Devotional (Page 15)

“Everything we say and do, everything we commit ourselves to, and every situation, location, and relationship we experience is experienced between the already and the not yet. You will never understand the things you face every day until you understand that you live in the middle. Everything in your life is shaped by what the middle is like. Knowing that you are living between the already and the not yet tells you where you are located in God’s story of…

Jesus spoke to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, CEB) Some of you are aware that last weekend I was able to participate in my thirty-year high school class reunion. With that information, you can now do the math to determine my age. 😊 I graduated from a small high school, only 41 of us in my class. I…

We have all had those moments in life when we have felt less than, unseen, or even unimportant. As a Christian growing up in the church, I thought this feeling of less than might have been the result of a lack of faith. I also wondered if it was related to not being close enough to God or not as actively engaged in the church community as I could have been. Possibly it was my human nature of not admitting…

Exodus 20:1-3 20:1 “And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”  Most commentators believe this is God speaking directly to all the people! Hebrews 12:18-25 supports that thought. “You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a…

We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. (Ephesians 6:12) A quick look in just about any direction these days and conflict seems to be ruling the day. Whether we look to politics in our country or reflect on the larger world scene, we are clearly steeped in a struggle. Too often we are quick to single out individuals to whom we wish to assign blame,…

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens… Ecclesiastes 3:1 We each process change differently. Some of us are just wired to be more adaptable, we can go with the flow, and don’t get overly anxious about unknowns. Others of us like to know exactly what is going to happen, and how and when it is going to happen. Regardless of what type of person you are, the reality is that as a…

On July 11 we started a new Sunday School Class that meets at 11:00AM in the Fireside Room on the book of Philippians. We began by reading Philippians in its entirety, aloud as a class, all four chapters in succession. Then we read together a brief summary of the Book of Philippians as follows: Philippians 1 – The Advancing Gospel, Philippians 2 – Imitate Christ, Philippians 3 – Pressing Onward, Philippians 4 – Rejoice in the Lord.  To end our…

We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, CEB) It has been one of those weeks where I am reminded that life is messy. I realize some people can tolerate more messiness than others. Some of you know my desk tends to be cluttered, what some would even call messy. Honestly, most of the time, I know where most things are…

In today’s society, it seems like everyone is striving endlessly to be strong.  Whether it is emotional, spiritual, or physical, the world seems to reward strength and discourage weakness. Throughout the years of my life, I have faced many challenges as all of you have.  Some of those challenges I was experiencing, people weren’t even aware of until after I walked through the battle without any Christian friend by my side. After making it through those difficulties of life I…

A Servant’s Lesson:  Outer victories mean nothing if I do not win the inner battle.  You would think that Chapter 18 of 1 Kings contained the biggest battles of Elijah’s life.  He battled the powerful King Ahab, he battled 450 false prophets!  But in Chapter 19 he faces an even bigger battle, the battle within himself.  He won the battles of Chapter 18 fairly easily, yet almost lost his life in the battle with himself.  In 1 Kings 19 Elijah…

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”       And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the…