Posts by SFNAZ Devotional Team (Page 2)
Love Your Neighbor
Love your Neighbor After months of the house next door being vacant, we finally got new neighbors. Only… except… well, to be honest it has been quite a struggle adjusting to them. They brought a lot of clutter with a boat, construction trailer, and multiple trucks and cars that block the sidewalk. They have many friends/co-workers who spend much of their time on the back deck while they smoke, which we smell in our back yard. Oh, and they love…
DELAYS ARE NOT DENIALS
When [Jesus] heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. JOHN 11:6 In today’s fast paced world of drive through dining, same-day Amazon delivery and online grocery shopping, we’ve lost the art of waiting. If you ask any child, they rank the words not yet as nearly the most awful in the English language, second only to the word no. Children don’t like to hear the answer, “Not yet.” When our wise, loving heavenly Father deems it best to say,…
Our Identity in Christ
Have you ever struggled with knowing who you are? We live in a world where people struggle with identity. Some of which is caused by broken families and troubled childhoods. Some of which is caused by careless friends and negative people in our lives. But I believe that who we are is determined by “whose” we are. Where did I come from and who do I belong to? The answers to these questions shape our identity. Psalm 139:13-14 says “For…
Embracing the Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to…
The Lord’s Return
When will the Lord return? Will it be soon? Will I be ready? As a child, I remember watching the Christian movie, “Thief in the night,” where I saw dramatized the vanishing of Christians and the horrible predicament of those who were not ready, who missed the rapture and now would have to face the persecution of the tribulation. I understood that the Lord could come back at any moment, and I had better be ready… or else. At some…
A Changed Life
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father — to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. REVELATION 1:5 – 6 I’d like to share with you about a gentleman I’ve known for more than 20 years. I’ve seen him at his lowest. I’ve seen him when his life was falling apart, when he…
The Verse that Almost Was
At the start of the academic year at seminary where I taught, faculty gathered together, and the president would share our theme verse or passage for the year. In my last year there, the president said he considered sharing Ezek. 36:20-23 but decided on a passage in John. Being the curious type I had to check out the “almost” verses. This is what I found: Ezek. 36:20-23 – 20 ”And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy…
Waiting on the Lord
Have you ever had to wait on the Lord? Two months ago, I injured my hip and knee falling on a flow rider (surf simulator) and since then I have been doing a lot of sitting and waiting… waiting for my body to heal and not being able to do the things that I want. Sometimes the same is true in our spiritual lives. Sometimes we find ourselves in a season of waiting on the Lord and not being able…
Getting Our Attention
He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. PSALM 18:16 Three major events lead to the fall of 2015 being one of the most challenging times of my life. Due to an errant business decision, we were forced to file bankruptcy. My grandmother’s boyfriend of more than a decade lost his life in a car accident just days before Christmas and I was denied bereavement leave because he “wasn’t family.” …
Make Disciples
The only verb in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) is matheteuo – “make disciples.” The rest of the verse modifies this verb—or tells us how to make disciples. It is that last thing Christ told us to do before he returned to the Father. So how are we doing at that? On my 21st birthday I went to a Billy Graham Crusade in San Diego. When the invitation came, I went forward, as I wanted to see what happened when…
Striving to be Your Best
I wouldn’t trade my eight years in the Army for anything. My military experience helped shape me into the man I am today. I have very few regrets related to those years, but I do have regrets. Because of my military experience, I enjoy watching military-based movies and TV shows. Most recently I’ve enjoyed watching the series on Fox called Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. If you haven’t seen the show, it’s filmed in the Jordanian desert, not far from…
Faith of a Child
Last week we recognized the first anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine. I was privileged to have been ministering to Ukrainian refugees in Poland when the war reached its six-month milestone. A couple of weeks ago the Church of the Nazarene sent out an email that included a video of our compassionate ministry work supporting Ukrainian refugees. Much of the video featured the work of the Sweet Surrender ministry in Poznan, Poland. The last image in the…