Posts with the category “devotional”

As a kid walking the toy aisles at Kmart, I would play with the Magic 8 Ball. Maybe you remember it; it was a black liquid filled 8-ball that could tell the future. You could ask questions like, “Will I get married? Will I be successful? What kind of job will I have when I grow up?” and receive responses such as, “Without a doubt. Outlook not so good. Reply hazy, try again.” As I think back to som...  Read More

We often think our success is measured by how much money we have in our savings account, the car we drive, the house we live in, and even the position we hold at work. However, at the end of the day it's not what we think! James 1:9-11 tells us:“Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass awa...  Read More

One of my favorite Johnny Cash songs is “I walk the Line.” The song is about fidelity. Granted, the context is different, but the intent and meaning are the same: to be true, don’t falter. Verse 6 paints a picture of what James is addressing in his letter, and that is obedience.One of the things I love about living in Michigan is “Michigan summers.” Even though we never lived in the state while I ...  Read More

Let’s do a mental picture—after I give you the prompt, close your eyes and imagine what I am about to describe to you. Imagine that you are an elder, by elder I mean you are the oldest living person, in a village thousands of years ago. There are people who are in charge of running the village and dealing with all sorts of conflicts. However, they never ask you for your wisdom that you have accumu...  Read More

At first glance, this passage may sound misleading. The duty of every Christian is not to have a smile upon their face at all times and pretend that everything in life is always hunky-dory. If we acted that way, being a Christian would seem unattainable, contradictory, and we would be disingenuous to the world around us. As James talks about trials here, he is most likely referring to external aff...  Read More

Moments of happiness...a wedding, a game-winning-shot, an ice cream sundae, a warm beach in January, your kids coming home from college, a pay raise, seeing a high school friend, an intriguing book, your first home, your first baby, your first job...have a way of defining our lives. The problem is what happens in the opposite experiences of life...those experiences that are filled with pain and st...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:   The American church has mis-defined Christianity into a “life gets better” experience that is simply not true. As you journey through the New Testament, you find a universal theme of perseverance in the face of challenges. Our time on this earth as Jesus’ disciples guarantees us that we will face “pushback” from those who do not want their selfish ideals attacked or remo...  Read More

What an exciting and interesting week of planting ourselves in Luke 19 and hovering the magnifying glass over the life of Zaccheus. Beginning on Easter Sunday, the greatest day of the year, Resurrection Sunday, Pastor John shared about Zacchaeus, a man who was so hated, a money loving tax collecting robber who was despised. And, just curious, how many of you have been singing the “wee little man” ...  Read More

Zacchaeus the tax collector. From the kids’ song, we know him as a “wee little man.” And while his physical stature may have been diminutive in size, so much so that it was recorded in the Bible for all of history to see. His tale is perhaps one of the most poignant of one turning to Christ.The Bible tells us that we all “fall short” of the Glory of God. Satan would have us believe that we are not...  Read More

 Luke 19:6 “So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.” If you are not familiar with Zacchaeus, I strongly encourage you to read Luke 19:1-10. What a powerful moment in Zacchaeus' life! A moment I imagine he never forgot or stopped thinking about it. The Bible tells us that he went ahead of the crowds, found a tree to climb, and waited until Jesus came, just so he could see him. As I take ti...  Read More

There are days when I, a born-again Christ Follower for 15 years now, struggle to believe that Jesus STILL loves me, pursues me, forgives me, calls me his child after all these years. I mean, if I were him, I am not sure if I would love me the way he loves me….and yet, somehow, in some unfathomable way he never stops, never gives up, relentlessly loves and cares for me. I will never understand it,...  Read More

Luke 19:1-4 “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.” Zacchaeus, surely, we could’ve made a better song to encapsulate wha...  Read More

