Posts with the category “devotional”

Waiting, hoping, anticipating. I doubt that there is a day that goes by where those actions are absent from our thoughts. Waiting is often hard and can be overwhelming at times. Waiting to get pregnant, waiting for that next paycheck, waiting for that loved one to make a turnaround in their life. We wait with hope. We eagerly wait with excitement anticipating the good of that “something” happening...  Read More

We all go through life meeting many people who intersect our lives in an impactful way. Many remain acquaintances, either through proximity or personality. Some become friends, even close friends. Those with whom you interact on some kind of regular and cordial basis. My mother had quite a list of friends that fell into this category. Even if she moved away, which happened quite often being a mili...  Read More

As children we all had moments, especially around Christmas, when we knew what we wanted, maybe it was the hottest toy on the market or something all of our friends had first. Later to open your gifts and fall in love with something you didn't expect to get. As adults we wish and dream for better jobs, a better car, a bigger house! No matter what it is, our flesh wants more and bigger. As the worl...  Read More

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had." Acts 4:32This sense of unity and selflessness is often a challenge in our society today—a society that places more value on personal achievement and individual success, than working together in unity. I could write on and on about the dangers of those thi...  Read More

The commotion began to grow, the noise started to stir, a man that they had all walked by at the gate was now walking, jumping, and shouting praise to God! The actions of Peter and John, led to an opportunity to preach Christ. Repentance and belief filled the colonnade. Over five thousand had now come to faith in the risen Christ. In marched the disturbed religious leaders who felt threatened. So ...  Read More

How does a person lose weight? How does a team win a championship? How does a business grow their influence? How does a relationship stay connected? How does a Christian stay consistently committed to Christ? We are all looking for the “magic formula” or the “blueprint for success.” There is one emphatic characteristic of success...endurance.Success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes hard and comm...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:  Worship is a lifestyle. It is developed as your appetites are adjusted away from the world and to the Savior. For the 1st century church, they were facing a ton of pressure from all angles. The writer of Hebrews understood this, so he gave these young believers an intentional blueprint for success. He wanted them to realize that they should never go back to their past lif...  Read More

As I warm up my fingers and get ready to type, my eyes are fixed on the spot in the sky where the sun is straining to illuminate the day. The current temperature is 1 degree and there is a beautifully eerie haze with an occasional flash of snow dust swirling about.  I feel like I’m in a scene from Frozen, which is a Disney favorite of several of my granddaughters.  In the background, the chatter o...  Read More

We all have been in a spot when a child asks the world's most famous question “Why”? Proceeded by once again “Why”? Which then triggers a whole rabbit train of whys and so on, to the point we don't have the answer they are looking for. In that moment we most likely throw out some crazy answer that then stops them from asking more questions!Ecclesiastes 5:2  “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not...  Read More

One of the more gratifying aspects of any job is having purpose. It is a motivator. For me, that was never truer than being in the military. The vast majority of the day-to-day was making sure we were ready for the next mission. There were exercises routinely, to make sure we knew how to do our job and how it applied to the mission. As a missileer every alert was the real deal. Our mission was to ...  Read More

 John 21:20-22 "Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”  In our modern world, distractions...  Read More

Back to the old ways it seemed… A few ordinary fishermen trying to make the living they were raised to. Although, for the past few years’ things had looked a little different, their pursuits had changed. These men who spent most of their lives listening to the sounds of the sea, smelling the salty air, and standing more firmly on a rocking boat than they could on solid ground, found themselves on ...  Read More

Leading up to this point has been quite a whirlwind for Peter. Peter, as we know, has always been one that was too quick to open his mouth before thinking about it. Peter has been told by Jesus that he would be the rock on which the church was built. We also all know the moment when Jesus tells Peter that he will deny Jesus 3 times before the rooster crows. We then see Peter being too quick to ope...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:  What an exhilarating time for the disciples. They watched their Lord and Master get murdered, only to rise again from the grave! It must have felt like a whirlwind of activity with their heads spinning! Now, Jesus would give to them some final words before he would no longer see them until heaven. In particular, he called them to selfless sacrifice and Gospel-centered bol...  Read More

