Devotionals
A daily word of encouragement, exhortation and edification, drawn from the Scriptures.
Ambassadors For Christ
An ambassador is an individual who represents the policies and purposes of their homeland in a foreign country. As followers of Jesus Christ, you and I bear that honor of representing Jesus and His Kingdom in a world that is spiritually dark and alienated from Him....
A word to the wise: Stop Wrestling!
2 Pet 3.16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Whenever you find yourself...
Witnesses (part 2)
We talked about being witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ yesterday. Let’s look at this matter of being a witness again today. The Old Testament was a witness of the forthcoming gospel of The Messiah, The Christ, Jesus. "To him give all the prophets witness, that...
Fit For Life!
How concerned are you about your spiritual fitness? Have you ever considered that the perfect will of God for your life is that you be spiritually fit? As in an army, you and I are called to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. To be a good soldier, each of us must be in...
Holy Boldness
Eph 3.12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Boldness in the Christian life is based solely on the merits of Jesus Christ. It is not an emotion per se. It is not “being pumped up”. Boldness is rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ....
The Gospel According to Mark
We start the year 2018 with a study in the gospel of Mark. The word gospel, meaning good news, is found eight times in this gospel. Eight in Scripture is the number of new beginnings. How fitting that God would have us starting a new book, to start a new year, with...
Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus
Our meditation title today is taken from an old hymn that reminds us that the only thing that can wash away our sin is the blood of Jesus. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.” (Heb 9:22) God has decreed that blood makes atonement for our...
Spirit-Filled Praying
This morning we will examine this Spirit-filled prayer of Paul for the saints at Colosse (Col 1:9-14). Since all Scripture is inspired by God, you and I find in this prayer the perfect will of God for our lives, as well as a model to follow in praying for one another....
Not Guilty!
Today let's begin the year 2018 by remembering the perfect sacrifice that Jesus Christ paid for the forgiveness of our sin and the salvation of our souls. In today’s text from Zechariah 3:1-5, in a typical courtroom setting, Satan, identified as the accuser of the...
Jesus, the Sin Breaker
In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice. Prov 29.6 Sin is likened to something that traps a man. But before a man is trapped in a snare, he must first get lured in by the bait. Every good hunter or fisher knows...
In God’s Presence
When Peter and John stood before the Jewish council after the healing of the lame man, the Scriptures record that the rulers “marveled, and they realized that they had been with Jesus.” This statement cites a misconception that prevails in the minds of believers and...
The Day of Pentecost
Acts 2:1-13 The word Pentecost means “fiftieth day”. It signifies the start of the Jewish holiday that occurred 50 days after Passover. It was also known as the Festival of Weeks (Deut 16:10) and the Festival of Harvest (Exod 23:16). Every Jewish adult male was...
Jesus, The Hero Of The Untouchables
Jesus Christ came to this earth to save sinners, not destroy them. Theology has misrepresented the teaching of Scripture about the mission of Jesus. Some have portrayed an angry God; others a racist God. Today, to be “politically correct” (which is usually Biblically...
The Shoulders Of Jesus
Legalism places the burden of responsibility upon the shoulders of men. God never intended that we carry this heavy weight around. The government of God is to be placed upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ. This was beautifully typified in the Old Testament picture of...
Being An Example
The best witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ is called a living epistle. Our lives display a version of the Bible. As the Spirit of the living God works in our lives, we are changed into the image of Jesus Christ. As the light of the world, we are called to be...
Behold God!
The message of the incarnation is a God-centered, vertical-focused message. Throughout Scripture the greatness and majesty of The Lord is repeated, in order to humble the pride of man and reveal to them their need for a Lord and Savior. Today we will be looking at...
Shine For Jesus!
God has called us “out of darkness and into His marvelous light”. The day-to-day display of this ‘translation’ is a life that reflects Christ-like thinking and living. As we grow in Jesus from newborn to maturity, we shine amidst a lost and crooked world. This witness...
The Submissive Mind
What joy there is in submission to the leading of the Lord. We find in our Scriptures this morning (Phil 2:19-30) three men of God walking in submission to the leading of God’s Spirit. This submissive mind is what the mind of Christ4 is all about. As I prepared this...
Grace To The Finish
We see in our study this morning (Ephesians 2:8-10) that when a person is saved by grace, he or she certainly does not stop there! When Paul wrote of grace, he was thinking of a runner who seeks to win a race. Paul wasn’t running to win his salvation, but he was...
A Hymn Is About Him
I find it interesting when fellow Christians discuss worship, particularly when they say that they prefer hymns of old instead of contemporary worship songs. I too love the old hymns, but I also love the new hymns. You see, “old” hymns like “Amazing Grace,” “A Mighty...
What’s On Your Mind?
“As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” How interesting - the connection between our heart and our thinking. Renewing our mind is vital for spiritual health. The mind that we are to seek is the mind of Christ, the mind of the Spirit. Before our new birth in Christ, our...
Contentment
The word contentment is a rare jewel in today’s world. Sad to say, it is equally rare amongst the Bride of Christ. To be content carries the idea of being satisfied. Paul said that he learned to be content. Well, if he learned how to be content, the implication is...
Choose Life
As I was riding my bike recently, I passed by a town sign with the slogan, “Where Life Is Worth Living”. I couldn’t help questioning that statement as I rode on my merry old way. However, I realized that if a person, town, or country is not looking to Jesus as the...
Reality Checks
A study of the attributes of God is both edifying and terrifying. The God of Scripture cannot be fooled, tricked, bribed or manipulated. The Creator of the universe knows each of us better than we know ourselves. David, who knew the Lord as his Shepherd, requested...
Prophecy, Israel And The Gospel
It never ceases to amaze me, when I see newscasts from or about the Middle East, how rapidly prophecy is coming together. Interestingly enough, the average person on the street also displays ‘antenna ears’ when he/she hears about the Israeli-Arab situation. The...
Laying Down Our Lives – For Whom?
This individual is extremely popular. He has charisma, that “something special.” Someone said his words reflect “the feelings I feel.” The songs he wrote speak about love and truth. (Could they be psalms?) He has a staff who work night and day; some don’t even draw a...
Indiana Jones And The Christian Quest?
Perhaps you recall the movie or its ad on television: Archeologist Indiana Jones is on a journey to find “The Holy Grail”. Nothing will stop him! He’s on a mission ‘from God’. Determination and faith are some of Indy’s qualities that enable him to successfully...
You And Your Words
Whenever an extreme position on any Biblical principle is taken, there is a danger of setting aside any Scriptural instruction that remotely relates to the subject for fear of being labeled a heretic. I’ve found this to be true in the area of words. The ‘positive...
Motivation
Two people can be doing the exact same thing outwardly, and yet in their hearts be motivated by different reasons. This proposes a question that each one of us must answer. Why do you do the things that you do? There are only three possibilities: to please my fellow...
Sent Out
It is very common within the church to have misconceptions about the people God uses. We must admit that, like the world, we may tend to glamorize or make heroes out of individuals that God mightily used. Paul is probably one of those “giants.” When we read about...
Jesus, Our Example Of Prayer
After a very busy, draining day of ministry, Jesus rose up very early for a time with the Father in prayer. Jesus sets the example for prayer. We know that He frequently spent time in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Before choosing His first ‘ministry team’ He...
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.