Daily Reflections From God's Word

A daily devotional blog

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What the Mountains Taught Me About the Valley

Last summer, while driving through Wyoming and Colorado, I noticed something that challenged an assumption I’d carried for years. The valleys weren’t the difficult part of the journey. They were broad. Open. In many places, I could see for miles. The roads were relatively gentle, and obstacles could often be spotted long before I reached them. It was the mountains that demanded my full…

What the Mountains Taught Me About the Valley

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The Blessing You Didn’t Pray For

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…” — James 1:17 A song came to mind this week that asks a series of thought-provoking questions. What if the things we call hardships are sometimes the very means by which God accomplishes His greatest work in our lives? It isn’t asking whether pain is enjoyable.It isn’t suggesting that loss somehow becomes pleasant. Instead, it challenges…

The Blessing You Didn’t Pray For

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Sunday Studies - Mercy Offends: Lessons from Jonah 4

Most of us know the story of Jonah. We remember the storm. The great fish. The reluctant prophet finally walking through the streets of Nineveh proclaiming God’s coming judgment. What often surprises people is that the real climax of the book doesn’t happen when Jonah is swallowed by the fish. It happens after Nineveh repents. The greatest revival recorded in the Old Testament had just…

Sunday Studies - Mercy Offends: Lessons from Jonah 4

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The Only Opinion That Ultimately Matters

“For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” — 1 John 3:20 Someone once shared a thought that has stayed with me: “Sometimes maturing in Christ means letting people believe things about you that aren’t true, remaining quiet, and trusting God to defend you.” That isn’t always easy. Everything inside us wants to explain ourselves, defend our motives, and…

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A Matter of Perspective

Over the past few days, I’ve shared my thoughts regarding a controversy that has generated no shortage of opinions. Some have agreed. Others have strongly disagreed. That’s okay. I’ve said what I believe Scripture requires me to say, and I don’t intend to continue debating it. But as I’ve reflected on the discussion, my thoughts have drifted toward something much bigger. Perspective. Jesus…

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The Lesson Beneath the Lessons

“Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful…” — Luke 10:41-42 Over the past few weeks, we’ve reflected on David’s years in the pasture before the palace. We’ve talked about waiting seasons, clearing the rubble, staying on the wall, looking back, the Cabinetmaker reshaping old wood into a new purpose, and Joseph waiting for years, forgotten in a…

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"A Higher Standard: When Loyalty and Scripture Collide"

I know this post may ruffle feathers. It may cost me relationships. Some will disagree with me, and that’s their right. But there are times when remaining silent would trouble my conscience more than speaking. Over the past few days, I’ve watched the discussion surrounding the incident involving Rev. Tony Spell. I’ve listened to the explanations. I’ve read the comments. I’ve watched the…

"A Higher Standard: When Loyalty and Scripture Collide"

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Looking Back

“Remember Lot’s wife.” — Luke 17:32 Those three words from Jesus have always fascinated me. Out of all the people and stories He could have referenced, Jesus pointed His listeners back to a woman whose name we don’t even know. Most people focus on what she did. She looked back. But I wonder if the deeper issue wasn’t where her eyes were focused. Perhaps it was where her heart…

Looking Back

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Truth Be Told…

Father’s Day has always been a difficult day for me. I lost my father in 1985… and the man who stepped in and helped raise me only three years later. So when I see little boys & young men sitting beside their fathers in church, I notice. When I see men my age spending Father’s Day with their dads, I notice. When I see fathers and sons fishing together, working together, or simply sharing life…

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Different Perspective on a Different Day

Yesterday, I listened to a song I’ve heard for decades. Or so I thought. Like most people, I knew the chorus. What I didn’t know very well were the verses. As I listened, one line stopped me in my tracks: “It may have a new perspective, on a different day.” The older I get, the more I realize that some of life’s deepest truths are hidden in those few words… Father’s Day always brings two men…

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Give Me Truth

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”— Henry David Thoreau Truth sounds noble… until it costs you something. It’s easy to praise truth when it’s inspirational. It’s much harder when truth isolates you, threatens your comfort, damages your reputation, or costs you relationships. Biblical truth has always carried a price tag. Ask Noah. The man spent decades building an ark…

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A Building Worth Saving

Last summer while visiting Wyoming, I found myself standing in front of three old buildings. All three were historic.All three had survived for more than a century.Yet each one told a very different story. The first building, in Saratoga, showed the effects of years of neglect. The paint was gone. Windows were broken. Parts of the structure appeared abandoned. While there was likely still a…

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Scripture Is Not About Me… But It Still Reveals Me

Yesterday, we talked about James describing God’s Word as a mirror. That thought sparked some interesting discussion. One person commented that the Bible is written so we can see Christ and follow God—not so we can see ourselves. In one sense, I completely agree. The Bible is not primarily a self-help book. It is the revelation of God. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture points us to God’s…

Scripture Is Not About Me… But It Still Reveals Me

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When the Mirror Turns Around

Most of us read ourselves into the role we’d like to play. We’re David facing Goliath. Daniel standing in the lion’s den. Joseph resisting temptation. Esther risking everything for her people. And to be fair, there are seasons when we find ourselves in those stories. There are times when we must stand in faith, endure hardship, or trust God in difficult circumstances. But the longer I live,…

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When Doing The Right Thing Still Costs You

Most people remember Joseph for resisting temptation. We know the story. Potiphar’s wife repeatedly attempted to seduce him, but Joseph refused. When she finally grabbed his garment, he fled the house rather than compromise his integrity. It’s one of the clearest examples of resisting temptation found anywhere in Scripture. But that’s not where Joseph’s real trial began. That’s where it…

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The Watchman on the Wall

Isaiah 62:6 NKJV “I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent.” Recently I found myself drawn to two passages in Isaiah. The first was Isaiah 52:7: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who bringstt good news…” The second was Isaiah 62:6: “I have set watchmen on your…

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Songs That Wreck Me — “The God Who Stays"

There are songs that catch you off guard. Not because they’re clever, but because they speak straight into the wounds you thought had finally healed. The God Who Stays by Matthew West did that to me this morning.

Driving to work, the words hit harder than I expected:

“If I were You, I would’ve given up on me by now…”

I felt that. Because if I’m honest, there were years when I did give up on me. I wore the label beyond repair. I thought the damage I’d done — to myself, to people I loved, to the life I once envisioned — had written the final chapter.

But then came that line:

“Oh, but somehow You don’t see me like I do… somehow You’re still here.”

And in that moment, all I could think of was Romans 8:38–39 (NKJV):

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come… shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We see failure.

He sees future.

We see distance.

He sees redemption in progress.

We see a mess.

He sees the clay still on the wheel.

There were years when I hid every time I thought I’d let Him down — convinced I had to earn my way back into His favor. But grace doesn’t work that way. It’s not a reward for good behavior; it’s a rescue for the broken.

And the bridge of that song drives it home:

“My shame can’t separate…

My past can’t separate…

My sin can’t separate…

I’m Yours forever.”

It echoes Psalm 139:7–10 (NKJV):

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? …If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.”

Even when I walked away...

He ran toward me.

Even when I broke promises...

He stayed faithful.

Even when I thought I’d gone too far...

He whispered, “You were never out of My reach.”

So today, I’m grateful for the God who doesn’t walk away when I’m ashamed — but runs toward me with arms wide open.

Final Word:

No matter how far you’ve drifted or how broken you feel, the God who called you still stays. Nothing you’ve done can separate you from His love — and nothing you’ve lost is beyond His power to restore.