Articles
Five Minutes At A Time
by Darlene Franklin, author of The 12-Month Guide to Better Prayer for Women. How does anyone, whether someone in the highly stressful position of pastor or in the continuing drama of a nursing home, rest in God when drama breaks out? By slaying our dragons,...
Invited
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10 NIV) Rejection he understood. He was well acquainted with ridicule. He had been teased about being short ever since he could remember. Growing up, he was always the butt of the jokes, the last one...
Our Amazing Bible!
Our Amazing Bible!, by Brian Simmons, lead Translator of The Passion Translation. It would be impossible to calculate how many lives have been changed forever by the power of the Bible, the living Word of God! My life was transformed forever because I believed the...
Truisms
“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom . . .” (Colossians 3:16a) Truisms are little sayings that attempt to communicate what seems to be self-evident truth. For example: “An apple a day keeps the doctor...
Identity
“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved . . .” (Colossians 3:12a NIV) Who you are has a direct bearing on how you behave. Who you think you are has even more bearing on how you behave. This is why the Apostle Paul labors to explain whom we are in...
Hear
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit . . .” Ephesians 1:13 (NASB) One day when my son was around six years old, he was getting into the Christmas...
PASTORS AND PIETISM: Part 3
Copyright © 2017 Roger Helland Recently, I had coffee with a long-time friend and colleague. We discussed the condition of our conference, and our pastors—some of whom were angry and combative—and of our own lives. We mused on the dire necessity for today’s church and...
Voice
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6 NIV) You have a gift from God. Using your gift makes you a gift from God (Rm. 12:3-8). Your gift is your voice for God. God speaks...
Look
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15) The viper struck you before you even saw it. You immediately felt the searing pain of its venom. It...
Recoup
Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27 NASB) Monday is my day off. Often, writing a devotion on a Monday morning can prove very difficult. It goes something like this. I wake up, make coffee, take my dog out, and...
Thanks
“Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Thessalonians 5:18 BSB) Heavenly Father, I am thankful for Your unconditional love for me, The gift of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, Your Son, my Lord, The gift of the...
Devotions for Daybreak – Overflow
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13 BSB) Nate and Samantha (not their real names) lost all of their household belongings in hurricane...
Devotions for Daybreak – Rescued
“He reached down from high above and took hold of me. He pulled me out of the raging water.” (Psalm 18:16 GWT) John Putnum hung on for dear life. His fingers clung desperately to a little crack in the rock while the rushing, raging waters angrily tried to pry him...
Daybreak Devotions – Arrow
“Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth.” (Psalm 127:4 NIV) When my younger daughter, Heather, was fifteen she accompanied me to a speaking engagement. On the way home she complimented me on my message. “It was just what I needed to...
Daybreak Devotions – Deposit
“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (1 John 3:17) Missionary and martyr, Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” However,...
Counseling with Compassion and Competence
By Kathy Collard Miller, Author of "Whispers of My Heart (Daughters of the King Bible Study Series)". Whether or not we’re professional counselors, helping others with their struggles can be a challenge. Yet it can be done with compassion and competence. As a lay...
Daybreak Devotions – Weight Loss
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us.” (1 John 3:19-20a NIV) One of the benefits of...
Pastors and Pietism: Part 2
Copyright © 2017 Roger Helland I’ve pastored in the Vineyard, in the Mennonite Brethren, and in the Christian and Missionary Alliance traditions. I now serve as a district minister (a pastor to pastors and churches) of 29 churches in the Baptist General Conference...
Daybreak Devotions – Exercise (Action)
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1John 3:18 NIV) I’ve been thinking about exercise a lot lately. I want to lose the “spare tire” around my middle and gain some muscle mass in my chest, arms and shoulders. I’ve been...
Daybreak Devotions – Authentic
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1 John 3:16 NIV) The litmus test of Christianity is love. In other words, the way to know if your faith in Christ is authentic...
