Prayers Devotionals

A Living Hope 1 Peter 1:3-5  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+1%3A3-5&version=KJV Believers are born into a living hope. However, people who are without Christ have no foundation for their expectations and desires. Many live with a false sense of security. They assume that what is important in this life is the physical and material. But there is no safety in things (1 Tim. 6:9). Those who pursue wealth and health rather than God find that their dreams either go unfulfilled or fail to satisfy. Believers anchor their hope in the solid rock of Jesus Christ. His words are always true and His promises always kept. I'll sometimes hear a person project his or her unfulfilled desires on God and then argue that He came up short. But Christians who make a request and submit to God's will always get an answer—yes, no, or wait. The Lord does not disappoint those who seek His will. Don't misunderstand that statement. We might feel temporarily let down when someth...

 "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." — Jeremiah 8:20 Not saved! Dear reader, is this your mournful plight? Warned of the judgment to come, bidden to escape for your life, and yet at this moment not saved! You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you hear it from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and yet you neglect it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse when the Lord shall judge the quick and dead. The Holy Spirit has given more or less of blessing upon the word which has been preached in your hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and yet you are without Christ. All these hopeful seasons have come and gone—your summer and your harvest have past—and yet you are not saved. Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will soon be here: youth has gone, manhood is going, and yet you are not saved. Let me ask you—will you ever be saved Is there an...

Baptism John 3:3 https://biblehub.com/parallel/john/3-3.htm John 3:5 https://biblehub.com/parallel/john/3-5.htm John 3:22 https://biblehub.com/parallel/john/3-22.htm Mark 16:16 https://biblehub.com/parallel/mark/16-16.htm Acts 2:38 https://biblehub.com/parallel/acts/2-38.htm Galatians 3:27 https://biblehub.com/parallel/galatians/3-27.htm Romans 6:3 https://biblehub.com/parallel/romans/6-3.htm Romans 6:4 https://biblehub.com/parallel/romans/6-4.htm Colossians 2:12 https://biblehub.com/parallel/colossians/2-12.htm 1 Peter 3:21 https://biblehub.com/parallel/1_peter/3-21.htm Lee Strobel’s Book, The Case for Christ.

Devotional I assume you have accepted Jesus Christ into your life and you are born-again according to John 3: 3, and therefore let me proceed by asking you that just because you are now saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus you don’t have to follow these Ten Commandments? In other words does it mean that Jesus put an end to those teachings of having to follow the Law of God? Permit me to answer that question with a reply from Jesus Himself – “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” [ Matt.5: 17 KJV] Now we are brought to the question that has created confusion for multitudes of Christians: If the works of the law cannot save a person, is it therefore necessary to keep the law? Apparently this was a burning issue in the early church, because Paul asked the same question in Romans 6:1. “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” In other words, does grace give us a license to disobey the law of God? His answe...

  Spurgeon's Morning and Evening

God Is for Us Romans 8:31-34 Throughout life, there will be times when our sins and failures lead us to conclude that God is disappointed or angry with us. How can He still love me after what I've done? If I'm really forgiven, why do I still feel so guilty? At such times, we need to fix our eyes on the truth of Scripture and ask the questions Paul posed in Romans 8. If God is for us, who is against us  (v. 31)? Our heavenly Father proved His loyalty to us when He delivered His own Son over to death in order to save us. Without Christ's atoning death on our behalf, we would face eternal separation from God. Who will bring a charge against God's elect (v. 33)? No accusation against us can stand, since at the moment of salvation, the Lord justified us. This means we were legally declared righteous, while still in our sinning condition. No one can reverse this transaction and make us guilty again. To doubt our blameless standing in Christ is to declare His atonement insuffi...

  Let’s take a brief refresher course on the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai, as recorded in Exodus 20: 1. You shall have no other gods before Him. 2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness - an idol. 3. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. 4. You shall remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 5. You shall honor your father and your mother. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10. You shall not covet your neighbours house or anything that is your neighbours.

