Devotional

Desires of Our Heart

Desires of Our Heart

We often talk about the gift of Salvation as a transformation of the heart. Jesus came to give us eternal life through faith in Him and His sacrifice on the cross. His death established a new covenant for all who would come to Him in faith; “This is My blood of the covenant, which is […]

Prevent The Sparks

Prevent The Sparks

Every year, sparks from hot campfires or careless matches start fires which consume millions of trees in beautiful forests. Once begun, these fires move unrelentingly through hills and valleys – nothing is safe from the fury of the flames. Every year, sparks from hot tempers or careless words start fires which consume millions of lives […]

Hear The Call

Hear The Call

In the last two messages, we’ve considered Peter as he responded to Jesus’ call: “Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus” (Matthew 14:29). We saw that Peter needed great faith to step out of the boat, even though his faith quickly faded “when he saw the […]

Focused On Jesus

Focused On Jesus

I’ve always been impulsive. I was one of the first to follow Jesus. I didn’t even know who He was, but when He said “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19), though I didn’t know what He meant, I dropped my fishing nets and followed. After three years, I […]

Step of Faith

Step of Faith

Today was a busy day! Early this morning we heard that King Herod killed John the Baptist. Jesus seemed to take this news pretty hard; “When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place” (Matthew 14:13). I knew He wanted to be alone, but the crowds kept following Him. […]

What It Means To Forgive

What It Means To Forgive

In the message “Forgive As He Forgave” we saw that our forgiveness of others should be based on recognizing the magnitude of forgiveness we have been given through faith in Jesus. A true understanding of God’s mercy toward us ought to compel us to be merciful to others. But still, forgiveness remains difficult and somewhat […]

Forgive As He Forgave

Forgive As He Forgave

It seems like sooner or later everyone gets mistreated and hurt. Many times the actions against us are unintentional, but other times they can be extremely malicious. Suddenly, this hurt begins to invade every other area of our life. We carry a heavy burden which we know we don’t deserve – and which we certainly […]

Build All For His Glory

Build All For His Glory

The last two messages have considered how we ought to use a different set of priorities in forming our goals and plans. Our goal should be to fully submit to our Heavenly Father, and our plans must always remain under His control. We also saw that a life submitted to God is full of opportunity […]

Great Expectations

Great Expectations

In the message “Careful Thought To Our Ways” we saw how God is the Director of our steps and how we must carefully (and prayerfully) develop goals and plans which glorify His name. And though our true goal should always be to fully release our life to God and worship Him for all eternity, each […]

Careful Thought To Our Ways

Careful Thought To Our Ways

The motivational speakers of our day want us to set great goals for our life: “Where do you want to be in two, five, or ten years? What type of lifestyle do you want when you retire?” We are encouraged to set goals slightly beyond our reach, and then instructed how to create a plan […]

God Makes It Grow

God Makes It Grow

Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthian church to correct several problems. The Corinthian’s needed instruction in marriage, Christian freedom, worship, and various issues which tended to cause division. He also rebuked the church for quarreling about whom they followed: “You are still worldly… For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I […]

Strong, Courageous, and Humble

Strong, Courageous, and Humble

Joshua was Moses’ field commander in the fight against the Amalekites (Exodus 17:9) and his assistant when the Law was given at Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:13). After initially exploring the land of Canaan, Joshua was one of only two men to advise the Israelites to trust God and enter the promised land (Numbers 14:6-9). When […]