Nothing happens by accident. Every encounter you have with someone is part of the pre-determined plan of a Sovereign God. When Jesus passed through Jericho, he met a man. More importantly a man met him. Think about the time when you “met” Jesus for the very first time. Maybe it was through a loving conversation with a coworker. Maybe it was through a tragedy, and someone shared the hope of Jesus w...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:     Everyone is “chasing after” something.  Whether it’s power or prosperity or pleasure or prominence, the human heart is never quite satisfied even when “achieving” these pursuits. It seems like there is always something “bigger and better” next to pursue. What if we saw the meaning of life in a different light? This Easter season we might need to chart a new course. The...  Read More

Last month Emmanuel rolled out “Operation 3:16”. We were challenged to commit to prayer every day at 3:16pm in preparation for Easter; praying for unsaved friends, family members, or coworkers and committing to inviting others to church.  Just curious, how did that go? Did you attack this with a sense of urgency, boldness and hopefulness? Or maybe you threw in the towel thinking that there is no h...  Read More

Many years ago, the Marine Corps had an advertising campaign with the tag line “Pain is weakness leaving the body.” It represents the Marine ethos. Pain is part of the process of becoming stronger, resilient, and effective. I was an Air Force guy, and as a branch of service we were always made fun of by our sister services as not being as physically fit. We were, in a jokingly way, referred to as ...  Read More

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself “people watching” when out in public. You never know what you will see so it's never the same. Just like snowflakes, we are all different. How we hold things, to standing, to interactions all vastly different. We all know we live in a very dark world and there is evil all around us. The mainstream media push the negative stories as normal and then wh...  Read More

As far as I can remember, I have always LOVED the spotlight. If there was a stage, I was on it. If there was a literal spotlight, I wanted to be in it. If I wasn’t singing, I was acting, and as I grew older and got into ministry, I started teaching children all the way to college-age students. I thrived in the spotlight, but over the last 6-7 years I haven’t stepped a foot onto a stage. My head go...  Read More

Many of us, myself included, just returned from a Spring Break vacation. Fun, restful, playful, and refreshing time away. Somewhere warm, good food to eat, no people to interact with, nowhere to be, and no deadlines to meet… but that vacation eventually comes to an end. Something my wife and I do inadvertently towards the end of a vacation, is start talking about the next vacation. We enjoy the on...  Read More

No one wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror, and says, “I cannot wait to experience pain today! It’s going to be so awesome!” Instead, we strive for comfort. That is why we go on our favorite vacations, enjoy our favorite meals, watch our favorite movies, cheer for our favorite teams, play our favorite games, and hang out with our favorite people. Notice the word “favorite” inserted into e...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:   Motivation is the “straw that stirs their cup.” What motivates a person will expose the true intensions of that person’s heart. If he is driven by people’s applause, that will eventually come out in his actions. If he is easily offended by pushback, that will eventually come out in his actions. The point being that a selfless disciple of Jesus doesn’t get “caught in the ...  Read More

2 Corinthians 8:1-5“And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privil...  Read More

Go back to the moment in time when you got saved. I recall that moment as if it was only yesterday. It was a truly a moment of I wasn’t saved to being a child of God: a follower of Christ. You don’t just ease into your salvation. It is a lucid moment of deliberate decision. When Christ reveals himself, clearing the fog of sin, and forcing you to make a choice. Accept or deny.   Paul had been in As...  Read More

When I was a kid, I remember going with my parents to the RV dealership. I knew well in advance this was going to be one of the most boring days of my life. Walking in and out of campers until they found the perfect one (not knowing if they would or not), then having to sit in a chair as they filled out all the paperwork. I was already wanting the day to pass, but things took a change for good whe...  Read More

This is a full confessional, so allow me the space to be real and transparent. Since mid-December my family has been put through “the ringer”. Walking pneumonia took all of us out for several weeks, I am sure you can recall a time when a sickness worked its way from one family member to the next, that was a nasty few weeks. In that time, there was family fall out, which has continued to cause prob...  Read More

 22 years… What has carried, what has kept, what has allowed for and instilled perseverance in my heart and soul? Has it been my own “goodness”? Has It been my ability to make the “right” choices? Is it my character? Has it been because of my family? My pastoral persona? My own strength? It cannot be so. It most certainly is not MY grip on God that has made the difference, but his grip on me. It i...  Read More

