Posts with the category “pocket-devotions”

Psalm 23 - “He Restores My Soul”“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul…” (Ps. 23:1-3).Every Memorial D...  Read More

Psalm 23: “...I shall not want.” (What He Provides)“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” If David’s personal experience and testimony of God’s care is like that of a good shepherd, he then expr...  Read More

Life To The Full  |  Bible Reading Week 12If this is your first week on the plan, jump right in with our reading and reflection question. (Later on you can go back to the previous weeks for additional...  Read More

Life To The Full  |  Bible Reading Week 11If this is your first week on the plan, jump right in with our reading and reflection question. (Later on you can go back to the previous weeks for additional...  Read More

Life To The Full  |  Bible Reading Week 10If this is your first week on the plan, jump right in with our reading and reflection question. (Later on you can go back to the previous weeks for additional...  Read More

Life To The Full  |  Bible Reading Week 9If this is your first week on the plan, jump right in with our reading and reflection question. (Later on you can go back to the previous weeks for additional ...  Read More

Life To The Full  |  Bible Reading Week 8If this is your first week on the plan, jump right in with our reading and reflection question. (Later on you can go back to the previous weeks for additional ...  Read More

Life To The Full  |  Bible Reading Week 7If this is your first week on the plan, jump right in with our reading and reflection question. (Later on you can go back to the previous weeks for additional ...  Read More

Life To The Full  |  Bible Reading Week 4If this is your first week on the plan, jump right in with our reading and reflection question. (Later on you can go back to the previous weeks for additional ...  Read More

Life To The Full  |  Bible Reading Week 3If this is your first week on the plan, jump right in with our reading and reflection question. (Later on you can go back to the previous weeks for additional ...  Read More

Life To The Full  |  Bible Reading Week 2If this is your first week on the plan, jump right in with our reading and reflection question. (Later on you can go back to the previous weeks for additional ...  Read More

Life To The Full  |  Bible Reading Week 1Our Bible reading plan is going through the gospel of John. Each week you’ll read 2 chapters of the gospel of John.  We encourage you to spend time with the re...  Read More

The decision to start writing regular devotions started at a pastor’s retreat over two years ago. A group of pastors from Grace had spent hours talking about the spiritual life of our community…...  Read More

Baptism is often described as a physical manifestation of our decision to follow Jesus. But Paul, in these verses, describes a level of “following” that is way more extensive than we sometimes conside...  Read More

Decades ago, I was at a weekend workshop focused on leadership and personal growth. For a full four days, we were paired with a partner we did everything with. Frankly, I wasn’t thrilled with my partn...  Read More

Matthew 25:14-15 Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one ba...  Read More

This week we’re looking at a familiar parable Jesus told. In these two short verses, setting the scene for the parable, a lot is assumed. If we’re not careful…...  Read More

Don’t be discouraged if this is the first part of Ephesians you’ve read this week. Every step towards God is one worth taking…...  Read More

So after you have read Ephesians 3 this morning, take a minute to prayerfully reflect on one or two of the questions below…...  Read More

Pastor Zach Stamp encouraged us to read through the book of Ephesians this week as a response to his message on the sacred way of scripture. So after you have read Ephesians 1 this morning…...  Read More

“I promise to do better.” How often does that sentence end your prayers of confession? Whether we mean to or not, that mindset can be a form of sacrifice, in the same way the Israelites used to offer ...  Read More

Notice David’s requests to God in these three verses. “Create in me a pure heart . . . Restore to me . . . Grant me a willing spirit...” What stands out to me is…...  Read More

Psalm 51:1-2 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin....  Read More

In middle school, some friends took me to an event at their church. It was a special appearance of John Jacobs and The Power Team. If you didn’t grow up in the 80s or early 90s, it’s really worth a tr...  Read More

Romans 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his....  Read More

On Monday we looked at the opening phrase from Psalm 135. Today we look at a passage in Jeremiah. Of note is that the Hebrew root of the words “praise” from Psalm 135 and “boast” from this passage are...  Read More

If you do a quick search of “social media and mental health” you will see something interesting. Many of the articles discuss how social media damages mental health through comparison, bullying, and c...  Read More

Matthew 3:16-17As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from ...  Read More

This week, we’re looking at how this story of Jesus’s baptism takes unexpected turns and what it teaches us about the love of God. On Monday we looked at Jesus choosing humility and submission when he...  Read More

The gospels are full of examples of Jesus doing the unexpected. Dining with prostitutes and tax collectors, running amok through the temple, tipping over tables and scattering people, refusing to defe...  Read More

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad....  Read More

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hang around children long enough and you’re guaranteed to hear it: “That’s not fair!” Where ...  Read More

Our passage today shows God describing himself to Moses, and it’s interesting that this same wording is repeated multiple times in the Old Testament. This is an important text – God wants us to accura...  Read More

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”...  Read More

When confronted with the holiness of God, the prophet Isaiah laments his own sin and wretchedness in comparison. God’s response (through his angel) says so much about His holiness....  Read More

This week we are looking at the holiness of God. But these verses display a fascinating aspect of God’s holiness that, for me, is unexpected. ...  Read More

Our focus today is on verse 18: “But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” ...  Read More