The Detroit Lions are getting a lot of press time and national attention this year and I’m excited to say that for the first time in a few decades it’s actually good and optimistic. This team has had a successful season thus far and has really turned their record upside down. Speaking of upside-down, wide receiver Amon-ra St. Brown became an instant icon, executing a celebratory headstand after a ...  Read More

We have all had a moment where things didn't go the way that we had planned. Maybe it was a friendship that fell apart, or a job you didn't get. No matter what it was we walked away upset and confused. As I was graduating from college, I had made up my mind that I would be working in sports, but when that door continued to close, I became more and more upset and confused, but why? Was I upset that...  Read More

We’ve all heard the saying “Don’t be a doubting Thomas.” We had a saying in the Air Force, “Have a healthy sense of cynicism.” It didn’t mean to be paranoid, but rather don’t take everything at face value. In other words, it’s okay to want to be confident. Thomas often gets harshly judged because he wanted proof that Jesus was alive. At this point, his faith in Jesus was at a crossroads. It was a ...  Read More

Our scripture reading for today, John 20:19-23, marks a profound moment in the New Testament. Jesus, having risen from the dead, appears to his disciples. This moment is not just a reunion; it is a reinstatement of their mission, a revitalization of their purpose, and a commissioning that echoes through the ages.   To fully appreciate the significance of this passage, it is essential to understand...  Read More

The watercolor painted sky in the morning as the sun pierces through the horizon, there is something about the beauty of a sunrise and how it transcends the seasons. In the summer my favorite time to see the sunrise is in the middle of a morning run or bike ride, giving me something to focus on as its beauty reflects upon the changing scenery. In rural Michigan, in late July or early August you ca...  Read More

Have you ever had something so traumatic or something so shocking happen to you and the only thing you can do is stand in disbelief? Like, your brain cannot process what is going on. The most recent, for me, was when my daughter told me she was pregnant with baby #3. I was in shock and disbelief. I just stared at her, my brain glitched. It took a few seconds to realize what she had said, and it to...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:  Sometimes in life we lose all hope. We get discouraged. We get afraid. We get “worn down,” leading to depression and anxiety. The disciples had just experienced the most traumatic moment of their lives. Their Rabbi was murdered right in front of their eyes. The one who they chose to abandon everything for was gone. How could this be? He was supposed to be the Messiah. He ...  Read More

Let’s take a mental walk. The distance and the destination is up to you; it could be a quick stroll or a painful and grueling trudge. Now think back to a time whether it was 50 years ago, 5 years ago, or 5 minutes ago to an incident in which you were wronged and you felt that extending forgiveness to that person or situation was completely unfathomable. Curious, did you quickly forgive or are you ...  Read More

Pressure: “attempt to persuade or coerce (someone) into doing something.” Pressure is something that none of us can escape. It's something every single one of us faces daily. Pressures from work, friends, and even family. Pressure to do make decisions on the fly, or to make a hard decision in a short amount of time. Long story short, no one likes it. We see in today's scripture reading that Pilate...  Read More

Being one of four siblings, and being the youngest, I got quite adept at playing the “It wasn’t me” game. I remember one time I was having a fight with my oldest brother (which I often did). I had saved my allowance money to buy a really cool accessory for my G.I. Joe (the 12” size). It was a paraglider that actually flew like a kite. I was having trouble assembling it, so I asked my brother to he...  Read More

The pain would have been unfathomable, beyond excruciating.   The Garden: Before He even gets to the cross, and even before Pilate, He was in torment—all the way back to the garden He was sweating blood as He cried out to God. Do you understand what your body has to go through to sweat blood? It is called hematidrosis, which is caused by EXTREME emotional stress. Agony, and no one had even laid a ...  Read More

“Your plane”  “My Plane”“Your plane”“My Plane” This was the communication and series of commands traded back and forth as I took control of the planes rear controls before performing maneuvers under the supervision of the pilot. I had never flown a plane before, nor had any interest to… But Doug, a youth group leader/mentor, and retired Airforce pilot took me up in his stunt plane! This was one of...  Read More

