My friend and I met for coffee to discuss an upsetting event. She made a mistake that could have resulted in tragedy but did not. However, the incident did point out a shortcoming or two of hers that resulted in experiencing some painful consequences.She was distraught. She was ashamed of her mistake; she was angry…

One of the ways we love one another well is to pray for each other. On this National Day of Prayer, we want to link arms to pray for and with each other, to become one voice in unity. We are always better when we do things together, and this applies…

Blessed with the experience of others who have walked this path of recovery we often find common ground in prayers, poems and meditations that have been helpful to others. Their experience can guide us. This poem is an adaptation of a poem “Salutation of the Dawn”, author unknown:Look to this day! [Pause and observe the…

Robert Murray McCheyne was a local pastor in Dundee, Scotland, who died in 1843 at the age of 29. No extraordinary events in his life made him likely to be remembered. But he had a very precious friend, Andrew Bonar, a nearby pastor. And within two years Andrew had published Memoir and Remains of Robert…

I’ve been writing or I’ve been published now for over seven years yet, would you believe, it wasn’t until 2018 that I saw a return on my investment. I haven’t met my goal of one million pages read on Kindle Unlimited, yet. I haven’t doubled my income, yet, I haven’t been able to pay off…

Audio Transcript Why did God alienate disabled persons in the Old Testament? It’s a really good question today from a listener named Gina. “Hello, Pastor John. I’m reading through Leviticus in my Bible reading plan. One thing that has confused me is why God would not allow people with physical defects to approach the altar…

Over the course of our lifetime all four siblings in my family have had an opportunity to explore the wreckage of our past. Each of us have reached various conclusions about our family system of origin - not all of them are in sync. Most of us experienced seismic changes in our understanding of our…

My husband and I ran into one of our favorite coffee shops last week, desperate for a caffeine fix. I expected to leave with a vanilla cold press in hand; I did not expect to be reminded that God does miracles in His time, in His space. I really did not…

In 2019 Danielle Collins stormed onto the women’s tennis scene at the Australian Open. Having never won a match in a major, she made it to the semi-finals where she lost to P. Kvitová in two sets. Commentators did not know what to make of her brash confidence. When asked about her strategy of play…

The world financial situation bounces like a rubber ball. It’s fragile and unpredictable.  The morning news tells us the financial markets continue to tumble. Financial leaders are meeting to try to figure out how to avert panic. I clicked from the news to my devotional email and read the Bible verse Mike Woodard highlighted for…