Devotions

  • The Privilege of Suffering?
    The suffering Paul and many of his contemporaries did for Christ was real.
  • Covenant Keeping
    Every covenant throughout the biblical story has two parts: “I will be your God and you will be my people.”
  • Sabbath Dinner
    When you are resting or when you are with family and friends, how often do you consider it a time to draw you closer to God?
  • On Forgiveness
    Jesus is calling on us to show the same generous spirit of forgiveness that God has lavished upon us.
  • On Not Judging Others
    When I am judging others, it usually comes back to either my own insecurity or my failure – my failure to listen, my failure to learn, or my failure to love.
  • The Songs of Faith
    Music has an ability to connect important themes or moments to our soul.
  • The Path to Freedom
    When we are seeking freedom in our lives, we sometimes wonder why God doesn’t make it any easier.
  • Conflict Resolution
    Here, Jesus gives a step-by-step approach to resolving conflict.
  • The Time is Now
    Each day brings the opportunity to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” in the way we think, speak, and act.
  • Energetic Praise
    What keeps us from expressing our thanks and praise with abandon?
  • Bless this Home
    How has your home served as a center of hospitality, safety, healing, and rest for you, your family, and visitors?
  • Taking Up the Cross
    Sometimes we are our own worst stumbling blocks.
  • Led to Freedom
    Often, in our lives, we find ourselves on a journey that requires us to trust that God will make a way for us.
  • Burning Bush
    God breaks into the ordinary in amazing ways if we take the time to stop and notice.
  • Who is Jesus?
    Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?”
  • We Need Each Other
    For the body of Christ to grow and thrive, we need each other’s unique experience of God and of life.
  • O God, Our Help in Ages Past
    The Hebrew people have a hope for the future with God, based on the help in the past from God.
  • Life-Changing Events
    Sometimes we have life events that drastically change the course of our lives.
  • Persistent Faith
    We never know when a disruption in life will transform us.
  • Bound to Sin?
    Do you ever feel ‘bound to sin’?
  • Family Unity
    “How good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!”
  • Revenge
    Do you carry bitterness in your heart?
  • Sink or Swim
    Recognizing Jesus, Peter stepped directly into the stormy sea.
  • Righteousness by Faith
    What is your motivation for living a life of kindness, goodness, and generosity?
  • Wonderful Works
    “Remember the wonderful works he has done.” (Psalm 105:5)
  • Jealousy
    Jealousy can compel us to think, do, or say things that are in direct conflict with our values.
  • Looking Up
    Before Jesus does anything with the bread and fish, he looks up to heaven.
  • None and Done?
    When we find great comfort, strength, and joy in our own faith, we cannot imagine life without it.
  • Deliverance
    There is no promise of immunity from struggle if only we are good enough.
  • Undeserved
    I wonder what changed for Jacob when he received the gift of mercy.
  • It’s the Little Things
    Small moments and gestures produce a bounty of love, renewal, and joy.
  • Nothing Can Separate
    Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
  • Forever Mindful
    God is forever mindful of the covenant made with the ancestors of our faith.
  • Family Dynamics
    This story has it all: love, jealousy, manipulation, favoritism, infertility…
  • Drawing Lines
    Jesus advises us to be less concerned with the wrong we see in others and more concerned about the fruit we are bearing in our own lives.
  • Hopes, Dreams, and Longing
    What gift from God are you waiting for?
  • Too Wonderful for Me
    There is nowhere we can go to escape the presence and love of God.
  • Surprised by Grace
    What a surprise it must have been for God to show up at that time and in that place before Jacob had done anything to right the wrongs he had done.
  • On Sowing Seeds
    Jesus describes the conditions of a heart ready to receive and bear the fruit of the gospel.
  • Tempted Towards Goodness
    The indwelling of the Holy Spirit draws us towards having the mind of Christ.
  • Lamp and Light
    God’s word is meant to enlighten and enliven.
  • Family Drama
    It seems inevitable that every family will have its own share of conflict, but that doesn’t mean that God cannot redeem these situations.
  • The Mystery of God
    The beautiful mystery of God is that we will never fully understand how God works.
  • Doing the Right Thing
    What are the things you do that you do not want to do?
  • Gracious and Merciful
    In this psalm of praise, God is compared to the ideal earthly king.
  • Matchmaker
    This story about Isaac and Rebekah reads like a romance novel.
  • Warm Welcome
    Welcoming a disciple of Jesus means receiving the very presence of Jesus himself and of the one who sent him, God the Father.
  • Delivered From and Delivered To
    What has following Jesus delivered you from and where has it taken you to?
  • How Long?
    Have there been times in your life when you feel God is distant? Has that distance ever felt so great that you wonder if God has forgotten you?
  • Looking Up
    Even when things seemed to be past the point of no return, Abraham was still looking up, still looking for God to rescue him from the unimaginable.
  • A Little Dose of Light
    What thoughts, attitudes, and positions in your heart and mind could use a little dose of light?
