Devotionals
A daily word of encouragement, exhortation and edification, drawn from the Scriptures.
Kingdom Facts or Fellowship with The King?
Matthew 2:1-2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. It...
The Realm of God’s Kingdom
Matthew 19:16-24 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the...
Kingdom Power
Matthew 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. A vital part of the kingdom of God is understanding that devils, or demonic forces of darkness, are cast out by The Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus said in Luke...
A Kingdom Study
Mark 1:14-15 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. What is the kingdom of God? It is a realm...
Divine Power
Ephesians 3:20,21 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Paul seemed to want to use...
Godward, Christ-centered Looking
An integral part of a healthy walk with Christ stems from what we choose to focus on in life. The Christian life is a supernatural life that is lived in the natural realm. When the apostle Paul was writing to the church at Corinth about being at home in the body, but...
What is sin?
Outside of the Holy Scriptures, one of the most convicting and compelling definitions of sin that I have come across is this by John Piper, courtesy of a Desiring God Ministries. I used this at the end of my Resurrection Sunday Message yesterday. Thanks to all those...
Who is like Me?
In Micah 7:18 we read Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy (loving-kindness; stedfast love). 7:19 He will turn again,...
GO!
In Matthew’s gospel, we read these words. "Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted." This was not their first meeting with the risen Jesus; but it was...
Forgiven and forgiving
Psalm 32 is a psalm of David. It’s called a Maschil which means that it is a Psalm of instruction. It is a Psalm that instructs us about the right way and wrong way to deal with sin. The right way is to bring it into the light, the wrong way is to seek to justify it,...
Taking God's Name in vain
Prov 30.88 "Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 Lest I be full, and deny [thee], and say, Who [is] the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God [in vain]." We see here in...
Information or intimacy?
The prophet Jeremiah wrote, Jer 9.23 "Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise [man] glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty [man] glory in his might, let not the rich [man] glory in his riches: 24 but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and...
Grace to help
Heb 4.16 "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." What is the difference between mercy and grace? Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. Because of...
A pastor looks at the 23rd Psalm
One of the most beloved Psalms in the Bible is the 23rd Psalm. This morning beloved, I urge you to get alone with Jesus and read this breakdown of this Psalm and what it means for those who turn to Jesus as Savior and Lord. The Lord is my Shepherd - That's...
Peace, quietness and assurance forever
Isaiah 32:17 "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever." Good morning, loved ones. I am actually writing this devotional while waiting for some blood work to be taken. I did not mention that to make...
The fullness of God for the glory of God
The Spirit-inspired prayer of Paul in Ephesians 3.14-21 is breathtaking, beloved. There is no way that I could even scratch the surface of the weightiness and vastness of what is being taught here. Human language falls so far short of this revelation of God towards...
God's Lovingkindness
Psalms 143:8 "Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee." May this verse be a part of your morning prayers, beloved. Lord, cause me to hear your...
His Name is as ointment poured forth
Song of Songs 1:3 "Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name [is as] ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee." God's Name is likened to both a sweet fragrance and ointment. Have you ever walked into a room that was filled with the sweet...
Watch and Pray
In answer to the disciples' question about signs of the destruction of the Temple (which was fulfilled in 70 AD), and the end of the world, we have what is known as a near and far prophecy. My meditation today is not in particular about those prophecies per se, as...
Witnesses for Jesus
The book of Acts records these parting words of Jesus Christ to His disciples; "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part...
Six ingredients of effective prayer
We have scheduled three weeks of concerted prayer for the year 2014 in addition to the many prayer meetings we already have here at Koinonia each week. Why have done so? We are living in perilous times, and there is need for desperate prayers to express those...
Fearing God, the key for strong confidence
The book of Proverbs tells us that "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge." Beloved, do you want to have strong confidence today? Fear God. The Hebrew word for confidence also speaks of assurance; but it is an...
Remembering God (Part 2)
Paul tells us that there are lessons that the church can learn from the history of the nation of Israel. One of those important lessons is seeing how quickly they forgot what God had done for them. Psalm 106 records Israel's "spiritual amnesia", "they remembered not...
The importance of remembering God
The Psalmist wrote, "some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." Why is it that we tend to forget what we should remember? How important it is for the people of God to remember The Name of The Lord our God? Of course...
The gods of men and The Living God
In Isaiah chapter 46, The Spirit of God says, "Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy laden; they are a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the...
The Pleasures of God
Psalm 111.2 says, "the works of the LORD [are] great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." Dear ones, are we among those who seek out the pleasures of God? There are pleasures in God that cannot be found in the world. Proverbs 21:17 says that "he that...
The war on sin
1Pe 2:11 "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts (sensual urges; the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature), which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation (a man's whole conduct) honest...
The beauty of humility
1Pe 5:5 "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble (Prov 3.34). 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of...
The love of Christ
The Shulamite woman, speaking of her husband, declared in Song of Songs 2:4 "He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." This is nothing less than a picture of the love of Jesus Christ for His bride, the church. The apostle Paul couples...
Jesus, our portion
The Psalmist wrote, Psalms 142:5 "I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou [art] my refuge [and] my portion in the land of the living." How wonderful it is to have Jesus Christ for our portion today, dear ones. This declaration of God being the believer's portion is a...
God's Benefits
The Psalmist declared in 68:19, "Blessed [be] the Lord, [who] daily loadeth us [with benefits, even] the God of our salvation. Selah." As the dawning of a new day is upon us beloved, may the precious truth that God has loaded our life today with benefits grip our...
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.