Tag Archives: bible study on

September 17, 2025 · 5:36 AM

Spiritual Recalibration

When I was in my teens I was in a scouting program through my church. When it came time to earn my orienteering badge I had to get a compass. The first thing I remember learning about it was that the little, metal arrow inside was magnetized and that’s how it found north. I went on to learn that it was pointing to magnetic north instead of True North. The North Pole of the earth never shifts. It is a geographic constant, but magnetic north is constantly moving. Because of that, and our reliance on maps in our phones, software companies have to send packets every so often to recalibrate north on our devices so they stay up to date with it.

In Luke 22, after spending up to three years with Jesus, Peter was confronted by a teen girl who accused him of being a follower of Jesus. He denied knowing Jesus just as he had been told he would. Not long after, in John 21, Jesus pulled Peter aside to ask him, “Do you love me?” Then He told Peter to feed His sheep. What Jesus was doing was recalibrating Peter’s heart and directing it back to True North. Once he was recalibrated, we read how he went on to be one of the Early Church leaders, led thousands to Jesus and even became a martyr. It was a significant turn around in his life and for the Church.

Colossians 3:1-2 says, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (NLT). There are a lot of distractions in this world that take our eyes off of Jesus, Heaven and eternity. It’s easy to take our eyes off of True North and to begin following the magnetic north of this world that is constantly changing. Paul’s reminder to us here is that we need to keep recalibrating our hearts and minds to look beyond this life and to keep our eyes on Jesus. When is the last time you asked Jesus to recalibrate your heart and mind? Today is a great day to reset and refocus on what matters most.

Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 15, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Kingdom Dominion

In Genesis 1, as God was about to make man He said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion…” (NKJV) Before sin entered the world, He instituted His Kingdom on earth and gave man the responsibility to have dominion. We were commissioned with a divine assignment to bring Heaven’s culture to earth. He then gave man His image, much like a signet ring, to have authority over everything. However, when the Fall happened, the call to Kingdom dominion remained, but our capacity became compromised.

Jesus coming to earth was not only meant to restore us to God, but also to the life of Kingdom dominion He created us to live. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray in Matthew 6, Jesus started out by restoring His Kingdom mandate. He prayed, “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus restored a governmental order that sin clouded. He restored our purpose and recommissioned us to bring the culture of Heaven to a world darkened by sin. Then before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus said that all power (absolute rule and authority) had been given to Him as He recommissioned us to go and make disciples who would be Kingdom carriers.

In Christ you are an image bearer with His authority. What sin tried to take away, Jesus restored. You have been given authority to cultivate the Kingdom of Heaven in your home, on your job and wherever you go. Walk in the authority He has given you, not to dominate, but to demonstrate the culture of the Kingdom. You are to enter every room as Heaven’s representative. You carry Kingdom authority, so walk like a citizen of Heaven, speak like an ambassador and love like the King of Kings. Use your Kingdom dominion to not only change the environment around you, but to shift the atmosphere as you help God’s Kingdom and will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Photo by Gvantsa Javakhishvili on Unsplash

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

September 12, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Peace Of God

Ever since the Fall, when sin entered the world, fear and chaos have tried to torment, shape and affect us. It’s hard to make decisions when they are flooding our mind. Thankfully, God offers us peace that passes understanding. He offers clarity instead of confusion. It’s up to us on whether we will allow the Prince of Peace to guard our heart and mind. He has not given us a spirit of fear. He has given us His peace for every situation. It is a gift from God to you if you will receive it.

Here are some Bible verses on the peace that God gives:

1. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

John 14:27 NLT

2. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 NLT

3. You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

Isaiah 26:3 AMP

4. GOD makes his people strong. GOD gives his people peace.

Psalm 29:11 MSG

5. I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people. But let them not return to their foolish ways.

Psalms 85:8 NLT

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 11, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Breath Of Life

I’ve been in the right place at the right time to save people’s lives. I’ve saved a friend who was drowning and couldn’t swim. I’ve done the Heimlich on someone who was chocking. I’ve even talked a couple of people off the ledge when they felt they had nothing to live for. However, I have never had to use CPR thankfully, even though I’ve been trained in it. CPR is unique in that you’re taking your breath and giving it to someone to bring life. It’s one of the greatest gifts you could ever give someone.

In Genesis, we read where God breathed into Adam and he became a living being. God’s breath brings greater life than our breath ever could. In 2 Timothy 3:16 we read, “God has transmitted his very substance into every Scripture, for it is God-breathed. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness” (TPT). His Word is life to each of us who breath it in and apply it to our lives. Remember that Jesus came to give life, and that more abundantly.

