Posts with the category “devotional”

1 Kings 5:1-7 Solomon was ready to build the temple that he was always instructed that he would one day build for the Lord. It was prophesied in the time of David that Solomon would one day be able to build the temple to God. In the time of David there was not enough peace in the land for David to be able to build the temple. But now, under Solomon’s wise ruling, a time of plenty and peace has com...  Read More

1 Kings 3:24-28 Solomon's greatness in this passage did not begin in the throne room. It began in prayer. He knew the responsibility before him was greater than his mental ability. That humility opened the door for God's wisdom to work through him.Notice that Solomon's wisdom resulted in the child being protected. The final outcome was not destruction but restoration. The baby was returned to his ...  Read More

1 Kings 3:16-23 A question with no good answer. This is what faced Solomon early in his reign. A question if judged wrongly would strip a mother of her child and a child of her mother. True justice (the right answer) is what is needed but justice often is perverted to meet the needs of society or selective groups. Solomon is in a tense situation as how he judges this case will set a precedent for ...  Read More

1 Kings 3:10-14 Having children is a huge blessing, no matter if it's a rough day with them or an amazing day. With having children there becomes the million questions of can I have this or can I have that and the famous but simple question of why? However, have you ever had your child ask you something that you least expected? In our household it's very common for Paisley to want a snack and when...  Read More

1 Kings 3:5-9 When I became the lead pastor of Emmanuel, I was in my 30s. I had never been a lead pastor until that moment. The church was roughly 300 people, and it was a bit intimidating at first. I distinctly remember a conversation that I had with Tami at that time where she said to me: “You’re good with teens, but are you sure you are good with adults?” To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure,...  Read More

Week 1Main Point and Overview:    What if God offered to you anything that you wanted. What would you choose? That is exactly what God offered to Solomon. The son of King David was now “taking over” for his father. There was a ton of pressure, and Solomon realized it. His father had been the greatest leader in Israelite history, and he was now in line to assume those immense responsibilities. So, ...  Read More

1 Corinthians 15:58 When I was a new believer, I heard over and over that being a follower of Jesus isn’t easy, but it is worth it. The more seasoned I became, the more I realized just how true that is! “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”1 Corinthians 15:58 ESVThe peace that I have ...  Read More

1 Corinthians 15:53-57 Our victory is in Jesus! I love these verses talking about O death where is your victory? Jesus has conquered all powers over sin and death. Our victory is not in the law. It is not what we do or what we try to accomplish on this earth that saves us. Many people live a life trying to get the most they can out of life. They live a life that is pleasing to them, working toward...  Read More

1 Corinthians 15:50-52 As I sat down to write this devotion, in my head I can hear Carly Simon singing the chorus of her song titled, “Anticipation.” “Anticipation, anticipation is makin' me late, is keepin' me waitin'.” Fun little fact is that her inspiration came from waiting on the arrival of Cat Stevens for their first date. During her wait, she felt a mix of nervous energy and agitation. Inst...  Read More

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 Recently on a Saturday afternoon my youngest son and I were at “back to the bricks” classic car festival in Flint. It’s fun to walk around downtown Flint and see these cars from brand new to 100 years old. The contrast in technology from the first cars to today is incredible. The reliability and comfort in modern cars are so good, we take them for granted. My grandpa would t...  Read More

1 Corinthians 15:12-20 When I think of today's passage and the title of “The Resurrection Necessity,” my mind instantly goes to a song found in The Jungle Book. During the movie Mowgli is sung to by Baloo, and the song has a powerful line in it: “Look for the bear necessities, the simple bear necessities.” We are going to find today that Paul is telling the Church in Corinth without the resurrecti...  Read More

1 Corinthians 15:1-8 This past summer, we decided to do something that we haven’t done in a while. We decided to NOT “treat” our backyard grass. With our daughter’s wedding and final college tuition payments, we just didn’t have the money. An interesting thing happened. Both grass and weeds began to grow together. Over time, if you looked closely, you could see which was which. Maybe next year we’...  Read More

Week 12Main Point and Overview:    There will always be people who say that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Many people in our culture today believe in Jesus…the teacher, or Jesus…the prophet, or Jesus…the humanitarian, but few people see Jesus as the resurrected Christ. The Apostle Paul made it clear to the Corinthians that hundreds of people saw Jesus after his resurrection. Apparently, false ...  Read More

