Devotionals
A daily word of encouragement, exhortation and edification, drawn from the Scriptures.
Quench Not The Spirit
The title of this post comes from 1 Thess 5:19. When I read that passage the other day, I ‘flashed’ on another verse, Gal 5:22, where we find that the fruit of God’s Spirit is love. When we act, think, or speak in an unloving fashion, the Holy Spirit is quenched. I...
Caring Is God’s Will
When Jesus told the story about the good Samaritan in Luke 10, it is written that he took care of the beaten individual. What a beautiful demonstration of God’s love! The follower of Jesus should be a caring person. Paul wrote that the Body of Christ should have the...
The Crown Of Humility
The first reference to humility in Scripture is found in Exodus 10:3 where the Lord, speaking through Moses, asks Pharaoh how long he would refuse to humble himself before God and let His people go. Basically, Pharaoh was stubbornly refusing to submit to God’s Word....
For Those Who Fail
The Bible is full of episodes of godly men and women who have failed. Past failures can really do a number on your mind. Can you imagine how David felt when he sinned with Bathsheba and then implemented his ‘cover-up’ plan? How do you think the apostle Paul dealt with...
Separated Unto God
The apostle Paul’s life was “split up” into three stages of separation. First of all, he recognized that his human birth was not an accident, but rather a separation by God from his mother’s womb. Secondly, he was separated unto the gospel of God. Thirdly, we find the...
The Work Of God’s Spirit
After we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. This coming to Jesus for salvation is through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, by whom we are then baptized into the body of Christ. We have this witness of the Spirit inside...
The Riches of Redemption
When Paul pens this heavenly minded, God glorifying, Christ exalting letter to the Ephesians, he is sitting in a dungy prison cell. As he sits in a dungeon of squalor, the riches of his redemption captivate his mind. Paul was not Superman. He was a man of passions...
The Peril of Mocking God
Galatians 6:7,8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. What does it mean...
Let Us Pray
Ezra 8:21-23 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and...
Blessed Assurance
There appears to be a lot of uncertainty these days regarding the eternal security of the believer. Scripture tells us that Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith and that we are complete in Him. In other words, the completeness of my salvation is entirely...
Grace To Prepare For Eternity
In our study this morning, the Holy Spirit issues a warning to those who call themselves saints but do not live saintly lives. Sadly, the grace of God has been interpreted by some to mean that as long as I “come to Christ”, it doesn't matter how I live. Nothing could...
Sleep – A Blessing And A Curse
The Bible tells us that God gives to His beloved sleep. It is a great source of peace to know that as disciples of Jesus Christ, we can be assured of His protection while we are asleep. Because Christ doesn’t sleep, He will watch over our households. How important it...
Go!
Matthew 28:18-20 is called ‘The Great Commission’. It’s a command given to Christ’s disciples to proclaim His gospel to every creature and then teach them how to walk with Jesus. This mandate is not merely a good idea or just a wonderful suggestion, but it is a...
Wondrous Things
Our God only does wondrous things. No matter how things feel, no matter how bleak our circumstances may be, this we know -- our God is doing something wonderful. That is partly because our Lord Jesus is wonderful Himself. The God of Scripture alone is God. He is the...
Storms 101
Mark 4:35-37 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. ...And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the...
Walking In Newness Of Life
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 True faith in Christ will produce a new way of living. We will “walk in newness of life.” Right in the middle of our study verses...
Requirements Of Grace
Grace does not mean that the child of God is not required to do anything. On the contrary, grace is the power of God that enables us to do those things that please Him. Jesus is not only the giver of grace, He is also the example of grace. God forbid that we should...
Hold On To Faith
The writer to the Hebrews exhorts us to “hold fast the profession of our faith” (or “the confession of our hope”- NKJ) “without wavering,” the reason being that “He who promised is faithful.” Absolute trust in our Lord Jesus is the root of unwavering faith. Like...
Share Your Gifts
After His ascension into heaven, Jesus gave gifts to His church. We see that these giftings are by grace, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. These gifts are to equip the saints for service and bring glory to the Lord. What an awesome, all-equipping God we...
Faint or Pray?
Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Jesus concluded Luke chapter 17 with a discourse on the last days and the fact that He would be coming again. And He likened the last days to the days of Noah;...
Remember And Do
God instructed the nation of Israel to make a blue fringe, or tassel, on the borders of their garments. (Num 15:38) Blue is a color that reminds us of heaven. How important it is for us to remind ourselves daily that heaven is our home, and on this earth, we roam as...
Access To God
To have access to God means that you and I have the ability to communicate or approach the Lord at will. Jesus Christ has made God the Father accessible. Each and every child of God is now able to have personal fellowship with the Lord. We can bring all of our prayers...
Good Works
Works do not save us, but a genuine faith will produce good works. Jesus Himself came to do the work of God, and we are called to follow His example. Jesus’ works didn’t make Him become the Messiah; they proved that He is the Messiah. Our works are the visible...
From Faith To Flesh
King Asa was one of the good kings of Judah. He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. He led Judah in the things of the Lord, and because of this total pursuit of God, they experienced rest on every side. But as we all know, sooner or later the enemy...
Wisdom – Obedience = Vanity
It seems almost impossible to believe that a person can have God appear to him two different times, given wisdom and understanding and still end up turning away from God. Actually, the reason is simple, and that is that wisdom apart from obedience to God’s written...
He Cares
I find one of the most frustrating things to deal with in the ministry to be the hopelessness that is sometimes projected by a hurting fellow believer. Certainly life has its bumps, but let’s not forget in Whom we have believed! What you and I need to get from our...
Perfect Peace
When we hear the word “peace” we may instinctively think of a calm summer night with a beautiful sunset covering a quiet lake. No phone calls, noise, or responsibilities to disturb our tranquility. Pretty peaceful, right? And thank God for those occasional vacations...
What Is Your Desire?
The Scriptures have a wealth of information regarding different desires that exist in humanity. For example, the desire of a righteous man is for good, but the greedy desire of the slothful is deadly; and the desire of the wicked shall perish. In other words, it will...
Pleasing God
Pleasing God doesn’t sound very theological, does it? The fact of the matter is, though, that it is the very essence of our theology. We would probably all agree that we like to be pleased, but how about doing the things that please Jesus? Our Lord said, “If you love...
The Sting Of Pride
Pride is perhaps the gravest sin in humans. It overestimates self and underestimates God and others. The Bible tells us quite a bit about this ugly sin. For one thing, God hates pride and arrogance in any area of life, whether it is spiritual pride (like the Pharisees...
True Freedom
Today we celebrate our freedom as a nation. Our history is filled with heroic acts of men and women who have laid down their lives for our freedom. How thankful we are for such sacrifices that have been made, and are presently being made, in order that our freedom can...
About Me
I am the Lead Pastor of Koinonia Fellowship, a husband, father and grandfather. I also serve on the worship team as one of the drummers.