Isaiah 42:5 says, “God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth” (NLT). God has given you His breath to give you life and to bring things back to life that you thought were dead. If God promised something to you that has yet to be accomplished, it will surely come to pass. Speak His Word, that He breathed into, over those areas of your life. His Word will not fail (Luke 11:37), nor will it return accomplishing what He said (Isaiah 55:11). Ask God today to breath life into those areas and have faith that He will do it.

Photo by Stephen Cook on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

September 10, 2025 · 5:48 AM

A Posture Of Pursuit

In my first year of marriage, my wife pointed out a habit of mine that I didn’t know I had. When I would walk in the door to my home, I would go straight to the remote control and turn on the TV. I wouldn’t watch it. I would just have it on as background noise. When she asked why I did it if I wasn’t going to watch it, I didn’t have an answer. It occurred to me that many of us treat the Lord this way in our life. He’s just background noise. We don’t really pursue him or pay attention to Him until we need something. He’s constantly talking to us, but we aren’t really listening because we aren’t pursuing Him.

As David wrote Psalm 61, he was fleeing King Saul. He was displaced from his home, his family and friends while having to live in the desert wilderness. The first verse says, “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water” (NLT). He didn’t have the posture of despair despite his situation. Instead he was seeking the Lord continually. He compared his need for the Lord to the need his body had for water while living in the desert. His posture wasn’t one of complaint regarding his situation. It was one of praise and understanding of how much he truly needed the Lord.

Psalm 105:4 says, “Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.” We must be purposeful in our pursuit of the Lord. We must seek Him for strength to help us each and every day. Instead of seeking affirmations from social media when you wake up, seek Him. Instead of complaining about the day, praise Him. Start your day with worship instead of worry. Ask God for direction and guidance. When He moves from background noise in your life to the One you pursue and seek, everything changes. When you pursue Him as your greatest need, you can be content in whatever situation you find yourself in.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

September 8, 2025 · 5:48 AM

A Heart Of Compassion

I knew a girl who grew up in church, but started going out to clubs once she hit 21. It wasn’t long before she posted she was pregnant. Her posts stated how she needed help as a single mom. After the baby was born she struggled to find a job to pay enough for someone to watch her baby. She bounced from job to job and apartment to apartment with each post stating how hard life was. The more posts she made, honestly the less compassion I felt for her situation. I went from wanting to help with baby items to she put herself in this situation. My heart began to grow hard instead of seeing her through the eyes of compassion. She is just one example of a shift in compassion in my life. It challenges me to want to be more like Jesus instead.

In Matthew 9, Jesus talked about how healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. He raised a little girl from the dead, He called a tax collector to follow Him and healed a blind person. The chapter starts to wrap up with a comment about Jesus going through many towns and then an observation from the tax collector. He wrote, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (NLT). He never quit having compassion on people whether their predicament was self inflicted or not. He recognized they were confused and helpless. Then in the very next verse Jesus said the harvest is great, but the workers are few. I wonder if the workers are few because of our lack of compassion.

Colossians 3:12 says, “You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others” (TPT). Robing ourselves with the virtues of God is an act we must do that doesn’t come natural. We must become merciful as we see others in their needs and compassionate as we show kindness to everyone. The way we do that is to be gentle and humble towards them whether they created their mess or not. Jesus modeled these virtues for us to follow as His workers in the field. If you struggle with this sometimes like I do, ask God to give you eyes to see people the way He does and to have His heart of compassion.

Photo by Monstera Production on Pexels.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 5, 2025 · 5:57 AM

Come To The Altar

Tomorrow I’ll join hundreds of pastors, church leaders and Christians throughout Texas to pray for our state and nation. The theme is “Meet in the Field, Come to the Altar. Gather at the Table.” I grew up in a church that had a long bench at the front that we called “the altar.” It’s named after altars in the Bible. Altars are a place where God meets people. It’s where we surrender to Him. It’s also a place where we receive power, revelation and forgiveness. In the Bible people built altars when the had a encounter with God. Then there was a permanent one built in Jerusalem that everyone could come to. Each of us need an altar where we go to encounter God, remember who He is and what He’s done.

Here are some Bible verses on altars in the Bible:

1. At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached [the altar] and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob), let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and that I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back [to You].”

1 Kings 18:36-37 AMP

2. There he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.

Genesis 35:7 ESV

3. You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause My Name to be recorded and remembered [through revelation of My divine nature] I will come to you and bless you.

Exodus 20:24 AMP

4. How I want to be there! I long to be in the Lord’s Temple. With my whole being I sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrows have built a nest, and the swallows have their own home; they keep their young near your altars, Lord Almighty, my king and my God.