Cure for Our Troubles . . . preaching peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all). —Acts 10:36 Would it not be wonderful if we could find an absolute cure for the troubles of human nature? Suppose we could give a shot in the arm to the whole human race that would fill people with love instead of hate, with contentment instead of greed. Suppose, also, a cure could be found for the past mistakes, failures, and sins of mankind. Suppose by some miracle all the past could be straightened out, all of life’s tangles could be unraveled, and the broken strings of life could be repaired. The most thrilling news in all the world is the fact that there is a cure! A medicine has been provided! The sin, confusion, and disillusionment of life can be replaced by righteousness, joy, contentment, and happiness. A peace can be imparted to the soul that is not dependent on outward circumstances. Prayer for the day In complete dependence upon You, Lord Jesus, let me relay Your message of love and peace to th...

When a believer comes to the water to be baptized, he or she is making a pledge, a statement of commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Baptism is an outward symbol of an inner reality. God’s oaths often have symbols tied to them that are designed to reflect the intention of the oath. Through the oath of the covenant with God, you are saying to Him, “May good come upon me as I follow You, and may evil come upon me if I reject You.” Matthew 28:19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Believing what God says about our new self is a choice.  Satan certainly conspires to convince believers that God’s Word doesn’t apply to them. He knows that people held captive by spiritual poverty back away from opportunities to share the gospel and serve the Lord’s kingdom. It’s much easier to spiritually bankrupt someone who already thinks of him- or herself as “just a sinner” than it is to conquer a disciple who kno...

Devotional 1 John 3:1-6 ANDREW McCUTCHEN WHAT DEFINES YOU? What defines you? At the end of the day, what events and people are speaking into your identity as a man or a woman? That’s such an important question to ask, but it’s one we’d rather not answer fully or completely. We may not really want to hear our answer. We all listen to outside voices to help define us. That’s a normal thing for people to do, and I think God created us for someone or something on the outside to define us on the inside. For years, I allowed baseball to define me. At the core, I was a baseball player. If I performed well, then I felt good about myself. But if I performed poorly, then I felt terrible about myself. But when you read the New Testament, you discover that those guys had a completely different understanding of a person’s true identity. It’s like they lived from a different set of assumptions than many of us do. Here’s what John writes… I love 1 John 3:1-6. We’re not only called “children of God”, ...

Devotional Psalm 40:1-5 LANCE BERKMAN A NEW SON I’ve been blessed with a really great life in baseball. I played in my hometown of Houston for most of my MLB career. I enjoyed success as an Astro, and relished the life I was building with my wife and children in southern Texas. But then I was traded to the Yankees. When that happened, it disrupted not only my professional life but my personal life too. I struggled as a New York Yankee—so much so that they declined to renew my contract once the season was over. To be honest, I thought my days in baseball were finished. These were some dark days. Have you ever been at a low point like that? It seems like, despite our best efforts, we just can’t seem to climb out of the pit that we find ourselves in. Faithful men and women all throughout Scripture often found themselves walking through seasons of what feels like swimming in mud. But the good news is this—when you find yourself in a pit, you’re following a long line of people who have been...

 The Prodigal Son: Luke 9-19

Devotional Hebrews 5:11-14 MATT HOLLIDAY POURING LIFE When you think of something being poured, what do you think of? Maybe you think of sweet tea, being poured over the ice cubes into a crystal clear glass? Maybe you think of pouring water into a pot that’s growing your favorite flower or vegetable? Every morning, I pour myself a hot cup of coffee. Or on a more serious note, I think of Christ’s blood being poured out for me. There are so many things that are poured out every day. But have you ever thought about pouring yourself? Specifically, have you ever thought about pouring your life into someone else’s life? All of us get to a point where we need to intentionally pour Jesus Christ into other people around us. It’s what Scripture calls us to do, and it’s a huge part of making disciples. The writer of Hebrews is serious about this. His tone is stern, but don’t let the tone blind you of the message. I think we all get to a point in our lives when we’re ready to pour Jesus into the l...

Devotional John 16:25-33 PAUL MAHOLM PEACE IN THE MIDDLE OF PAIN We all have struggles. We all have pain. We all suffer. We all experience loss. Early in my career I was pitching in the Minors, and I took a line drive to the face. The doctors said I might not ever have vision in one eye again. During that time, my mom had cancer. And just after I married Jessica, my mom lost that intense battle. Finally, in 2014 I was covering first base in a game that had already been decided against the Cubs. I tore my right ACL - I had torn the left one in high school. For most of us, pain and suffering are simply an unwanted part of our journey. And when things like that happen, we can either lean into Jesus, or run away from Him. If you read the entire chapter of John 16, you realize that Jesus is giving his disciples some discouraging (and fearful) news about what’s going to happen to them, at the hands of people who don’t get it. But at the end of the chapter, we see that He deeply desires for t...

