potential

New Year, New Lessons

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.“ – 2 Peter 1:3 Happy New Year! This particular time, with all the optimism, possibilities, and potential we are faced with at the start of another year, excites me every year. As we progress forward in the wonderful things God has called us to, I like to think of it as an opportunity to reset, shake off the old, and establish new goals for ourselves. Each year will undoubtedly bring new problems and tribulations, but I encourage you to approach each day with optimism and anticipation, and to commit to be a person of action rather than fear. Now, because today is a vacation and many of you are likely to be doing something relaxing, such as watching sports or watching a movie,

Read More »

Dry Bones Come Back to Life

“Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!” This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” – Ezekiel 37:4-6 If you know anything about me, you know that I “geek out” over history. Thus, a while back, I listened to a guy named Donovan Webster on a podcast he hosts called “Hardcore History.” In this particular episode, he talked about taking a bunch of trains and buses to get to a remote farmer’s field in the southern part of Russia. It just so happens that

Read More »

A Visionless Church

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” – Colossians 2:8 Yesterday, I told you about my uber-religious elementary school teacher who instilled major fear in me and my fellow classmates. By reinforcing the idea that we should live with constant anxiety about going to hell so that we continually confess our sins, she introduced a toxic theology that was focused exclusively on what you can’t do. Unfortunately, she was not alone in her dogmatic and fear-based beliefs — such thinking has pervaded many sectors of the church for generations. The major problem with this kind of dogma is that it stifles our souls. When we’re constantly fixated on giving things up without having a greater reason, we become joyless and lackluster. If we need proof of

Read More »

The Kingdom of No Labels or Limits

“David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.” – 1 Samuel 17:14,15 One of the things we forget about David is that he was young and almost naively courageous. Since he was the last born and lowest on the family food chain, he was entrusted with caring for the flocks. Unfortunately, being a shepherd in his time was the lowliest of professions, and it was usually reserved for eleven or twelve-year-old boys or fifteen to sixteen-year-old girls. Therefore, for David, being a young 20-something man and tending sheep was far from a badge of honor. Though he was gifted in many ways, it seems he was nearly invisible to his father, and his natural skills and abilities went largely unnoticed by his family. Thankfully, he had a deep and soul-building relationship with God, and

Read More »

Receive your daily eDevotional

Don't miss new updates in your email!