Devotional (Page 2)

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to…

Making Room for One More  16 Jesus replied, “A certain man hosted a large dinner and invited many people. 17 When it was time for the dinner to begin, he sent his servant to tell the invited guests, ‘Come! The dinner is now ready.’ 18 One by one, they all began to make excuses. The first one told him, ‘I bought a farm and must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19  Another said, ‘I bought five teams of…

John 13:34-35 The violent events of the past couple of weeks have sent a shock wave across our nation.  A young Ukrainian immigrant attempting to escape her war-torn country was randomly and senselessly stabbed to death while riding on a light rail train in Charlotte, NC.  Last Wednesday the nation was shaken by the assassination of a prominent architect of a conservative resurgence in younger Americans, a champion of biblical truth, and a bold proclaimer of the Gospel.  A minute…

Galatians 2:13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, (Peter) so that even Barnabas was led astray by their (Christ-following Jews’) hypocrisy.   Something beautiful happens when people share a meal together. The church, from its inception, has been aware of this. Eating together seems to be baked into our DNA as something we just do. There is an early church tradition that seems so typical that it gets confused with the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist, Communion).…

16 I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. 17 I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, 18 I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. 19 I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely…

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did…

When my friend Tod passed away, I wanted something to remind me of him.  I have a couple of things he gave me, but I wanted something that would say this is Tod.  He always had his walking stick with feathers on it.  At his service a man came up to me and said I made Tod his walking stick and I’ll make you one, and then at Church one of the men made me a walking stick too.  I…

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)   My grandkids are close to the top of my list of the most wonderful gifts in my life. When they want my time, I bend my schedule, however I must, to spend a little more time with them. Whenever we’re together with some of them, a…

Last week I had the opportunity to view Leonardo Da Vinci painting of the Last Supper. It was beautiful and inspiring. It’s interesting to think of the pervasiveness of Christianity so many years ago. As we toured Europe’s County side, every city had a Cathedral, and every village a Church, and many farms in places like the Black Forest had a chapel. Christianity was the norm, and everyone went to church. Now most Cathedrals are mainly known as tourist attractions,…

“May the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, that you may overflow with Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  – Romans 15:13   As our Youth Group and I prepare for camp this week, I have been thinking about this year’s theme: Experience Joy. Joy is a hard topic. When we don’t truly understand it, we think that it means we must be happy all the time, that we…

Think about powerful moments in history that shaped generations. For some, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s words on December 8, 1941, declaring the attack on Pearl Harbor “a date which will live in infamy,” still bring strong emotions. For others, it’s the raw feeling of President George W. Bush’s speech after the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001: “our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.”…

You’ve heard it and so have I; it sounds like a truth statement that comes right out of the Bible. Guess what? It’s not in there. Does that mean it’s not true? It sounds a lot like the Scriptural statement, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) These two truth statements are not the same. I can believe something that is not true. If I trust the untrustworthy, the power which I am searching for…