am a knight. Well, sort of.My father developed a set of “coming-of-age” ceremonies for me and my brothers based on medieval Europe’s code of chivalry. We had a “page ceremony” at eight and a “squire...  Read More

These words are such a good admonition for us. Like 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Satan prowls around us like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” There are many things that seem so inconsequential...  Read More

A number of students, leaders, and I recently got back from a short-term mission trip to the Nogales Baptist Seminary in Nogales, Mexico. The team was involved in several work projects that included t...  Read More

When the search for ancestry became popular, my husband and I decided to take the plunge and send in our DNA for ancestry tracing. Of course, my husband’s results came back 100% Italian. My results we...  Read More

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