Posts with the category “daily-devotionals”

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5 (ESV) Growing up, I had a big dream of being s...  Read More

How to Lose in Battle I wonder if you’re going through a battle right now?  According to Ephesians 6:12, we’re always facing some form of invisible warfare or another, some form of spiritual attack fr...  Read More

In the story of when Jesus withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon (Matt 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-30), a woman approaches and cries out to Him to help her daughter who is severely demon-possessed. His r...  Read More

The Apostle Paul was a man of great spiritual stature, but not without issues.  He wanted his readers to know that he had not attained to full maturity in Christ.  Paul saw himself as the worst of sin...  Read More

As the world seems to descend further into darkness around us, I think it is timely to remember that we as christians were not guaranteed an easy or prosperous life here on earth. Rather we have actua...  Read More

Theology is important. The essential quality of eternal life, according to John 17:3, is the knowledge of God. But too often, theology is boring. Most of my high school students would probably read a ...  Read More

When my husband Gary came home from the Gulf War there was a period of 5 years before the VA designated him 100% permanently disabled. I won't go into all that that entails but during that time he was...  Read More

TJust over a month ago, the Artemis II capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, completing a 10-day mission that carried four astronauts on a flyby of the moon. In the weeks that followed, well-ear...  Read More

Recently, I’ve been seeing several people excited about Justin Bieber performing at Coachella. Now, I personally am not a “Belieber” (a dedicated Bieber fan), and not a huge fan of secular artists in ...  Read More

On May 5th, 1862, in the city of Puebla, Mexico, a small, less-equipped Mexican army of 4,000 troops fought against a superior French force of 6,000-8,000 troops led by General Ignacio Zaragoza and de...  Read More

Several years ago, I remember playing a team scavenger hunt game with my wife Alexis and some friends of ours. Each round, the game host would call for an object, and the first team to present the obj...  Read More

Some people think the will of God is mysterious and enigmatic – hard to understand.  But this passage makes it crystal clear. While there are puzzling questions in life that require patience and wisdo...  Read More

There are two mistakes we can make in the Christian life that are equally dangerous: we can be too hard on ourselves, or we can be too easy on ourselves. The second mistake leads to a life of unrestra...  Read More

We as humans are strange creatures.  We run faster when we lose our way.  Often, we act like the cottontail rabbits in my yard when I drive home at night.  They dart here and there in the headlights n...  Read More

This is Jesus speaking about the end of days, the great Day of the Lord. This account also found in Matthew finds Jesus giving the disciples some signs of the end, but at the same time telling them th...  Read More

Have you ever had an idea that seems like a good idea inside your head, but goes horribly wrong when you actually try it? Let me tell you about one of those times in my life.I was 10, maybe 11 years o...  Read More

When I’m going through rough times my first inclination is to ask the Lord to take me out of it or to change the circumstances or change the way others are behaving, in order to make the hardship/tria...  Read More

Ephesians 6:1-4 starts off with “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may go well with y...  Read More

Why does he do it? Why does Paul write to the Philippians as he does, from his prison quarters? Why doesn’t he just give up, and call it good enough?I think as far as Paul is concerned, nothing has ch...  Read More

I invited Jesus Christ into my heart when I was six years old, so I have lived for Him most of my life. Because of that, I have celebrated a lot of Easters. Year-after-year, as we came up to Easter we...  Read More

So it is, I come to my final devotional. It has been nearly five years since I was hired at Campus Bible Church. My last day of employment will be Thursday, April 30th. Many have asked what our plans ...  Read More

Have you heard the sweet old hymn called “Count Your Blessings?”  The opening stanza has some really good advice.  It reminds us: “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise...  Read More

Boy, did we want that book to work! We hoped and wished and longed for it to work, but it didn’t. And what a lesson we learned.It all started when we four 6th grade boys found an advertisement in the ...  Read More

Today we live in a stress filled world and it is often difficult to keep a proper perspective.  Our minds are often distracted from truth, and we see life from a skewed perspective.  When this happens...  Read More

Anywhere in this world I think, but especially here in America it is easy to lose sight of the eternal while chasing after the material and temporel. As Christians we are called to follow the cause of...  Read More

I love working with kids. I’ve worked with kids or youth in some form since I was eleven years old. I’ve been told that something in my persona “switches on” whenever I interact with kids and teens. I...  Read More

As I was working on our Easter Walkthrough I realized increasingly that I needed to be more exact. Sometimes I would think I was being clear with descriptions or instructions, because I’ve done it so ...  Read More

Having recently studied God’s creation, and with spring now in full bloom, I am reminded of the seasons of the year. Just as there are seasons in nature, there are also seasons in life. There are time...  Read More

When was the last time you upgraded your phone? The truth is, a quick Google search will tell you that most folks upgrade phones every two to three years to the “new and improved" version. And whether...  Read More

We talk a lot about financial management at church, but we don’t often talk about time management. In fact, it’s interesting that we use the word ‘spend’ when it comes to our money, but we also use th...  Read More

I was religious for the first 29 years of my life. Then I got saved. After that I spent 3 years trying to decide what to do about a church to attend, reading God’s word and praying diligently. And dir...  Read More

There is a promise from God in Scripture for every conceivable situation we may encounter in life.  And since we’re always facing some sort of situation – a need, a trial, a perplexing dilemma, a deci...  Read More

We live in anxious times. People are facing all kinds of challenges, trials, and uncertainties in their daily lives. With everything happening in the world around us, it’s not surprising that many peo...  Read More

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the core of Christianity.  Each year we pause on Good Friday to remember all that Christ suffered to provide our salvation.  Easter morning we celebrate Christ conq...  Read More

This is a powerful verse, a convicting verse, and the answer to anyone who asks, “Do I need a savior?” The answer to that question is of course a very solid YES. The great equalizer among humans is th...  Read More

What do people expect of teenagers? Not much, according to Google. Typing in “teenagers and” in the search engine results in suggestions like “teenagers and social media,” “teenagers and depression,” ...  Read More

Sometimes you just need to hear assurance from the Lord.My grandson was diagnosed with Leukemia this last year. He went through chemo, radiation and then a stem cell transpoant. He's had his ups and d...  Read More

Fear of the Dark.  I think this is a very common phenomenon that most people experience in their lifetime. As we get older, I think most of us grow out of our fear of the dark and yet I believe many o...  Read More

I remember a while ago asking students what they’d do for a million dollars. I quickly learned that the question should have been, “What wouldn’t you do for a million dollars?” I asked questions like:...  Read More

I woke up this morning and slid open my phone, and there were texts with pictures from home.  The Midwest got hit with a major snow storm last night. My Dad in Chicago was out snow blowing his drivewa...  Read More