Posts with the category “devotional”

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

What I am doing in the present is creating effects for generations to come. I never could have imagined what it would do in my life when my dad started a bus route in our church in Detroit when I was a small child. My dad was newly saved, and he was being encouraged to serve the Lord in some capacity. At the time, he didn’t really know what his spiritual gifts were, and so he wasn’t really sure wh...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:   You are leaving your kids something…what is it? The fact is that the Bible is filled with focus on “what’s next!” From the Israelites pursuing the Promised Land of Canaan to the modern-day person giving his life to Jesus for dying on The Cross, there is always “what’s next!” While it is easy to try to survive day to day, you are meant to be pursuing a future that is defi...  Read More

READ 2 Timothy 2:1-7   Here in this letter to Timothy, Paul is urging Timothy to discern who are faithful men, spread the word to those who are willing to learn, then teach others and entrust to these "faithful men" the things which Timothy learned from Paul. It’s the ministry of multiplication, and it should not be kept to oneself, but be passed on.   In the Bible, soldiers, athletes, and farmers...  Read More

We have all heard the phrase “the sins of the father.” It can be characterized in a couple of ways. First, a sinful lifestyle whose repercussions impact the following generation. And while the Scripture does say that a child is not held responsible for the sins of his or her father, there still can be temporal consequences. Perhaps the single most impactful sin, or failure, of a father is to be ab...  Read More

Wow! Such a powerful question in such a small portion of today's scripture reference. As we read through 2 Kings 2:1-9, I find it astonishing Elisha commitment to following Elijah. Each time Elijah had to go to a new place Elisha went with him. However, the catch was every time they got to the place they were traveling to, Elisha was met by the company of the prophet and was reminded that Elijah w...  Read More

As I write this devo, on the 13th, tomorrow being the 14th, it will be 15 years to the day, that I surrendered my life to the Lord. I had been fighting a raging battle. A battle between the life I wanted to live, or listen to the loving and kind advice from a friend who was unrelentingly pursuing me with the Gospel. Some of my closest friends were atheists, I enjoyed the rebellious felling of maki...  Read More

Read 1 Kings 19 (As long as you’ve read 1 Kings 17 & 18 first…You need the context to really grasp the weight and emotion of chapter 19) Here is the abbreviated summary of the previous chapters: Elijah is a Prophet of the Lord, Ahab is a godless and wayward King of Israel, he is married to the godless and evil woman, Jezebel, who goes down in history as the most evil woman in the Bible. Both King ...  Read More

What are your kids seeing from you? What is your spouse seeing from you? When I was a kid, I never heard my dad swear. I also never heard my mom gossip. Now, were my parents perfect? Absolutely not, but they truly did model for us kids, faithfulness to the Lord. Another thing that stood out about my upbringing is that I didn’t hear a “materialistic spirit” from my parents. All they ever wanted for...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:   You are making an investment, even if you don’t know it. What you value, what you talk about, what you spend time doing is shaping your family…and those in your circle of influence. When Elijah approached Elisha about being his mentee, it was an easy choice. Why? It’s because Elisha had already observed Elijah’s boldness for truth and justice. What are your kids observin...  Read More

Today’s devotion title, "New Thinking Equals New Living” stirs up a lot of thoughts and ideas about what a “new” life looks like. Maybe it’s something you’ve thought about too. Let’s try something; how about we begin with backwards thinking. Yes, you read that correctly, backwards thinking, and no it’s not the same as playing a record backwards as if searching to hear a secret message.  I’m sugges...  Read More

There are a multitude (literally thousands) of “self-help” books available. Everything from eating right to how to lose weight, grow hair, hair removal, dating, marriage, divorce, raising kids, kicking adult kids out of the house, and list goes on and on. Wanting to improve ourselves is not a bad thing. But sometimes the things we think we need to improve actually have nothing to do with our well-...  Read More

We all know the illustration of the cup of water that is filled to the middle of the glass. Which then we are asked is the glass half full or half empty? It all comes down to our perspective on how we look at the glass. In that moment is one person wrong? Well, the same can be true about our priorities. In my house I tend to relax first, then do the task that needs to be done. Sarah prefers to com...  Read More

Pastor John, gave me the title of this devotional, and honestly, it could really begin and end with those words……Grace Wins…. truly, is there anything more that needs to be said? I suppose I better ?   Immediately upon reading those words, “Grace Wins”, I thought of a popular song that you may have heard on any Christian radio station, with the same title, “Grace Wins” by Matthew West. Here are so...  Read More

Ephesians 1:18-22: "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ...  Read More

Have you ever felt “bad” about yourself? Have you ever been insecure about yourself? Some of the most loud, gregarious, and excitable people have some of the greatest insecurities. In fact, sometimes their outward “face” is simply masking their inward “frustrations.” Why? Because everyone at some point struggles with identity. I don’t care how successful a person is in life, everyone, and I mean e...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:   So often how we “view ourselves” is shaped by a difficult upbringing. Maybe you had parents who were harsh, always demeaning or discouraging you. Maybe there was more criticism than love in your home growing up. The past has unfortunately helped to shape the present. You find yourself treating your family in the same toxic ways that you were treated. What you need is a r...  Read More

 2 Timothy 1:3-7 “I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.  I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind ...  Read More

“Psyche yourself up!” We’ve all told ourselves that at some point. I remember when I played sports in my (much) younger days, preparing myself mentally and emotionally to get out there and win. I remember one game in particular, we were playing our league rival. Mind you, this was like when I was 10 or 11-years-old, so it wasn’t playing for the national title but still a big game. I played linebac...  Read More

I don't know about you, but when Sarah and I watch a movie (a chick flick) it is almost impossible for me to stay focused. Chances are there is some sporting event I would much rather be watching, and my attention drifts to my phone to watch it. Which almost always leads Sarah to asking— ”Are you even watching this? Do you even care about what is going on in this movie?” I tend to think I have the...  Read More

Have you ever had a mentor or mentored someone? It is a task that comes with great responsibility, maybe some frustrations, but ultimately great joy. Mentoring at its core is showing someone how to do what you do by teaching them and developing them, so that one day they can fly solo. This is a common practice within the workspace, but should be used more so within the church! There are so many yo...  Read More

2 Kings 10:15-17 “After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab son of Rekab, who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?” “I am,” Jehonadab answered. “If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.” So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot. 16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD.” Then he had him ride along in his char...  Read More

Everyone has a start. In other words, the most successful people on the planet had to start somewhere. Someone gave them a chance. I think back to the first interview I had with the pulpit committee here at Emmanuel. I had no real experience as a lead pastor. I had been a youth pastor or involved in youth ministry for two decades, but that’s very different than leading multiple generations in a le...  Read More