1 Peter 5:5-6 “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”I hate to say it, but we’re going to dive right into the uncomfortable. Pride. When we break ...  Read More

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 Love will remain! Many things God created or things that we have on this earth were made to be temporary. They were made to be there for their time. All things of this world will wash away. The things that we cling on to in this world are like a vapor in the wind, they pass away and become a part of history. But love remains! The love of God is forever. Faith, hope and love r...  Read More

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 In the New Testament, we find that there are a few types of love that are present. Maybe you are familiar with some of them; eros, storge, philia, agape and puppy. Ha. Ok, puppy love probably isn’t in the Bible. I have had puppy love on the brain lately. Recently, Pastor Alec put together a “Puppy Party” event for the youth group with the sweetest bunch of golden retriever pup...  Read More

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is one of my favorite stories. I like the transformation that happens to Ebenezer Scrooge from a hateful, greedy and unmerciful man to a man who is generous, loving and kind. Ebenezer has wealth, health and financial wisdom. Ebenezer has everything to be successful but is in reality living an empty, hollow life. The missing element is brother...  Read More

1 Corinthians 12:21-27 It’s safe to say all of us at some point have felt like we were in a fight with no help in sight -we felt alone, abandoned, just simply no help in sight. While that emotion is real, we see in today's passage that as believers we are called to be each other's support system. We see in the Bible that the body of Christ (believers) are like our human body, made up of many diffe...  Read More

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 The beauty of the church is that it’s NOT about any one individual’s abilities, talents, or personality. It’s about the glory of God displayed through the cooperation of his people. No one stands out, only God. Too many American churches are the opposite. They are known for having a dynamic speaker, or an inspirational worship leader, or a fun youth or kid’s pastor. The chur...  Read More

Week 11Main Point and Overview:    The Corinthians were extremely gifted, and unfortunately, they knew it. What I mean is that they started celebrating certain spiritual gifts over others. It became easy to even compare gifts in immature arrogance. The Apostle Paul made it crystal clear that every disciple of Jesus has spiritual gifts, and each gift is necessary for the betterment of others. In fa...  Read More

John 13:1-30 How many of us are routine driven people? I am! It can be so easy to go through the motions every single day, every single week, for months, years, and forget the why. When I am intentional and start my day understanding why instead of focusing on the what; my day is much more fulfilling and peaceful.The problem that I see so many people run into, and I myself have run into, is that w...  Read More

Psalm 105 Consider what the Lord has done for you! This is what the Psalmist is doing here! He is calling the Israelites to remember the great acts of the Lord, considering the 10 plagues and His rescuing of them out of the hands of the Egyptians. He is remembering what God did for Joseph. He reminds them of the promises given to Abraham. God comes through time and time again for his people. We se...  Read More

1 Corinthians 11:27-34 In 1 Corinthians 11:27–34 Paul confronts the church at Corinth concerning the Lord’s Supper. Historically and culturally the Corinthian believers were gathering for a shared meal, but their behavior reflected divisions, selfishness, and disregard for poorer believers. Some were eating and drinking excessively while others were being neglected. What was intended to remember C...  Read More

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 When our boys were young dinnertime was always an adventure. We would gather around the table and talk about the day’s events. One of the boys would get the conversation started and you never knew where the discussion would lead. Sports, school (It’s like a prison and I didn’t learn anything), video games and other things that young boys are interested in. As time went by an...  Read More

1 Corinthians 11:19-22 As I return home to the states from spending 10 days in Germany, I am reminded of how truly blessed we are to live in America. However, I was also reminded of how we can be entitled without even really trying. We take things for granted that are truly a blessing to have. I saw in action multiple nations and languages come together to worship and bring glory to our Savior Jes...  Read More

1 Corinthians 11:17-18 Why do you “come to church?” Is it to “talk about the weekend” with your friends? Is it to “fulfill a childhood duty” that your parents forced you to do? Is it to “network for business purposes” that people sometimes do? Or is it to corporately worship your Lord and Savior with hearts filled with love, joy, and gratitude? I would say that MOTIVES MATTER! What we do and WHY W...  Read More

Week 10Main Point and Overview:    If we are not careful, we can begin to “forget” why we gather on Sundays. If we are not careful, we can begin to become a social club more than a “spiritual house.” For the Corinthians, they were still “doing the things,” but their motivations had become corrupted. They lost sight of true worship where God is to be supremely glorified, and the Gospel is to be pro...  Read More

