Devotional (Page 4)

“Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30 CEB) This past weekend, I attended the memorial service of a peer, Ryan Pennington. I grew up with him in youth group at my home church in Yakima. While…

Hebrews 11:4-7 4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. 5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6…

Recently we celebrated Pentecost, the day that we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit as described in Acts chapter 2. Acts 2:2 “They (the believers) were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”  What an incredible experience that must have been. Everyone gathered in Jerusalem heard the gospel in their own language and over 3000 people were saved. This wonderful event is often overshadowed by the discussion of the…

I can’t believe it is just after Pentecost Sunday. It is such a remarkable time for us to live.   Pentecost Sunday is 50 days after Easter.  The Comforter not only was sent to us but remains with us.    He has never left us.  This is a time of great excitement as we watch expecting the Comforter active in our day-to-day living.   We are not alone.  It’s a reminder that we have the Holy Spirit to comfort us 24/7.  Nothing has…

7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.” 10The angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to…

She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” (Proverbs 31:26-29) ESV It’s Mother’s Day this weekend. What a wonderful time to celebrate the gift of motherhood. The several moms who are…

I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a morning person, but I do love watching the sun come up.  It doesn’t matter if it’s watching the sunrise through the pine trees on a camping trip, watching it crest over the African savannah or seeing the dawn of a new day at the end of a long night of work, there’s something special about sitting quietly and watching the sunlight break through the darkness, little by little, until that first beam of light…

Eph. 6:10-17   I recently had the opportunity to attend the NW District Assembly and heard some amazing preaching.  One sermon that hit home was preached by our District Superintendent, David Mowry.  It dealt with withstanding the pressures of the world (my summary and meaning).  In his sermon he mentioned the forces of gravity which really struck home for me. In college I was enrolled in the Air Reserve Officer Training Corps, preparing for commissioning as a Second Lieutenant.  In…

Northern Nevada is vast, almost at times beyond comprehension!  We recently took a driving trip to Las Vegas for a soccer tournament and for the trip down decided to take the more populated route down southern Idaho and over through Salt Lake City.  Parts of it were stunning!  Mountains, canyons, rock formations! On the way home however, we decided to take a more direct route through northern Nevada.  God’s creation was still on full display but what filled my thoughts…

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from heaven! Praise God on the heights! Praise God, all of you who are his messengers! Praise God, all of you who comprise his heavenly forces! Sun and moon, praise God! All of you bright stars, praise God! (Psalm 148:1-3, CEB) I have talked in the past about my growth in appreciation for the rhythms of the Christian liturgical calendar. One such revelation was learning that in many corners of the Christian church, Easter…

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth! Psalm 96 bursts forth with a command, a delightful privilege, to sing something brand-new. This new song is an opportunity to delight in, and magnify the Lordship of God. Interesting to me that we should hear this from one of the oldest song books in the world. More than any other complaint about the church over the course of my life, new music has faced…