  • By No Means!
    Dying to our old selves and being raised in the life of Christ means we are no longer the same people we were.
  • Teach Me Your Way
    “Teach me your way,” is not my natural response to difficulties in life.
  • Desperate Cry
    Hagar cries out in desperation as her son slowly dies, but the Lord hears her cries and saves them both.
  • Jesus Changes His Mind
    In this story, we get a glimpse of how Jesus understands his mission and ministry up to this point.
  • The Way of Salvation
    What would it look like to be more Christlike in the way you love God and neighbor?
  • Return to Your Rest
    Because the Lord is gracious, righteous, and merciful, our souls can rest easily even as we acknowledge our worries and fears.
  • Is Anything too Wonderful?
    It’s no wonder Sarah laughs when she hears the promise that she will bear a child.
  • Following Faithfully
    Jesus shows us that extending welcome, healing, and hope are the benchmarks of faithfulness.
  • Grace: A Gift of Love
    Grace is given not because of what we’ve done, but because of who God is.
  • Call to Praise
    God is faithful to all of creation, breathing life into the heavens and the earth.
  • To Follow or Not to Follow
    When you have difficult decisions to make in life, what do you take into account?
  • Therefore, Go!
    How well are we living out our mission for and with Jesus?
  • Grace, Love, Communion
    Read 2 Corinthians 13:11-13. As Paul closes his second letter to the church of Corinth, he promotes unity and peace … Read more
  • Good Stewards
    In the story of creation, we are told humans are caretakers for all of creation, including the natural world and the rest of humankind.
  • And It Was Good!
    God created order out of chaos simply by breathing and speaking life into being.
  • Living Water
    “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,” Jesus says.
  • Unity in Diversity
    Paul proposes that unity in diversity is central to the common life of Christian community.
  • Everything in Balance
    This psalm points to the interconnectedness and balance of the created order.
  • No Language Barrier
    What “languages” do you need to learn to better share the Good News of Jesus Christ?
  • Looking Up or Looking Forward?
    As Jesus is lifted through the clouds, the disciples stand there, looking up at the sky.
  • After Suffering: Grace
    There is a word of grace here for those times when we feel we are unfairly suffering.
  • Superiority Complex
    This psalm celebrates the God of all nations.
  • Is This the Time?
    Even after his resurrection, Jesus’ disciples still believe that his mission is about politics
  • Adaptive Faith
    In what way do you think the Holy Spirit, the promised Advocate, helps you to adapt to unexpected change?
  • Evident Faith
    How do you remain hopeful in a world like the one in which we live in today?
  • Among the Living
    This psalm reminds us of the importance of “keeping among the living.”
  • Smooth Talker
    In God, we live and move and have our being.
  • Revealing Glory
    Just as Jesus revealed and glorified God in all that he did, by calling on his name, so can we.
  • Growth
    This reading challenges readers to desire those things that bring growth and spiritual maturity.
  • Trusting God’s Hand
    Do you have any prayers that you find yourself needing to say over and over?
  • On Forgiveness
    Most of us struggle with forgiving others even for small slights.
  • The Gatekeeper
    “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
  • Alignment, Strength, Courage
    Can you think of a time when you felt excluded or belittled for your beliefs?
  • I Don’t Need a Thing
    Sometimes, a reframing of the familiar brings it to life in a new way.
  • Together at the Table
    How do we, as a church, respond to new faces at the table?
  • We Had Hoped
    Jesus helps his disciples to move from “we had hoped” to “the Lord is risen indeed!”
  • Insiders and Outsiders
    In what ways might following Jesus set you apart from the prevailing culture in which we live?
  • God Protects the Simple
    In verse 6, we read, “The Lord protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.”
  • Straight to the Heart
    You can not go so far off the path of righteousness that God can’t forgive you, heal you, and make you whole.
  • On Doubt and Belief
    Like the other disciples, Thomas doesn’t come to the fullest faith until he has his own experience.
  • Indescribable Joy
    What relationships, experiences, and practices revive your heart and make your soul lively and vigorous?
  • The One, True God
    The theme of abundant life is repeated throughout the psalms as a reminder that true life comes from God alone.
  • Right and Wrong
    Much of human strife and division comes as a response to the question of what is right.
  • Calm and Committed
    As he is questioned, Jesus remains calm and committed to his mission, not striking back, not demeaning or belittling, not threatening.
  • On Pride and Humility
    Paul highlights humility as central to who Jesus was and is.
  • Lament
    The 31st Psalm is a psalm of lament in which an individual cries out to God during great despair.
  • Morning Routine
    To what degree do you spend some time each morning listening for what God might be speaking to your heart?
  • Never Too Late
    After Judas went to the chief priests and took the money, he had plenty of time to change his mind. He could have taken the money back and refused to give Jesus up.
  • Speak, O Lord
    The servant values both speaking and listening. He uses his words to sustain the weary and listens carefully as if there is much to learn.