Peace

Be At Peace With God

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13 It’s often difficult to be at peace in life if you’re not at peace with God. As humans, we are vital participants in God’s Kingdom and His whole creation. In everything we do and are involved in, if we are not at peace with God, there will always be this restlessness or something inside us that will try and make God out of something else. It’s easy to find excuses for a lack of contentment. At times, you may even think, “God doesn’t care about me,” or “He doesn’t see me.” Today, I want to encourage you to follow Jesus. We can come boldly before God’s throne because Christ was crucified and raised from the dead

February 1, 2023 No Comments

Language is a Bridge Builder

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” – Colossians 4:6 Continuing our focus on the power of words, yesterday we spoke of one man’s attempt to unify the world through one language and usher in world peace. It’s important to honor culture and language as we travel, especially internationally. Learning basic greetings, statements, and questions in another country’s language shows you care, even if most people there speak English and you are an English speaker. If you put in a small amount of effort, you will be amazed at the benefits you will receive. On a trip to Paris, I learned that very often Americans would visit and never learn any French or think about the culture of Paris. If you go into a bakery in Paris, the proud owner of the shop will greet anyone who

January 28, 2023 3 Comments

The Power of Unity

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” – Philippians 2:1,2 When a large group of people are united, there is incredible power to behold. You can accomplish a lot when everyone is on the same page. Do you remember the months following the 9/11 tragedy? There was this incredible unity among Americans that hadn’t been felt in a long time. There was no Democrat or Republican division. Our nation decided to love and support one another. We set our differences aside for one common cause — to pick up the pieces from one of the worst tragedies ever. Maybe you’ve had a moment in your country or culture

January 27, 2023 No Comments

Celebrating Jesus’ Birth

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).“ – Matthew 1:21-23 Merry Christmas, friend. This is the day to celebrate the birth of Immanuel, God with us, and to rejoice in Jesus, our Lord, and Savior! It’s interesting that when we think of the nativity, we remember those who came — the shepherds, who were probably teenage girls, and the magi or wise men. Though Jesus was born in a water trough in a barn (definitely not a proper setting for a king), He broke down barriers and accomplished more than any other leader before or after Him

December 25, 2022 No Comments

The Gift of Provision

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.“ – Luke 2:6,7 Today, as we draw closer to Christmas, I have a thought I want to share — God always provides sanctuary for us. Even our beautiful church building here at Shepherd’s Grove is a place of rest and divine provision when we come to worship. Like shelter on a rainy day, a sanctuary reminds us that we have a safe home in the Lord. Interestingly, as we ponder the arrival of Jesus, we see that part of the miracle was God providing protection and a safe place for His Son to be born. Though His birthplace was less than glamorous, the manger in which our Lord

December 23, 2022 1 Comment

God With Us

“ ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” – Matthew 1:23 It’s hard to imagine, but it’s December 9th and that means that Christmas is right around the corner. For the days leading up to the holiday, I encourage you to set aside a brief time each morning to be still and ponder the true meaning of the season. I pray these devotions will be helpful as you keep your eyes fixed on the One around whom this time of year truly revolves. If you’re anything like me, I tend to be way busier than usual during the holidays; yet these are the hours and days in which I should be most keenly aware of the Prince of Peace and His living presence in my life. I love the fact that the coming Messiah, our Lord

December 9, 2022 No Comments

A Path Before Us

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ ” – Isaiah 30:21 Today I want you to consider this thought: God has laid a path before us, and we are encouraged to walk that path. You will only feel peace if you are on the right path! If you think something is not quite right, it’s worth asking the Lord, “Am I on the correct path?” It is ok to ask, even if you’ve experienced success and everything is going right. Even if all your friends speak well of you, ask if you’re on the right path. Your spouse or closest friends will tell you the truth! It’s uncanny how often we don’t know the right path because we tend to think about the journey’s end rather than the beginning. Repeatedly, God

November 1, 2022 No Comments

God’s Promise of Joy

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” – John 17:13 In the next several Positive Minutes, we will explore how to weave the important threads of experiencing God’s joy, into the fabric of our lives. Did you know that joy is a part of God’s promise to us? It’s in the Bible. It’s a part of the promise of our new life in Christ, and it’s not just something we get when we go to Heaven. It’s actually something that you get when Heaven goes into you. This means that joy is there when the Holy Spirit dwells inside our hearts and bodies, even if we’re going through personal turmoil and trials. When we experience God’s joy but fall into adversity there is something inside us

October 17, 2022 No Comments

Words to Live By

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” – James 1:19 We’ve been talking about God solutions the past couple of days, and in the Book of James, we receive another brilliant message: “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” What a sound philosophy that is. This wisdom answers a question about the anger issues many people experience today. People want to know what they should do when they’re angry or what to do if someone is mad at them. What is God’s solution for our response? Let me repeat God’s wisdom: Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry! We must ask the Lord to help us walk in this advice. Do you think a

October 7, 2022 2 Comments

The Cost of Non-Discipleship

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’ ” – Luke 9:23 Another term that was coined by Dallas Willard is non-discipleship. There is a trend in our society toward not taking responsibility for choices and actions. Even sadder is the fact that this appears to be happening in the Church as well. In many congregations today, you can be a Christian without walking the narrow road, paying the price, sacrificing for your neighbor, and serving people. What is often taught is that as long as you pray and ask Jesus into your heart, everything’s fine and you never have to sacrifice again. Although the prayer of salvation is very important, there is also a call to be responsible and moral. This is much more costly in the long run. Becoming a Christian doesn’t

October 4, 2022 No Comments

Be At Peace With God

Language is a Bridge Builder

The Power of Unity

Celebrating Jesus’ Birth

The Gift of Provision

God With Us

A Path Before Us

God’s Promise of Joy

Words to Live By

The Cost of Non-Discipleship

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