Colossians 3:5; 1 John 5:21 “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”Colossians 3:5 How many times have you regretted not doing something sooner? Maybe it’s the dishes; you waited too long and now there’s no room in the sink and the food is all crusted. Maybe you waited too long to lovingly conf...  Read More

Psalm 115:4-8 Idols have no real power! What are the idols in our lives? Men have always wanted to put other things before God. We worship idols because we want to be able in some ways to worship ourselves or to give ourselves some choice or power over what we can worship. Our own selfishness wants us to forget about God and all that He has done for us. But the reality is God is the one who is sov...  Read More

1 Corinthians 10:14-22 God gave us the gift of choice, which means we have free will. Isn’t it great that we have the power to make real choices which allow us to shape our lives, make meaningful decisions, and truly love rather than act like robots? I will be the first to admit that I’ve not always made wise choices, and the consequences and a cascade of negative events soon followed. In 1 Corint...  Read More

1 Corinthians 10:11-13 In the 80’s there was this weird band called “DEVO”, they wore strange upside-down flowerpot looking hats. They wrote a song called Freedom of choice. The song is musically terrible; this is coming from a guy that has no musical talent. It’s so bad, I’m beginning to wonder if I couldn’t have been a rock star in the 80’s. There are a couple lines from the song that relate to ...  Read More

1 Corinthians 10:6-10 Growing up in a large family (I am the youngest of 6) we had plenty of life experiences to share. By watching each other do things, we were able to learn from each other. Whether it be how not to do something or using another’s trial run to accomplish a goal before them. Long story short, we took what we saw or heard and used it. The same thing is being taught here in chapter...  Read More

1 Corinthians 10:1-5 When I was a kid, I attended a Christian school. My parents decided that this was the best option for my education. Quick disclaimer: The educational choice of Christian school, public school, or home school is completely the choice of the parents. I am not advocating for any one educational choice. What I am advocating for is living with gratitude.My point of bringing up the ...  Read More

Week 9Main Point and Overview:    The Apostle Paul used himself as an example of disciplined maturity in chapter 9; now, he uses Israel as an example of spiritual immaturity to avoid. In fact, he wanted the Corinthians to see Israel as a warning, an example to them of what NOT TO DO! How many times have we repeated the same sinful mistakes of people from the past? In “real time,” we vowed never to...  Read More

2 Timothy 2:23-26 My favorite nickname that is floating around our culture is “keyboard warriors.” I don’t doubt that real life faith-based arguments happen in person. But nowadays, a majority of them happen online. People bicker back and forth in Facebook comment sections about hot topics in the church; creation, science, homosexuality, alcoholism, divorce, sexual immorality, legalism, tithing - ...  Read More

Proverbs 12:16 I cannot think of a single person who likes to be insulted. No one likes to hear that they have done something wrong or that someone does not like them or something that they did. All people like to try and defend their actions. The unfortunate thing is that there is always going to be someone who just doesn’t like the way you do things. People are also sinners, meaning that they ca...  Read More

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 In 1976 one of the most iconic motivational movies of all time came onto the scene. Rocky is a well-known story of struggle and determination that shows the potential of an underdog on the rise and with arguably the most recognizable movie theme song. The first sixteen bars of “Gonna Fly Now” are probably playing in your head right now. The infamous training montage has the p...  Read More

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 This year we celebrated the 250th anniversary of America. A country based on a simple concept. Freedom! The Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In America we are free to pursue what...  Read More

1 Corinthians 9:3-12 Just the other day Sarah and I took Paisley to the movies for the first time to see Toy Story 5 (pretty good movie). For our household we have watched the first through the fourth one about 5 times each leading up to this point, as Paisley loves Buzz and Woody. During Toy story 5 Paisley was blown away at all the Buzz Lightyears that started the movie out, so much so that dad ...  Read More

1 Corinthians 9:1-2 You are going to face critics! You are going to face antagonism and pressure from people! You are going to have people who are going to attempt to discredit your testimony, purpose, and authority! How’s that for an encouraging way to start this devotional?! Sadly, it’s the truth. Over the years, I have had people tell me that I was “too young,” “too inexperienced,” “too simple,...  Read More