An Over-Promised Peace?
I’ve been parked for the past few weeks on the phrase “and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased,” actually viewing it with a bit of a critical take. Ever since that silent night, there has not been peace on earth.
The Virtue and Gift of Waiting
Waiting experts tell us that the average person in the U.S. will spend over an hour each day waiting: on red lights, in traffic, on hold. In fact, the average U.S. person will spend 43 days over a lifetime waiting on hold.
The Waiting Life: Scanxiety
Nervous waiting. It’s the worst —that period of time when we are waiting on an outcome that is going to cause change or bring a disruption. It’s a combination of two things none of us really like: waiting and anxiety. And the worst of it all: it is a part of life. In...
He Loves Me…He Loves Me Not?
If we’re all honest, there are probably times when we don’t feel loved by God—times of loss, or heartache, or disappointment. Sometimes it can feel like it’s a game of “He loves me, He loves me not.” When the news is good, when the promotion comes, when healing...
Celebrity Commencement Speaker: God
Of all the disruptions that our country has faced with Covid-19, I think one that touches about every home in some way or another is the cancelling of commencement ceremonies and graduation activities. In a nod to missing this rite of passage, many media outlets are...
Pizza Theology
It's a day that should loom on the teen calendar like the sixteenth birthday or Christmas: National Pepperoni Pizza Day (September 20). You might wonder why a teen devotional would start off with that bit of info. But think about how much Jesus used food in His...
The Spiritual Discipline of Sleep
It’s a spiritual discipline you may not actually need to employ much “discipline” to do: sleep. Yep, sleep. Think about this for a minute. We’re told in 1 Corinthians 6 that our physical bodies are a temple that houses the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are to take care...
Making Sense of Suffering
The disciples asked the question for us: Why did this happen? In John 9 Jesus and his disciples passed by a man blind since birth. His disciples asked Jesus, ““Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” It was actually a legitimate...
Super Devo in Prep for Super Bowl
Quick Super Bowl question: Which do you most looking forward to watching: 1) the Super Bowl football action? 2) the Super Bowl commercials? Either way, you’re likely going to be watching the upcoming Super Bowl. Last year 120 million viewers tuned in to the game....
Be The Wisdom You’d Want To Hear
Over the past week I’ve received frantic phone calls from several students that went something like this; “My friend has been going through a really difficult time lately and I don’t know what to say.” Maybe you’ve made a similar phone call because someone reached out...
On Top of The Mountain
I have to level with you; there are few things cooler than standing on top of a mountain and looking down over creation. A few weeks ago our campus ministry hiked to the top of a mountain overlooking the New River Gorge in West Virginia. It was absolutely...
The Power of a Word
It was shortly after dinner that I received a panicked message from one of my students. “I think I might be fired from my job.” It seems that he had gotten into a bad situation with his employer over some things he had been posting on social media. In that moment the...
How Far Is Too Far?
One thing is clear throughout Scripture: God doesn’t want His people thinking and acting like the world around them. If there’s no difference between believers and nonbelievers, how will nonbelievers see God? Beginning in Exodus and continuing throughout the Bible,...
Power Over Your Thought Life
Experts say that the human mind can think 50,000-70,000 thoughts per day? That can wear you out just thinking about it! With so many thoughts running through our minds, we have many opportunities for those thoughts to take us places we shouldn’t go. Maybe that’s why...
Decision-Making with God in Mind
Decisions, decisions, decisions… it seems that high school years are jam packed with important decisions. Some are more trivial than others like “Should I take regular chem or AP chem?” or “Is eating the cafeteria’s sloppy joes a good idea before gym?” Other decisions...
“Mirror, Mirror…”
Have you ever looked in the mirror first thing in the morning and let out a shriek? Where did that giant pimple come from in the middle of your chin? Most of us struggle every time we look in the mirror (if we are honest.) Maybe you pray every night for God to make...