Devotional Galatians 3:1-5 BRETT CARROLL  AMAZING GRACE Grace. Just say that word silently under your breath, or loudly into the air. It’s amazing how one word can evoke feelings of peace and rest in the people who say it, and in people who hear it spoken over them. And in an age when so many “religious” words have lost their meaning, this one most definitely has not. Grace. On one hand, we experience the grace of God at the cross of Jesus. In Christ, God is reconciling the world to Himself “while we were still enemies” with Him. He looks at us as we’re either running from Him or attacking Him and proclaims, “They’re worth dying for.” Grace. On the other hand, the grace of God doesn’t stop when we trust Jesus with our lives—when we become Christ-followers. Grace is something that’s ongoing with God, not a one-time deal. Grace characterizes His heart toward His children. So in my good moments, when I get it right, God meets me with grace. In my bad moments, when I respond with judgm...

 “Blessed is the man who reveres God, but the man who doesn't care is headed for serious trouble.” —Proverbs 28:14 (TLB) All Christians believe in God, but many Christians have little time for God. They are too busy with everyday affairs to be taken up with Bible reading, prayer, and being thoughtful to their fellowmen. Many of them have lost the spirit of a zealous discipleship. If you ask them if they are Christians, they would probably answer, “I think so,” or, “I hope so.” They may go to church at Easter and Christmas and on other special occasions, but otherwise they have little time for God. They have crowded God out of their lives. The Bible warns against neglect of your soul. It is possible to harden your heart and shrivel your soul, until you lose your appetite for the things of God. This hunger, then, that you should have is a desire to be always right with God. It is a consciousness that all searching for peace of heart, except in Him, is in vain. Prayer for the day I hu...

Devotional Mark 2:1-12 DAVE DRAVECKY WHAT’S WORSE THAN LOSING AN ARM? You probably already know my story. It’s a story of pitching, a battle with cancer, and the eventual amputation of my left arm. But many people don’t know the story of my life after that. I could no longer throw a ball from a mound, so I began a career as an author and public speaker. But as I stood on the platform and spoke to thousands of people, there was something dark inside of me that was beginning to demand light. As I wrote book after book, I felt like some unknown internal pain was writing me. As a result of the cancer battle and the loss of my arm, I started to recognize that I had pushed what seemed like a million emotions down into the middle of my heart. And in due time, these emotions were crying for release. God would heal me, but not in an instantaneous manner. It took something completely different to heal me. Have you ever noticed that when true grace is offered, there are always people who want to ...

Free Will Or Predestination  Matthew 12:37 https://biblehub.com/parallel/matthew/12-37.htm https://www.gotquestions.org/predestination-vs-free-will.html FREE WILL   If “free will” means that God gives humans the opportunity to make choices that genuinely affect their destiny, then yes, human beings do have a free will.  https://biblereasons.com/free-will/ Predestination https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-does-the-bible-say-about-predestination.html John 12:47-48 'And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. '

No matter how sincere your belief, there is only one way to heaven. Many believe there are multiple truths and multiple ways to God. This passage speaks in direct contradiction to that philosophy. Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. https://biblehub.com/parallel/john/14-6.htm

Too Busy for Jesus? “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6 https://biblehub.com/parallel/isaiah/55-6.htm ). A number of years ago, I read a story about a man who set up a nativity scene on his front lawn, but some vandals came along and stole the baby Jesus. The man was quoted as saying, “They’ve taken my Jesus, and I don’t know where he is.” I thought, “Sir, those people did not take your Jesus. They took a plastic figure, probably with a light bulb inside, that’s a representation of Jesus. But that wasn’t Jesus.” We can’t lose Jesus, but sometimes people lose sight of the real Jesus, especially during the Christmas season. Of course, we have responsibilities, families, and things we need to do, but let’s find ways to share the real message of Christmas. It’s easy to transition a conversation to what the Christmas season is really about: the birth of Jesus Christ. Let’s not allow the busyness of the season to crowd Jesus out of our lives. W...

