Devotional (Page 7)
Devotionals written by the pastoral team.
What Do I Do With My Calendar?
I sit here looking at my November calendar. It is not getting filled up at this point. My calendar only has two places that are filled. Awesome. Here is where you can see the Holy Spirit actively at work. My days get busier with soul names on the spaces. Yes, I write the names down and what time I should be there. I even write what I’m doing. Visiting, praying or doing communion. Actually those are the fun ones to…
Love Your Neighbor
Love your Neighbor After months of the house next door being vacant, we finally got new neighbors. Only… except… well, to be honest it has been quite a struggle adjusting to them. They brought a lot of clutter with a boat, construction trailer, and multiple trucks and cars that block the sidewalk. They have many friends/co-workers who spend much of their time on the back deck while they smoke, which we smell in our back yard. Oh, and they love…
One Plus One Equals One
One plus one equals…wait! ONE Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Math in the Bible sometimes doesn’t work the way we expect it to work. Some of the most important elements about God don’t stack up like a box of Legos does, because…
DELAYS ARE NOT DENIALS
When [Jesus] heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. JOHN 11:6 In today’s fast paced world of drive through dining, same-day Amazon delivery and online grocery shopping, we’ve lost the art of waiting. If you ask any child, they rank the words not yet as nearly the most awful in the English language, second only to the word no. Children don’t like to hear the answer, “Not yet.” When our wise, loving heavenly Father deems it best to say,…
Our First Desire
25 “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? 27 Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your…
Our Identity in Christ
Have you ever struggled with knowing who you are? We live in a world where people struggle with identity. Some of which is caused by broken families and troubled childhoods. Some of which is caused by careless friends and negative people in our lives. But I believe that who we are is determined by “whose” we are. Where did I come from and who do I belong to? The answers to these questions shape our identity. Psalm 139:13-14 says “For…
Embracing the Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to…
Being Part of a Community
It seemed inevitable that sports would be a big part of our family life! A husband that wasn’t content with his years of high school sports proceeded to play years of ice hockey and softball. And when it comes to being a fan, any professional sports team that makes its home in Seattle has a devoted following in the Roth household! Eventually those passions filtered down to our children, taking root at different levels, but becoming a part of the…
Psalm 5
Psalm 5:1,2 Give ear to my words, O Lord; Consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, My King and my God, For to you I pray. What should I do when I’m sad? Reading the Psalms is teaching me to pray differently. When I’m sad I should at least acknowledge to God that I am. So often I want to hide from myself the condition of my own heart. I’ve learned over time that I’m…
Overflow
It was a privilege to journey with our eighteen students from Spokane First Church to Florida and experience Nazarene Youth Conference (NYC) for a third time. Once again, thank you church for your support in getting our students there. The theme for this NYC was overflow. Building from Romans Chapter 15 verse 13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”…
Always Ready
I like to buy those “Jesus Calling” books when I am out junking. You know going to thrift stores. It’s one of my favorite things to do. If I can pick them up for one or two dollars, I am a happy camper. I love to have them on hand. If they are leather, I feel I hit the jackpot. I was going to give one to a person having surgery, but she already had one. I went home and…
The Lord’s Return
When will the Lord return? Will it be soon? Will I be ready? As a child, I remember watching the Christian movie, “Thief in the night,” where I saw dramatized the vanishing of Christians and the horrible predicament of those who were not ready, who missed the rapture and now would have to face the persecution of the tribulation. I understood that the Lord could come back at any moment, and I had better be ready… or else. At some…