progress

The Need to Make Progress

“I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” – Ecclesiastes 1:16 I think one of the most important human needs is to make progress. As we’re living our lives, it’s an innate desire to feel like we’re doing better than we did a year ago, five years ago, or even ten years ago. We might have little dips, but in general, the hope is that we’re doing better than we used to. The world has a way in which it measures progress, and it’s not bad, right? Maybe you have some of these measurements, like when you get married, have children, your children have children, and you become a grandparent. Or perhaps it’s financial gains in your business, and you continue to grow by a certain amount each year or

February 2, 2023 No Comments

Keep Hope Alive!

“If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” – 2 Timothy 2:13 We’ve been looking at the story of Joseph and how getting to where he needed to be was a long process that required unexpected twists and turns, many of which looked like anything but the fulfillment of a destiny. His story is encouraging to us because it teaches us about God’s redemptive sovereignty. You see, the Lord is not holding our sins against us. We can count on the cross for our forgiveness and know that as we put our trust in Him, He will get us to where we need to go. Even when we are faithless, He is faithful! This reminds me of my son, Cohen, who just loves Disneyland. To him, it really is the happiest place on earth. I remember a few years ago, he didn’t understand the concept of

April 18, 2022 1 Comment

Ask the Right Question

“Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.” – Job 22:21 Have you ever felt like things were finally starting to go your way when you were met with an unexpected crisis? Perhaps you tried for years to overcome an addiction, lose weight, land the perfect job, or start a business, and you made progress, only to encounter something that tempted you to “throw in the towel.” To all who can relate to this scenario, I want to say that you’re not alone, and it’s important not to give up. The truth is that when our aspirations and goals are being attacked, there’s always a reason, and it’s critical to ask the right question. Rather than bemoaning circumstances and hopping on the “train to complain,” God invites us to pray for His perspective and ask Him what He is doing in

October 2, 2021 2 Comments

The Journey to Healing

“Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’” – Luke 17:19 In continuing our study of the story of the ten lepers who cried out to Jesus for healing, it’s interesting to note that He bid them embark on a journey in order to see their miracle manifest. Though He often touched someone — or even spoke a word — and restoration happened immediately, this time it was different. Rather than instantaneously changing their circumstances, He instructed them to go and show themselves to the priest, who happened to be in Jerusalem. Since they were near Samaria at the time, it would have been a three or four day walk from where they were to get to the temple. And while they could have come up with any number of reasons why they shouldn’t make the trip, they started moving with the faith that

September 21, 2021 No Comments

Keep Your Pole in the Water

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9 As a kid, I spent a lot of time fishing. This wasn’t always because I wanted to, but it so happens that it was one of my dad’s favorite activities, so we were out on the boat a lot. Sometimes my Grandpa Schuller got in on the action, and the three of us would spend hours chewing the fat and waiting for the fish to bite. Of course, being a child, those stretches often felt interminable, and sometimes it seemed as if there just weren’t any more creatures in the sea. However, if we sat there long enough, inevitably there would be a bite on someone’s line, and the excitement in that moment made the long process worthwhile. Like anything in life, a

September 17, 2021 No Comments

Your Mess Can Be Blessed

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” – Psalm 42:11 Yesterday, we learned that we can’t pick and choose our emotions and that in order to experience all of the good the Lord has for us, we must be willing to wade through the hard stuff, too. That said, we need to know up front that things probably will get worse before they get better. Most of us are inherently aware of this truth, and that’s why we remain stuck in patterns of dysfunction. Somehow, we know that going deep will be a process, and we feel like we don’t have the bandwidth to embark on the journey. However, if we’re grappling with these thoughts, the single most important thing we can do is put our trust in God. His mercies

September 12, 2021 No Comments

The God of Seasons

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1,2 Today is the first day of spring, and if you’re like me, you’re joyfully anticipating the new life that it brings. Especially after the extended impact of COVID-19 and the unprecedented challenges we’ve faced over the past year, we’re ready for a page to turn. However, to put things into perspective, it’s important to remember that springtime is only possible because of the falling leaves of autumn and the barren cold of winter. We serve a God of seasons, and no matter how difficult each one is, they all have distinct beauty and a divinely-appointed purpose. Today, we see evidence of vibrancy and hope, but the fruits of this time have only come

March 20, 2021 2 Comments

Choose For Yourself!

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:14-16 For a lot of us, a new year means getting a brand new calendar to fill with all the things we hope to accomplish. The idea of resolutions is that we take on a few huge goals, and working towards them typically proves to be a lofty task. All too often, circumstances get in the way, the unexpected happens, and we come to realize that we won’t

January 26, 2021 No Comments

The Need to Make Progress

Keep Hope Alive!

Ask the Right Question

The Journey to Healing

Keep Your Pole in the Water

Your Mess Can Be Blessed

The God of Seasons

Choose For Yourself!

Receive your daily eDevotional

Don't miss new updates in your email!

WATCH

CONNECT

SHOP

ABOUT

DONATE