The Authority of Stewardship In His Presence: You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8:32  https://biblehub.com/parallel/john/8-32.htm ). How do you know if you are being a good steward? There is only one way to know—read God's Word. (Deuteronomy 8:3  https://biblehub.com/parallel/deuteronomy/8-3.htm ). Human ownership must be governed by God.  God gives instruction to protect us, and following His instruction provides His results. When you first consider stewardship, you might think it has too many limitations. But let me assure you that the limitations of stewardship are always for the enjoyment of it. God doesn't give us commands to stifle our stewardship, but rather to expand it. We shouldn't think that God's ways are negative—we can't do this or that—because the negative exists to enhance the positive. So many people think God's commands restrict their freedom. But freedom in the biblical sense never means just doing what you want. ...

Devotional Genesis 22:1-19 WILL STARTUP LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY If you ever want to live a life of uncertainty, you should try playing baseball. Not as a weekend hobby, but as a professional baseball player. I’m uncertain about whether my minor league team will win or lose. As a pitcher, I’m uncertain if I’ll have my stuff that day or not. I’m uncertain if I’ll be on the same team next week, or if I’ll be sent up, down, or to a different organization. And I know a life of uncertainty isn’t reserved for baseball players only. When they asked me to come up with a Scripture passage about uncertainty, I thought, “So basically, the whole Bible, right?” While God’s Word is certain, every person and group written about did not live with much certainty about their circumstances. Believe it or not, I can relate to Abraham’s life of uncertainty In Genesis 22. When I was playing in the Independent Leagues, I received a phone call from my mother-in-law telling me that my one year-old son - my only...

Devotional Psalm 23 ADAM WAINWRIGHT HE MADE ME LIE DOWN Heading into the 2011 season, I felt like everything was finally coming together for me. The fastball, the curve, the off-speed stuff—all of it was now in my wheelhouse. And the mental toughness I had developed over the years was beginning to pay big dividends for me and my team. The next season was going to be my best. But when I threw that pitch in Spring Training, I knew something wasn’t right. I tried to shake it off, but my right elbow wouldn’t cooperate. I didn’t know it at the time, but my season was about to end. ESPN, MLB Network, and a host of other press outlets would gather at a news conference where Manager Tony La Russa would deliver the bad news to the masses. But in the middle of all that, God was about to do something in my life that I never saw coming; something I couldn’t have scripted if I tried. I know: We’ve all read or heard Psalm 23 before, probably more than once. It’s the most popular Psalm ever, and for ...

A person may have desires or attractions to someone of the same sex whether as a Christian or non-Christian. These desires do not automatically go away when a person becomes a Christian. However, the Bible is very clear that gay sexual activity or any sexual activity outside marriage is considere d sinful and that a Christian is not to take part in such activities. There is no such thing as an openly gay Christian they can say they are but if it goes against the word of God you can not be a gay Christian as much as they want to say or think it you cannot change the word to your liking as much as people now days do it. If there is no repentance or conviction of sin, then that person does not fit the description of Galatians 5:17 ( https://biblehub.com/parallel/galatians/5-17.htm ) . There is clearly no struggle between Spirit and flesh and that person is clearly an unregener ate sinner who does not have the Holy Spirit. They are just flesh without the Spirit. As we have seen here, the l...

 The Baptism of Jesus: Luke 3-9 

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Devotional SCOTT LINEBRINK  John 15:1-11 GREAT EXPECTATIONS Have you ever taken a hard look at your life and realized that the intimate relationship Jesus desires with you feels more like a bad job and less like a growing relationship? It’s easy for anyone who follows Christ to get comfortable with the rules and the routines of Christianity and miss out on what God really desires. I’m someone who’s always worked extremely hard, especially on the baseball field. I was smaller and slower than everyone else, so I had to work harder. Most of life’s challenges could be overcome with hard work. Or so I thought. As I reflect on John 15:1-11, I wonder if we spend our lives confused about who the vine is and who the branches are? We would never admit it—especially among other Christians—but we can come to believe that WE are the vine; that we are the ones who cause growth. If we only work hard enough. But for me, there’s been nothing sweeter than learning to work as hard as I can, expecting...

