Posts with the category “daily-devotionals”

I just finished reading through the book of Isaiah. The Lord drew my attention to these verses in the 46th chapter. Maybe my mind was drawn to it because of my age or the troubling times we live in. I...  Read More

Yesterday in his sermon Pastor Jim reminded us of the need we all have for intimate relationships. He reminded us that many things can fill our time but no matter how busy we are, we need to make time...  Read More

As I lift the tight-fitting lid of my 2-lb. box of See’s Candy, I drink in the aroma of chocolate. Feasting on the choices, I select only one. I sink into my comfy chair, as I take the first nibble. T...  Read More

You have big plans, I know. We all do. You do, I do, we do.We expect BIG things for the future.We work hard. We play hard. We guess and plan and hope and prepare and pray.We trust God. We trust that G...  Read More

Acts 15 presents TWO fights in the early church--one corporately and one personally.Fight #1 is The Worthwhile Battle: Grace vs. Law (15:1-35). In one corner are the Legalists: "Faith in Christ is NOT...  Read More

Jesus said some things that were pretty hard to comprehend. For example, at one point He said if you have faith you can tell a mountain to go jump in the ocean and it will do it. (Mark 11:23). I imagi...  Read More

When’s the last time you stepped into 6 feet of fresh powder snow? I did recently, where the snow was so deep that I had to crawl on my hands and knees just to traverse about 30 feet! I was amazed at ...  Read More

Having been a Christian for many many years, it always does me well to come back to some of the fundamentals of the faith. Pastor Jim often speaks of the basic tenets we know as salvation in Christ al...  Read More

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

I find myself living at an age that is causing me to look back over the timeline of mylife. I see a pattern of how God has worked throughout my life. One of the thingsGod has impressed on me is that I...  Read More

We as humans don’t really like change. When everything is going great, we wonder why we would ever want to risk changing. “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” is often the mantra. Even if things are bad,...  Read More

This week has been difficult for our family as we have watched our loved ones endure heartbreaking grief, patient endurance of illness and the rewarding joy of eternal salvation. We have experienced t...  Read More

As we walk through experiencing potential numbness from social isolation, job insecurity, health scares and nation fears, I’d be willing to bet our feelings aren’t of warmth at a banqueting “table.” B...  Read More

There have been few things in my life that I have been devoted to. One of those things without question is the United States Marine Corps. During boot camp, every waking moment was spent dreaming of g...  Read More

In Acts 11 we are blessed by the evidences of true discipleship. This is where followers of Jesus are first called "Christians" (Greek: christianos = followers of Christ). What are the marks of a true...  Read More

I often need to be reminded of God’s love for me. Don’t you?God loves you.God became incarnate for you.God lived for you.God died for you.God rose for you.God is glorified for you.God is exalted for y...  Read More

So many people I talk to recently are struggling with loneliness. These conversations have prompted me to share an experience I had as a JARON missionary in the Czech Republic in 2019. I hope my exper...  Read More

I’m currently teaching through the book of Philippians with the students at the Maple campus. This book is full of great content and what makes that content even more powerful is the context under whi...  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 promi...  Read More

One of the books that is often neglected in the Old Testament is Haggai – named after the prophet who lived in the sixth century B.C. Haggai ministered in the period after the Babylonian exile, when t...  Read More

I am in Proverbs now and I feel like every verse is a life lesson waiting to be learned! As I meditated on this verse I thought about Solomon who wrote the book of Proverbs and how he might have learn...  Read More

Acts 9 is about the miracle of transformation from Saul of Tarsus to "Brother Paul".It takes us on his dramatic journey...•From breathing threats and murder to breathing prayer and praise.•From laying...  Read More

I consider myself a pretty loving person. But honestly what Christian wouldn’t? If you don’t consider yourself a loving person you may need to go check the greatest commandment Jesus gave in Matthew 2...  Read More

I especialy love the first three verses of Psalm 5. They present seven principles I often reflect on before my morning devotions. As we engage in these 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, I encourage all o...  Read More

What a time to be alive?! Challenge, division & weakness around each new corner, while the promises of God are still ever before us. You may wonder, is it even possible to live in God’s Shalom (peace)...  Read More

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

Personally, I don’t like skipping my daily meals. Not at all.I’ll usually have water and/or coffee in the morning, a very light breakfast or no breakfast at all, a hearty lunch, another coffee in the ...  Read More

Abraham believed God’s promise that He would make him the father of a great nation. As the years went by, he grew stronger in his faith. He became fully convinced that God would do exactly what He pro...  Read More

Have you heard the sweet old hymn called “Count Your Blessings?” The opening stanza has some really good advice. It reminds us: “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise y...  Read More

Sometimes it’s good to remind myself that the Lord is on my side. I know that the Lord is for me and not against me, and that God wants nothing but the best for me… but for some reason, when I say, “T...  Read More

It was in sixth grade when I first remember someone asking me, “Do you think Jesus is coming back soon?” This is undoubtedly one of the questions I’ve been asked the most over the years and my answer ...  Read More

What’s the last thing you argued or disagreed about with someone at home? Just between us, let’s admit something...families can be challenging. Actually, since I’m telling it like it is...people can b...  Read More

Ecclesiastes 3 begins by stating that there is a time for everything. When we look at the list that follows, we’d probably only want half the things that it says there is a time for. I know I’d much r...  Read More

Studies show that between 50-60% of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions. 25% of those who make resolutions drop them before even making it a week. Another 11% drop off before making it a month. Afte...  Read More

The small word “IS” jumps out at me.  This beloved Psalm reveals what God IS in my life.He is an ATTENTIVE PROVIDER of my needs.  He is my LEADER to refreshment.He is the DOCTOR of my needy soul.He is...  Read More

(Before you read on, please know that I am speaking to myself here as much as I am to you.)There is a lowercase ‘g’ in that verse for a reason. There are not gods, as in many. There is only one God, a...  Read More

Do you know what an agnostic, dyslexic, insomniac does? He stays up all night wondering if there really is a dog! Yes, it’s an old joke but there is a current sad reality to this.The doubting agnostic...  Read More

Through over 46 years of ministry God has brought special people into my life and they have been a great blessing to me. The Apostle Paul thanks the Lord for the Thessalonians who were a blessing in h...  Read More

In college some of my friends nicknamed me “the seeker.” At the time I wasn’t a Christian, and even though I didn’t realize it I was searching for something missing in my life. That’s why I joined the...  Read More

Nehemiah prayed this to the Lord after King Artaxerxies allowed him to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild. While there he made reforms in the temple, he made reforms to re-establish the Sabbath, he made ...  Read More