December 18, 2019 “But encourage each other daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sins deceitfulness.” – Hebrews 3:13 Most of us are probably going to be spending time with friends and family in the coming days leading up to...
December 11, 2019 “Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?” – 1 Corinthians 11:29 Today as I was getting my hair cut my barber was telling me about a Christmas tradition that he and his family have. On Christmas Eve, they prepare bags with food and basic hygiene...
December 4, 2019“Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’” – Luke 12:15There is a story about a rabbi who takes one of his students to a window and asks, “What do you...
November 27, 2019“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4The other night we...
“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46:10 This morning I was walking my daughter to the school bus and she was telling me how much she has enjoyed sketching and painting lately....
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know,” – Jeremiah 33:3 With five children in my house I hear a lot of “Hey dad!” throughout the day. Most of them consist of things like, “Hey dad! Can you get...
“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” – Hebrews 3:12-13 Today is...
October 23, 2019 “Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.” – Proverbs 22:4 When the Bible talks about the “fear of the Lord” it is talking about much more than simply being afraid. The fear of the Lord means we stand in...
October 9, 2019 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 I’ve said it many times;...
October 2, 2019 “Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.” – Proverbs 15:16-17 What is it that you need to be happy? I’m sure that if we sat down...
September 18, 2019 “The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale.” – Proverbs 18:11 I’m sure all of us have heard stories that illustrate how unreliable riches can be. From the story of Job thousands of years ago to modern...
September 11, 2019 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” – John 10:10 Yesterday my daughter, who is in 7th grade, brought home a questionnaire from her social studies teacher that she was supposed to...
September 4, 2019 “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” – Psalm 40:2 Depression is an epidemic in America today. And this epidemic is a killer: Suicide rates...
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” – Proverbs 14:12 You don’t have to look very far to see the evil around us. Some things are overtly evil. But more often than not, evil is sneaky. When confronted with evil...
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” – 1 Corinthians 2:2 In the last week there have been two more mass shootings in our country, leaving at least 31 people dead. In these situations we are often filled, not only...
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will triumph in Yahweh; I will rejoice in...
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” – Galatians 5:13 Tomorrow we celebrate our freedom as Americans. Our forefathers saw freedom as something so core to mankind that they fought...
June 19, 2019 “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.” – Psalm 3:5 Last week we held our annual Vacation Bible School. Without fail, the VBS program contains some of the catchiest songs I listen to all year. For weeks after Vacation Bible School, I...
June 12, 2019 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 Last night I was watching a movie with my 12 year old daughter. It is...
June 5, 2019 “And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” – Jonah 2:10 Over my years of being a pastor, I have talked with many people who are worried and even fearful that they are not within God’s will. They deeply desire to be in...
May 29, 2019 “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” – Proverbs 8:13 God hates evil. He detests wickedness. The Bible goes into detail to show us the characteristics of this evil that God hates; arrogance, lies,...
May 22, 2019 “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’” – Luke 11:1 For my personal devotions over the last several months I’ve been reading through a...
May 15, 2019 “Through him everyone who believes is set free from sin.” – Acts 13:39 Too often we make the mistake of thinking that our forgiveness and justification before God is a future event. We believe it takes place “someday” when we stand before the Throne. But the truth is,...
May 1, 2019 “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” – Psalm 118:24 (CSB) Many verses in the Bible are so beloved and so often quoted that they begin to be removed from their context. Psalm 118:24 is one of those...
April 24, 2019 “Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” – Song of Solomon 2:12 Springtime is such a wonderful season. It is refreshing to see the trees, that were barren all winter, begin to show signs...
April 17, 2019“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” – Romans 8:32These past few weeks I have been meeting with and caring for an unusually high number of people who...
April 10, 2019 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it....
April 3, 2019“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” – Isaiah 53:6It is a good and healthy practice to personalize the Cross. I need to remember that every single...
March 27, 2019 “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord,...
March 20, 2019 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45 Americans are expert consumers. We are masters at finding the thing that will most perfectly meet our need or...