Jesus, the great I AM, is the entrance into the true church, and the way of access to God Himself. He gives to the man who comes to God by Him four choice privileges. 1. He shall be saved. The fugitive manslayer passed the gate of the city of refuge, and was safe. Noah entered the door of the ark, and was secure. None can be lost who take Jesus as the door of faith to their souls. Entrance through Jesus into peace is the guarantee of entrance by the same door into heaven. Jesus is the only door, an open door, a wide door, a safe door; and blessed is he who rests all his hope of admission to glory upon the crucified Redeemer. 2. He shall go in. He shall be privileged to go in among the divine family, sharing the children's bread, and participating in all their honours and enjoyments. He shall go in to the chambers of communion, to the banquets of love, to the treasures of the covenant, to the storehouses of the promises. He shall go in unto the King of kings in the power of the Holy...

Philippians  1-18    https://www.biblestudytools.com/nlt/philippians/2.html

The Prince of Peace Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. —Proverbs 10:12 To hate, to discriminate against those who look different, who talk different, who have different national backgrounds, or who act differently from the dominant group, is a universal trait of human nature. I say that there is only one possible solution and that is a vital experience with Christ on the part of all races. In Christ the middle wall of partition is broken down, the Bible says. There is no Jew or Gentile, or black or white or yellow or red. We could be one great brotherhood in Christ. However, until we come to recognize Him as the Prince of Peace, and receive His love in our hearts, the racial tensions will increase. B.G.

Devotional ANGIE FORSETT  THE THIRD COURT I love volleyball. I love the beauty, the momentum swings, and the fact that I get to pound the ball into another player from the opposing team! I’ve spent much of my life learning the sport of volleyball, and all the while, the sport was actually teaching me a thing or two. There’s this thing in volleyball called “the third court.” You don’t want to find yourself practicing there, because the coaches aren’t really watching you. They’re watching (you guessed it) the first and second courts. To be honest, life on the third court felt a little bit like being in jail (not that I’ve ever been in jail - to be clear). And I know I’m not the only one who’s felt that way. As I read the real life story in Genesis 39, I saw a lot of myself in it. I’ve never had it as bad as Joseph did, but… Feeling like I didn’t do anything to deserve being there? Check. Feeling the “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome? Check. Feeling completely misunderstood by my a...

 

Devotional John 6:1-14 CHARLES TILLMAN MY FISH AND LOAVES It was May 28, 2008. I was at football practice in Chicago, and my head coach Lovie Smith walked at a faster-than-normal pace toward me. The look on his face was serious and somber. I’ll never forget his words. “Charles. They’re rushing your daughter to the hospital. You need to go. Those words set in motion the most challenging season of my life. My three-month old daughter was not only sick, but was on the verge of dying. Months later, through pain and sleepless nights and praying, the doctors were able to give Tiana exactly what she needed - a new heart. But she’s not the only one who was given a new heart. My wife Jackie and I experienced a complete transformation in our own hearts. This was our fish and loaves moment. It’s easy for any of us to pursue the miracle. That’s a normal thing to do. But the miracle is never about the miracle. It’s about the miracle Giver. It’s about His identity, His sovereignty, and ultimately ab...

Devotional Acts 9:1-19 MILES McPHERSON THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL The decisions we make can drag us to the bottom of the barrel, and it’s there that we find the love of God. That simple truth is the essence of my story. I played in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers. I was living the lifestyle of kings, but hadn’t yet bowed my knee to the King of kings. Everything changed on an airplane, when I passed by a group of players who were doing a Bible study. They challenged me to look deeper. So I did. After you read Acts 9:1-19, the first thing I want to tell you is that not all Christ-followers have this kind of conversion experience. Less dramatic experiences are no less real. But my experience was sudden, abrupt, and strikingly similar to Paul’s conversion. At the peak of my rebellion against God, He offered me true life. Not a false or lesser life involving the empty promise of money and the elusive, fleeting highs offered by drugs and sex outside of marriage. But a true and lasting life ...