The other day I was looking through my youth ministry scrapbooks reminiscing of all that God has done in my life. As I saw each picture, it brought back incredible memories of relationships that I have built over the years. From serious to silly, there are so many experiences that I will never forget. In many ways, youth ministry shaped me to be the lead pastor that I am today. Then, it happened a...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:    Sometimes it is hard to put into words the feelings that we have for someone. That person means so much to us because of his or her gracious and selfless love for us. When that person comes to mind, a smile comes over our face, our eyes begin to “tear up”, and we are filled with deep affection. That was exactly how the Apostle Paul felt about the Philippians. Even findi...  Read More

James 1:13-15"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;  but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." When I read the title of this devotion assignment, the power cho...  Read More

For as heralded as David is, a man after God’s own heart, he was far from perfect. We all know the story of David and Bathsheba, but the scandal doesn’t stop there. Chapters 13-18 of 2 Samuel read more like a dime store novel in some regards. Incest, rape, betrayal, murder plots, and conniving. It’s all there. But unlike a dime store novel, there are some real lessons to be taken away, as well as ...  Read More

David is one of my favorite people to read about in the Bible. A man of God who did almost everything the right way. All the way up to being king! However, as we learned from the sermon this week, every choice we make has a cost with it. David let his walls of protection down and fell into deep sin. Once David committed the sin with Bathsheba, he instantly tried to cover it up.  Something we all k...  Read More

Oh, the tangled web we weave. My dad taught me at a young age to “never give Satan the foothold.” That implication was a warning to be careful of the choices you make, because “sin can take you further than you ever thought it would.” I look back and laugh at some of the conversations that I had with my dad as a young naive teenager, thinking I was invincible and not susceptible to “sin like that....  Read More

2 Samuel 11:2-5 “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was...  Read More

I had just gotten over to the school...that is our rival school. The school was having an all-nighter, and me and some of my friends were going to “crash” their fun. Honestly, I was an immature teenager at the time, and this wasn’t going to end well...except something happened before the party even started. While I was at Taco Bell with a couple of my friends, some of my other friends went over to...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:   There is hardly a story in God’s Word more terrifying than David’s drama with Bathsheba and Uriah. Someone the Bible describes as a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) committed both adultery and murder. How is this possible? David got distracted from his mission. It’s terrifying because if it could happen to arguably the most passionate man of God in the Old Te...  Read More

Inheritance. It’s a word we are all familiar with; maybe you’re hoping to receive a family heirloom, vacation home, or a windfall of money as part of an inheritance. Maybe you are waiting . . . waiting for that rich uncle to die. Ok, that last part was meant to be funny. The movie, “Greedy” with Michael J. Fox and Kirk Douglas comes to mind. It’s a cute PG-13 comedy about a family who attempts to ...  Read More

When Jennifer and I first met in college…more than just a few years ago…I was not a Christian. We started dating and she soon invited me to go to church with her. I wasn’t particularly thrilled about going to church, but my interest in her overrode any misgivings about going to church. It was a church affiliated with the Baptist Student Union at Michigan State. It consisted entirely of students, w...  Read More

When I saw the title in this together, I started singing "We’re all in this together" from the Disney movie “High School Musical”. If you are not familiar with the movie, you have a classical Disney love story, but the catch is, you have different “groups” throughout the school that don't get along. Troy Bolton, the superstar basketball player and coach's son falls for Gabriella Montez who is 1. T...  Read More

If you did not read my devotional from last week, I told you all a little bit of my salvation story. Fittingly this week, the passage of scripture reminds us to remember what God has done, and to remember that it is only by him and through him that we have anything—the very breath in our lungs is God’s grace towards us. As much as I would love to go into deeper detail of my own story of salvation ...  Read More

Uphill both ways, barefoot, and in a blizzard! How else do you think I made it to and from school each day? Maybe your children or grandchildren have heard the same story about you. It’s always enjoyable sharing a story, or a “when I was your age” moment with our kids. My boy Luke is currently five and a half years old and LOVES video games whenever and wherever he gets a chance to play them. “Now...  Read More