Devotional (Page 2)

This next week is one that will be full of division and hate across the nation. In Romans 15, Paul reminds us of a higher calling: to bear with one another and seek the good of our neighbors. This call to unity is not about suppressing our beliefs but about prioritizing love and understanding over division. He encourages us to bear with one another, recognizing that we all are different but that our goal is being unified by the work of…

To be honest, I have struggled to write what I feel God has placed on my heart.  Recently I have been reminded of the evil that is so prevalent in our culture. God is a God of Justice, and these things must break His heart. Certainly, God is grieved with the killing of innocent life. God is grieved when care is not given to the widow, the orphan, and the “least of these”. Certainly, God is grieved when Christians are…

I was watching this silly turkey from the deck of the parsonage.  He was at the back of the church inside a fenced area and he couldn’t figure out how to get out.  He started pacing back and forth for like 30 minutes.  The rest of the group of turkeys went about their business looking for something to eat.   Back and forth this turkey went.   Finally, turkey #2 flew in to talk to turkey #1 and tell him how to…

One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at the table at Jesus side… John 13:23 John, the son of Zebedee, a fisherman by trade, was called by Jesus to be one of his followers. This man was given the unique opportunity to be one of three who were given premier access to Jesus—part of his inner circle. He was also the longest living of Jesus’ disciples. He wrote a large portion of the New Testament, eclipsed only by…

I first felt a definitive call to ministry when I was on a Work and Witness trip to Kenya at the age of 16. I was so excited to share this call with the other people on the trip, as well as the Kenyan pastors we have gotten to know well over the years. They all affirmed my call and told me I would do great things for the Lord. When we came home, I shared the news of my…

I grew up in the Presbyterian Church.  I can recall as a young boy being scared that if I didn’t pray each night for the forgiveness of my sins, I might go to hell.  What if I failed to confess all my sins?  What if I had sinned and didn’t know it?  What if I sinned and died in a car accident?  I lived in constant fear of going to hell if I failed to constantly ask God for forgiveness…

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13-14) The past two months have been filled with nostalgia.  In early August my son and I flew to San Diego to watch a couple of baseball games.  While we were there, I showed…

As much as I love summer there’s something about fall that brings routine and a different pace of life. One of my favorite things to look forward to in the fall is the starting back up of our life group. Rusty and I have been blessed over the last 20 years to be part of a life group that meets weekly. Over those years many families have come and gone due to changes in life circumstances and some of those…

Family of God Romans12:5 So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Growing up there was a song that we often repeated: I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God, washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood. Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod. For I’m part of the family, the family of God. Since I heard it so often, I really didn’t think of the significance…

“Then God said, ‘Let us make humanity in our image to resemble us so that they may take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the crawling things on earth.’ 27 God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female God created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27, CEB) I genuinely love the work and writing of author Andy Crouch. As this election cycle…

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance.…

There is a tree that grows 40 different fruits on the same tree. Can you imagine how pretty the tree would be in the springtime?  It would be gorgeous.  We have a cherry tree that has three different cherries on it. However, this tree I’m talking about has 40 different fruits.  Peaches, apricots, plums and much more. When the tree was first thought of, it was an art project to reintroduce Americans to native fruit. It takes lots of planning. …