Devotional SENECA WALLACE   Psalms 68:1-6 MY REAL FATHER Someone once told me that God has given fathers the most powerful shaping influence in the world. They shape their homes, their job environments, and their children. And by doing this, they end up shaping the world. But their influence isn’t optional. Their choice isn’t whether or not they’ll have influence. They only get to choose what TYPE of influence they’ll be. When I was a little boy, my mom married a man who became my stepfather. He coordinated drug deals from the basement of our two-story house, and he used the built-in home intercom system whenever he had anything to say to me. He and my mom separated when I was 11 years old. I had a man in the house. But I didn’t have a father. When the Bible says that God is a father to the fatherless, those words jump off the page and grab me every time. And in my experience, God doesn’t accomplish this directly. Instead, He works through other men. In my life, God used other...

1 Peter 4:14 https://open.spotify.com/episode/5CayrWgZKIoyVik9pjosOU  

Devotional Matthew 11:25-30 JON KITNA BURDENS We all carry burdens. Some burdens are good ones, like the burden of providing for our families, or the burden of serving our churches and our communities, or the burden of loving others selflessly. But we also place unhealthy burdens on ourselves - burdens we were never created to carry. In college, I had become the life of the party, the big man on campus, and the quarterback who was having a breakout year. But inside, I was lonely and incomplete. I was carrying around unhealthy and unrealistic burdens, day after day, all in an attempt to hold tightly to the mask I was wearing. Burdens are a huge part of our lives, especially when we’re carrying the wrong ones. In Matthew 11:25-30, Jesus is speaking as a Rabbi. The language of “taking a yoke” is rabbinical language. Disciples were taught to take the yoke of the Rabbi, because that was a big part of following their leader. But unlike the Rabbis of Jesus’ day, the offer of Jesus is that His...

 2 Timothy 2:19 https://open.spotify.com/episode/1A9oRmA2aECGC58bL6n8BT https://biblehub.com/parallel/2_timothy/2-19.htm

Devotional Matthew 9:35-38/Matthew 10:1-5 MATT HASSELBECK SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD After being drafted and spending three years with the Green Bay Packers, I was traded to Seattle and given my first chance to be starting quarterback. While in Seattle I met several people who helped me grow in my understanding of what it meant to follow and obey Jesus. I used to look at evangelism as something somebody else needs to do, or something someone else is already doing. A conversation with fellow quarterback Trent Dilfer helped me realize that it was my responsibility to have an answer for the hope that lives inside of me. The scene in Matthew 9 must have been painful for Jesus. As he travels from one small Third World village to another, he notices the quality of people’s lives. What he sees breaks his heart. You can read it for yourself below. To discover what Jesus did, we need to pay more attention to what Jesus didn’t do. He saw a real need, but he didn’t jump into the immediate situation...

Matthew 4:18-25 Devotional JOSH McCOWN  DIFFERENT THAN I THOUGHT Have you ever found yourself placing unrealistic expectations on people? We do that in our friendships, our employee relationships, and our marriages. Most of the time we don’t even know we’re doing it. And unfortunately, we can also place unrealistic expectations on God. To be honest, it’s a really easy thing to do. We can come to expect Him to fulfill our future goals, results, and hoped-for outcomes. We dream of the results, and we expect Him to bring into existence what we already see. At best, it’s near-sighted. At worst, it’s idolatry. The future I expected was to play for one NFL team for years, enjoying a long and successful career in one city. Funny how things don’t always work out the way you think. As you read those stories in Matthew 4:18-25, it’s nearly impossible to miss Jesus' invitation to follow Him. That invitation has always challenged me. It’s such a “today only” thing. It strips away any expectati...

Devotional KABEER GBAJA-BIAMILA Acts 17:22-31 SEARCHING FOR TRUTH I was raised in a good family. Both of my parents came from Nigeria. My mom was a Christian, and my dad was a Muslim. As a young man, I quickly adopted my father’s faith system. When I was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, the Director of Player Development entered my life. His name was Gill. I watched as Gill lived his life. I watched the way he treated his wife and children. This guy was a man’s man, and he was also a Christ-follower. One day he challenged me by looking me in the eyes and boldly proclaiming, “You and I don’t worship the same god.” I was challenged, insulted, and a little angry. But some of us need that kind of slap-in-the-face challenge to begin our own search of truth.  And that day, my search began. I was like the people of Athens; everyone could see that I was very religious, but also ignorant of the very thing I claimed to worship. I began to search in the direction of Christianity by picking u...