Pastor’s Blog

Daily Devotion August 24, 2023

Posted on Aug 24, 2023 in Pastor's Blog |

“…go down to the shore and throw in a line and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin to cover the taxes for both of us; take it and pay them” (Matthew 17:27, TLB).

Some of the best fishing stories involve the one that didn’t get away. Such is the case for a high school freshman from Minnesota. Connor Halsa reeled in an unusual catch while fishing with his family in Iowa. Connor set his hook into a wallet filled with $2000 in cash at Lake of the Woods.

Daily Devotion August 23, 2023

Posted on Aug 23, 2023 in Pastor's Blog |

“There Elijah went into a cave and stayed all night. Then the LORD spoke his word to him: “Elijah! Why are you here?” (1 Kings 19:9, NCV).

I encountered a nudge yesterday. It wasn’t the first time she had prompted me. My wife asked me for the umpteenth time if I had spoken to a dear friend. I hadn’t. I can’t recall the last time my friend and I spoke.

Daily Devotion August 22, 2023

Posted on Aug 22, 2023 in Pastor's Blog |

Get all the advice you can, and you will succeed; without it you will fail” (Proverbs 15:22, GNT).

What is orange, has four wheels, and sleeps three? Answer: a department of transportation vehicle. Well, it appears that someone fell asleep at the wheel when a misspelled sign was posted on the eastbound side of I-74 at exit fourteen outside of Cincinnati. The letters C-H-E-V-O-I-T were printed rather than the correct city name of C-H-E-V-I-O-T.

Daily Devotion August 4, 2023

Posted on Aug 4, 2023 in Pastor's Blog |

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23, NLT).

As a fisherman, I have a complicated relationship with the lotus. The American lotus is a wildflower that grows around the edges of ponds and in river backwaters. The fragrant yellow flower can open to a width of ten inches.

Daily Devotion August 3, 2023

Posted on Aug 3, 2023 in Pastor's Blog |

“Let no harmful word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for building others up according to the need, so that it gives grace to those who hear it” (Ephesians 4:29, TLV).

Six years ago, a dear friend posted a modern-day parable on his Facebook page. The story is of two boys who climbed a tree. Ethan and Liam were swinging from branches high above the ground when a tremendous wind threatened to blow them out of the tree. Liam’s mother cried out, “Don’t fall, Liam,” while Ethan’s father shouted, “Hang on, son.”

Daily Devotion August 2, 2023

Posted on Aug 2, 2023 in Pastor's Blog |

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to him” (Luke 4:18-19, TLB).

In 2003, I had the privilege of standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I stood on the very spot from which Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his infamous address. With the Washington Monument looming above in the background, Dr. King delivered the words, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”