Pressure is a thing. We are all under it in different areas of our life. People expect from us. People have perceptions about us. People even threaten us when they don’t get what they want. It’s in these moments where the truth of a person’s character rises or falls. I’ve watched sports my whole life. I’ve seen teams that were really good at “blowing out” inferior opponents, but when they faced a ...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:  There is not a single event in world history that can compare to The Cross of Jesus Christ. It is the greatest display of sacrificial love that there has ever been. What makes it so special is the magnitude of the price that was paid by a completely innocent man. Sometimes, we forget what Jesus went through, or at least, we block it out of our memories. Maybe it makes us ...  Read More

On Christmas Eve family and friends gathered in Emmanuel’s auditorium to commemorate the birth of Christ. The room was aglow with a backdrop of festive Christmas trees, there were many hugs and greetings being exchanged, and it was evident that the children and adults alike were brimming with the anticipation of Christmas. With candles lit and held high, the congregation raised their voices togeth...  Read More

Admit it or not, we all like it when we have clear directions no matter the circumstance. You may be on your way to a family vacation or making the last-minute trip to the grocery store for forgotten items. No matter what it is, the worse felling is not being productive in the task at hand. Today's verses we see Pete giving some powerful directions about faith. Petter says the following: “For this...  Read More

There is the old saying “Say what you mean, mean what you say.” It is easy to say you’re going to do something, but it’s a lot tougher to actually carry through and do it. A few years ago, Jennifer and I took a Caribbean cruise. One of the stops was in Belize. One of the great things about cruises is the excursions. Feeling adventurous, we went on the excursion that included rafting in an underwat...  Read More

Before we dive into the scripture for today…. I want to say that this passage of scripture has fascinated me for YEARS. I have researched and researched, because it leaves me with so many questions. If you don’t know this about me, I am what would be considered a cinephile (a lover of the cinema). This passage of scripture fills my mind with such imagery, and has the potential to be a truly great ...  Read More

Sanctification: Another one of those big scary church-words. The reason this word can be daunting or intimidating at first glance, is because it encompasses an entire biblical doctrine in a single word. It’s a word used to define the ebbs and flows, ups and downs, shortcomings and triumphs, the setbacks and progression of an individual Christian’s journey of faith. A comprehensive definition of sa...  Read More

Sometimes in life, you must accept your fate. What does that even mean? Well, it means that life is hard, and your purpose in Christ is going to have bumpy roads attached to it. We just finished 2024, and for every single one of us, there were challenges that we faced. As we enter a new year, one thing is for sure, there will be challenges that we are either going to face with courage or run from ...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:    While Jesus faced The Cross with tremendous courage, his disciples were not prepared for this moment of truth. In fact, their claims of allegiance suddenly fell apart when faced with pressure. The posterchild for this “crumbling under the pressure” is seen in the behaviors of Simon Peter and Pilate as Jesus endured arrest, trial, and crucifixion. A once proud claim was ...  Read More

Happy New Year. Here's to new beginnings and a fresh start! Do you approach the New Year as a chance for positive change and personal growth? Maybe you're like me and choose a word for the year to focus on. Or you bravely make a New Years resolution? Perhaps one or more of the goals on your list are; exercise more, lose weight, learn a new hobby, save more money, spend less money, quit smoking, re...  Read More

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Today's verse tells us that the will of God for our lives are to rejoice, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstance. As we looked over John 17 this past Sunday we focused on prayer for fellow believers and prayer for the unbelievers. I first want to focus on the believe...  Read More

I remember the first time that someone said to me “I’m praying for you.” I was 8 or 9 years old. We were living in Naples, Italy at the time (my father was in the Air Force, and he was stationed there). Our neighbors across the street had kids about the same age as my brothers and me. We had been there about a year when they moved in. Like all neighborhoods, the neighborhood kids always sized up t...  Read More

Having grown up in church my whole life, as a pastor’s kid, I have been around several people who I would consider to be “Prayer Warriors”. You may know some of these people in your own lives. The Prayer Warriors I have encountered are nothing short of admirable. To selflessly give up one’s personal time to make time for prayer, to not necessarily pray for themselves but to spend time praying for ...  Read More

Another year has come to an end… Goals were set, some were met, others were missed. With a steely resolve we attacked the 365 days that stood in front of us, although at times it may have seemed like the year fought back. Most everybody has been met with unexpected changes, loss, circumstances, blessings, and undulations we would have never anticipated. A year is a long time, yet it goes by so qui...  Read More