• Devotional

    Christian Devotional – April 18, 2022

    The Next Step, Day 1 So what happens now? Jesus has been raised from the dead and the disciples are trying to figure out what they are to do next. Read Acts 1. As they were trying to decide what to do, Jesus had given them some specific directions and instructions. When we’re are looking at what we are about to do, do we recognize all that God wants to do through us? Do we trust him even when we don’t really understand what God is doing or why he is doing it a certain way? We may not understand what God is doing. We may not know why, but…

  • Devotional

    Christian Devotional – April 17, 2022

    Holy Week, Day 7 He is Risen! Today, we celebrate the victory and triumph that Jesus had over death and sin. Read Matthew 28. Jesus was victorious over sin and death. Because he has been there perfect, death could not hold him and God raised him up victorious on the third day. Today is the day that we celebrate and recognize that victory. We understand that no matter what we do, God knew our sin. God knew every shortcoming that we would ever have, past, present, and future. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross paid for all of those and his resurrection is what provides us the victory that we can…

  • Devotional

    Christian Devotional – April 16, 2022

    Holy Week, Day 6 Defeat and death. As we think about the time that passed from the crucifixion of Jesus until tomorrow morning when we arises triumphant, we can’t help but thinking about the steps that were taken out of fear to secure the tomb. Read Matthew 27:62-66. They made the tomb as secure as they possibly could. They did everything they knew how. The Lord Jesus was dead and buried in the tomb, but still they feared. Still they tried to get things set up to help them understand the potential difficulty and possibility that what Jesus said might be true. When we can’t see Jesus, do we still…

  • Devotional

    Christian Devotional – April 15, 2022

    Holy Week, Day 5 Good Friday. Today is the day that we celebrate and remember Jesus’s perfect sacrifice on the cross. While he didn’t deserve it, Jesus was crucified and killed. He became the perfect sacrifice for all the sins of the entire world. Read Luke 23:32-43. Jesus was not alone when he was crucified. Two criminals were crucified with him. One of these criminals recognized the perfection that Jesus had and realized that he did not deserve the fate he was receiving. Because of this, that criminal put his faith in Jesus there on the cross. As we remember today and all that Jesus’s sacrifice means, we can understand…

  • Devotional

    Christian Devotional – April 14, 2022

    Holy Week, Day 4 Which side will you choose? When it comes to Jesus, you cannot sit in the middle. You must choose a side. Looking at holy week, we consider the man Pilate. Read Matthew 27:11-26. As we think about the decisions that the governor Pilate was faced with, we realized just how challenging it can be to try to make everyone happy. Pilot was so focused on keeping the crowd happy and maintaining the peace that he missed the opportunity to understand who Jesus was and how Jesus could impact his life. Pilate sought to stay neutral, but Jesus is not a subject you can stay neutral about.…

  • Devotional

    Christian Devotional – April 13, 2022

    Holy Week, Day 3 Epic fail. Peter denying Jesus is certainly one of the more commonly referenced happenings of Holy Week. Read Mark 14:53-72. Why do we resonate with Peter’s betrayal of Jesus so much? Often I think it’s because we know our own shortcomings and our own ways in which we have let Jesus down. We want to be true to be true to him. We may even have boasted about how good we are or how are or how much we follow Jesus. But, in the difficulties and tough times, do we follow through? Or, like Peter, do we betray him? The beautiful piece about Peter and this…

  • Devotional

    Christian Devotional – April 12, 2022

    Holy Week, Day 2 How did the disciples respond to holy week? Jesus had been prepping them for 3 years, yet when it came time, they ran. Read Mark 14:27-28. Jesus knew the disciples would run. Jesus knew everything about them. Still, he chose them and loved them and used them anyway. Jesus knew they would return and so he told them that even before they left. Jesus knows all about us. Everything that we do, have done, and will do, He knows. We can’t keep secrets from him, so are we open to him with our entire lives? How do we glorify him in the situations that we find…

  • Devotional

    Christian Devotional – April 11, 2022

    Holy Week, Day 1 This week is Holy Week. We are going to look back through the events that lead up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now that we have spent so much time understanding him, let’s understand what he was here to do. Read Isaiah 53. Jesus Christ came to be the perfect sacrifice for you and me. Our sins had created separation between us and God. We are not able to bridge that separation on our own. Jesus took that punishment, just as it was foretold in Isaiah chapter 53. Have we ever thought about what it means for someone to take our punishment? Have…

  • Devotional

    Christian Devotional – April 10, 2022

    The Essential Jesus, Day 100 Who is Jesus? As we wrap up this study with day 100 of the Essential Jesus reading plan on YouVersion.com, we read in Luke 9:18-27. We have spent the last 100 days searching through the Bible and seeking to better understand who Jesus is. As we have been reading through and learning so many of the qualities and characteristics, it beings us back to the question of who do we say Jesus is. You see, as we have been learning and understanding the truth of who Jesus is, that still leaves each of us with the choice to accept Him and follow him. Or not.…

  • Devotional

    Christian Devotional – April 9, 2022

    The Essential Jesus, Day 99 God evaluates us. As we look at day 99 of the Essential Jesus reading plan on YouVersion.com we read Acts 9:1-19. As we read about the amazing transformation of Saul on the road to Damascus, I’m struck by how God knew his heart. Ananias had heard Saul’s reputation, but God knew where Saul was at that moment. No matter what we go through, God knows knows our intentions. Are we truly sold out in focus to him in every area of our life? If we are, God knows. If we are not, God knows. How can we continue to help our reputation and what others…