Weekend Devotions

A God of Glory and Goodness

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” – Isaiah 6:1 When King Uzziah died, an era of prosperity and growth for Judah was coming to an end, and Isaiah, a young prophet who had looked up to the king, continued to worship the Lord. On a day not unlike any other, he was in the temple; it was quiet, dark, and reverent until a great trembling was felt throughout the building. Just then, a scary presence came over the room and it began to fill with smoke. Before long, the sound of the word kadosh, which means holy in Hebrew, was heard again and again in unison. Suddenly, in the darkness, a piercing light beamed through the smoke and the train of a great robe was visible, descending from a

May 6, 2023 6 Comments

The Picture Your Heart Paints

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” – Proverbs 4:23,24 The words you speak in life are coming from your own heart and painting a picture of your life. I’ll illustrate this with a great story! While walking down the road, a man sees two artists painting a scene of the Los Angeles landscape. He sees a woman painting a beautiful picture, set on a hill, the Hollywood sign, gorgeous art deco buildings, new cars, people dressed up, and a sunny day in Southern California. As the next guy paints the same landscape, you see chain-link fences, people doing drugs, a lot of gray, spray paint, trash, and litter. The interesting thing is that both painters are seeing the same thing, but they’re expressing and experiencing it differently. Life is very

April 29, 2023 9 Comments

Stewards of His Promise

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” – Genesis 12:2,3 Did you know that Abraham was 70 years old at the time he first appeared in the Bible? And yet God chose to give a promise to this 70-year-old man that he would be the father of a great nation, and that everyone on earth would be blessed through him. Even more unbelievable is the fact that it took another 30 years for the Lord to fulfill the promise. That means Abraham was 100 years old by the time he finally had Isaac! I honestly can’t imagine what it was like for him with each passing birthday as

April 22, 2023 7 Comments

Overcoming Fear Brings Freedom

“For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” – 1 John 5:4 When you overcome fear, it can bring you freedom. Allow me to illustrate this with a personal experience from the 7th grade. I went to a religious camp and 90 percent of it was about having fun. “The blob” as we called it, was one of the funnest things we experienced. A blob is a giant inflatable pillow that floats on the water, similar to a trampoline. It takes two people to create the magic. The first person sits on the edge of the blob, and the second person climbs up a platform, jumps onto the blob, and launches the first high into the air and into the water. I remember that summer being fearful, regretful, and ashamed of not enjoying the blob with the other

April 15, 2023 7 Comments

He Searches After You

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” – Luke 15:21-24 Our God is one who searches after His people and loves them, and this is what Jesus is trying to explain to the Pharisees. No Pharisee had ever dreamed of a God like that. Jesus tells them the most dramatic of the parables, the story of the prodigal son. You may know the story, the son demands his inheritance early

April 8, 2023 7 Comments

Loving Samaritans and Sinners

“The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)” – John 4:9 Ancient Israel was divided into three regions. In the north, there was Galilee, where Jesus spent a lot of his time in ministry, and to the south there was Judea, which is where Jerusalem and the temple resided. In the middle was Samaria, whose name literally means “watch-mountain” or “watch-tower.” Although Samaria was a natural bridge between Galilee and Judea, Orthodox Jews avoided the region since to them, it was pagan and unholy. Rather than interact with this sect, Hebrew travelers would add days to their journey from north to south just to avoid them. Except Jesus. On several occasions, our Savior purposefully traveled through Samaria, at one point even stopping at a water well to

April 1, 2023 8 Comments

Don’t Miss Your Opportunity

“Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.” – Proverbs 25:12 We live in a fast-paced and technologically rich world. Today I challenge you not to miss any opportunities to be a disciple of Jesus. I saw a video of a young man playing video games on PlayStation 5, I think. PlayStation 5 costs around $500. As he played, his girlfriend recorded it on her phone because that’s the world we live in. Then she proceeded to turn the console off as a joke. Her goal was to get his attention. He responded, “No!” He threw his controller down and said, “Why did you do that?” She said to him, “It’s all you ever do!” And he replied, “It’s all I have!” I thought, wow he thinks all he has is a video game? This man is going to lose

March 25, 2023 3 Comments

The Best Way to Learn Something

“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” – Acts 1:1 There are certain things in life that we understand are best learned by teaching. The best way to become something is to become it for a student, to become it for the people you lead, for your children, for your colleagues, or for your neighbors. There are many situations in which we learn by teaching. One man may share that he rises above his hardships, depression, or anxiety by helping others escape their ruts. A woman may lead AA meetings to help her stay sober. Another might say they are a personal trainer so that they can stay fit. I recently heard someone say that most pastors only study their Bibles once a week to prepare for their sermons, and I thought, well that’s pretty good! If your only reason

March 18, 2023 3 Comments

Building A Better Life

“Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” – Mark 4:32 Building a better life for yourself takes time, so be patient. Take bamboo for instance. There’s a type of bamboo that takes five years to germinate. As the small bulbs germinate, the roots grow underground in every direction. For five years, nothing can be seen while the bamboo roots grow deep and spread wide. Then, in a matter of six weeks, the bamboo suddenly grows ninety feet tall! This is after spending five years growing roots! Life is like this. Life is hard, so you build, build, build. As long as you’re building, you’re good! You continue on this path and eventually enjoy over-the-top movement. You kept building and now you can reap the rewards! Growing and building do not happen overnight.

March 11, 2023 6 Comments

How to Handle Boredom

“She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” – Proverbs 31:27 It has been said that there are 25 failures for every victory, and those failures are a part of growing and becoming a better version of yourself. Failure is an important part of winning, and these short-term failures are always going to be a part of God’s long-term plan for you. Here is something else we have to learn to deal with: Boredom. Not only do we need to handle failure, but we also need to embrace boredom. Because when we do, it can be a huge advantage for us. When you think about being bored, an Olympic athlete probably wouldn’t cross your mind. James Clear, the author of “Atomic Habits,” interviewed an Olympic coach. The coach said he gets all the greatest athletes, and almost all of them come to

March 4, 2023 2 Comments

A God of Glory and Goodness

The Picture Your Heart Paints

Stewards of His Promise

Overcoming Fear Brings Freedom

He Searches After You

Loving Samaritans and Sinners

Don’t Miss Your Opportunity

The Best Way to Learn Something

Building A Better Life

How to Handle Boredom

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