Psalm 84:2-3 GNT

5. Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live. There I will go to the altar of God, to God—the source of all my joy. I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God!

Psalms 43:3-4 NLT

If you would like more information or to join us, click here.

Photo created with Microsoft Copilot.

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

September 4, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Symbiotic Encouragement

There are at least three types of relationships we need to have in our lives. If you don’t have these, you need to make them. The first one is where I’m the encourager. There are certain people in my life that need encouragement when they call or want to meet. Then there are the people who encourage me when I need it. Finally, the most important one is the one where you mutually encourage each other. These relationships are symbiotic and benefit both parties involved. It’s important that you identify who fit into these categories in your life. We all need to both encourage others and to be encouraged.

David and Jonathan had the symbiotic type relationship. They loved each other dearly, looked out for each other and encouraged one another. They learned to put the other’s needs ahead of their own, thereby bringing value to each other. In 1 Samuel 23, Jonathan’s father Saul was chasing David to kill him. Saul wanted Jonathan to succeed him as king, nut Jonathan valued David more than the position. In verse 16 it says, “Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God” (NLT). They then renewed their pact of encouragement to each other and Jonathan went home.

Who is that person in your life? Who is the one who comes running in your time of need? Who is it that when you both walk away from conversations you feel better? Chances are the two of you are intentional about your conversations and meetings. In Romans 1:12, Paul was looking forward to going to Rome to meet with the believers. He wrote, “When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.” Encouragement is born from intentionality. It doesn’t just happen. Be praying that you would be an encourager, that there would be someone in your life who encourages you and most importantly that you would find a person to share symbiotic encouragement with.

Photo by Joseph Karges on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 2, 2025 · 5:35 AM

Don’t Manage Sin

My mother in law loves plants. She has plants all over her yard and on her porch. When she lived with us for a while she planted some in our yard too. There is one that I hate. It gets wide and it’s invasive. I cut it down with the weedeater, and it grew back. I dig it up once, and it grew again. We had a freeze that killed it. So I thought. It grew back. I tried poison and everything else you can think of, but it kept coming back. Finally, I took the shovel, dig out the whole flowerbed around it two feet deep, got everything root or pod I could find and then put in new dirt. That finally got rid of it. I hope.

Hebrews 11:25-26 says, “He (Moses) chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward” (NLT). I wonder how hard it was for Moses at times to go in the palace and not want to return to the freedoms and luxury he grew up with. Did he see the delicacies he once ate and get tempted? Egypt is often used as a metaphor for sin throughout the Bible. Our sin nature tries to call us back often. We read here how Moses chose daily not to enjoy those pleasures. He didn’t partake in temporary pleasures at the expense of the eternal ones.

Galatians 5:24 says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.” Notice it doesn’t say they manage them at the cross. No, we have to crucify (kill) them there. Like that plant, they’ll keep coming back if we don’t crucify them. Sin doesn’t lose its power because, we try to not do that anymore. We must choose like Moses live as one of God’s people rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin. We must choose not to allow sin to rule our life anymore or dictate our choices. As Paul said here, it must be crucified at the cross so it doesn’t keep popping back up.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 1, 2025 · 5:33 AM

Inconvenient Opportunities

Years ago I saw a video of Arnold Schwarzenegger telling how he became Mr. Olympia seven times and Mr. Universe five times. He said he would get up early and workout before he went to his job. Then after working all day, when everyone else went out for dinner and drinks, we would go back to working out. He said that he would work out even when he wasn’t feeling it because he had a desire to win those titles. He pushed himself in the hard times and on the days when he felt unmotivated because he knew if he didn’t do the work then, he wouldn’t achieve the results he was working for.

In Genesis 6, God told Noah to build an ark. Eva use there was going to be a flood. After getting the instructions from God, he went to work. When people didn’t understand, he kept building. Before there was a drop of rain, he kept building. He obeyed even when it wasn’t convenient, when things were t going well and when people mocked him. He trusted what God said more than he trusted his current situation. When the rains and flood came, he had the only thing floating. His obedience in the hard times paid off when the rains came.

Proverbs 20:4 says, “The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing” (NKJV). The lazy person gives up in the times of inconvenience. What he doesn’t understand is that faithfulness in the season of plowing determines your fruitfulness in the season of harvest. There’s always an excuse to not do what God is asking, especially when it’s inconvenient and you don’t see any movement from God. Keep plowing though. Your harvest depends on your obedience in the hard times. God’s greatest opportunities often come wrapped in inconveniences. Will you be faithful when you’re not feeling it so you can receive a harvest later?

Photo by Kenji Elzerman on Unsplash

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,