Devotional (Page 12)

As we walk with the Lord we never know where the path will lead, but if we are faithful to listen and obey He will fulfill our hearts’ desires.  Throughout my walk with the Lord, I have learned that I do not need to know where God leads, I just need to be obedient.  When God called me to Spokane First it was the biggest step out of my comfort zone that I have ever taken, and it has been…

Philippians 1:12-26 There’s no such thing as a problem-free life. If we’re going to learn to be full of JOY, we must learn to be joyful in the situation, in the problems, and in the very experiences of life. Joy is internal and can be and should be constant. The background for today’s text is that Paul for the last four years has been in miserable circumstances. He’s spent two years in prison in Caesarea for a trumped-up charge. Then…

1 Timothy 4:12-Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.   Timothy was a young man who desired to serve the Lord yet he had certain weaknesses that hindered his confidence. Young is relative! I consider myself young in the wholeness of life, but when I hear this verse, I automatically think of my children.  How can I as a parent…

Over the last few weeks, we have seen a lot of celebrations as students are completing their journey of high school.  As a parent of one of those graduates, I begin to reflect as a parent on my daughter’s journey. As she moves on to the next chapter I begin to look back at how God has prepared her for this next step.  In my reflections, God placed John 15:1-4 in my path this week. It was a beautiful reminder…

We pull into the upper parking lot at Church. Wyatt backs into the same parking space he always does. The gentleman at the door, is 99 ½ years young.  We will call him Winfree. As soon as Winfree sees us, he rises from his chair to hold the door open for us. I could call him a door man or a greeter, but he is so much more than that. We go in to say hello to the early morning…

Beginning with Romans 12 Paul begins explaining the practical application to truth revealed in ch.1-11. Faith in Christ is the pathway to righteousness. Circumcision of the heart by the Spirit is the real mark of belonging to God & a member of His family. The line of the covenant is by election, not heritage, through God’s call, not works. Righteousness that leads to holiness which assures us of eternal life is God’s gift to all who believe, & completely trust…

Throughout our lives with Christ, we sometimes begin to forget that we are called to continually surrender the details of our lives.  We all remember that moment when we gave our lives to the Lord and surrendered it all, but as we walk through our day-to-day lives we begin to take back things that we once fully surrendered.  I am not necessarily saying we are falling back into our sinful ways, but I am referring to those daily things that…

I remember when my kids were little, and we used to play the game ‘catch my shadow’. Many of you may be familiar with this simple game, where you walk ahead of your child, and they try to catch or stomp on the shadow on the ground. It was always a big competition in our family, and I did not just let my kids win! At this current phase of my life, I wish there was more time to play…

It is Saturday, and as I write this devotional-the second one.  It’s kind of like last week. I had a sermon all written out for Sunday and the Holy Spirit is telling me this isn’t the sermon I want you to do.  Ok, I get this.  It happens to all Preachers, but now it’s Friday morning.  I did have things running through my brain so that did make the new sermon much easier.  These kinds of sermons are the best.…

“And who knows but that you have come to your…position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 NIV) Throughout my life, there have been numerous times that Mordecai’s words here to Esther have seemed applicable to my own life. As a quick summary, Esther was elevated to the position of queen, leading with King Xerxes who “ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush” (Esther 1:1). Esther became aware that one of Xerxes’ noblemen named Haman plotted to…

7 Now hurry, go and tell his disciples, ‘He’s been raised from the dead. He’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ I’ve given the message to you.” 8 With great fear and excitement, they hurried away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. 9 But Jesus met them and greeted them. They came and grabbed his feet and worshipped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers that I…