Posts with the category “the-beginning-devotionals”

READ PSALM 139:13-14 I’ll never forget the first time I felt those tiny baby flutters inside my stomach. Now, weeks later as I write this devotional, those little kicks keep coming, and the wonder of ...  Read More

READ PSALM 124:8Have you ever really stopped to think about everything that’s encompassed in the words “who made heaven and earth”? Our own solar system that lies within the Milky Way Galaxy is immens...  Read More

READ PSALM 33:6 Do you have people or circumstances in your life that sometimes feel bigger than God? When we start to feel overwhelmed by all that this world throws at us, we need to immerse ourselve...  Read More

READ ISAIAH 42:5 A few years ago, I went on a hiking trip that left a lasting impression. I remember standing on the top of a mountain, filled with awe as I gazed at the breathtaking scene before me —...  Read More

READ MATTHEW 6:28-29A few years ago, I was sitting on my balcony, watching the trees breathe. That’s all they were doing. Their leaves were blowing softly, the tallest trees were swaying, and as I thi...  Read More

READ ECCLESIASTES 3:11When Tricia and I moved to Bologna, Italy with Cru (Agape Italia), it was to open a new work at the University of Bologna. It was a campus of 100,000 students with a reputation o...  Read More

READ ISAIAH 45:12Buying a house brought a lot of new things into our lives as a married couple. It gave us a place to host and build a home. It gave us a financial investment to steward well. And it a...  Read More

READ JEREMIAH 32:17Imagine being stuck in jail, your nation in the throes of war, your city surrounded by an impending and ruthless world superpower. Your first thought may not be that the time is rip...  Read More

READ ROMANS 1:20 On a family ski trip to Colorado several years ago, I found myself riding the lift alone. During that time in my life, I was a busy mom with three busy teenagers, and moments alone we...  Read More

READ PSALM 119:13-14 As a kid, I often heard, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” It’s one of the best quotes from the movie Bambi (even though I never actually liked the mov...  Read More

READ HEBREWS 11:3 Have you ever felt stuck? Or unsure of the right answer? Or what about when the answer doesn’t make sense, feels too difficult, or isn’t what you wanted? I often find myself in this ...  Read More

READ REVELATION 4:11Revelation 4 reveals an incredible scene. If you haven’t read the whole chapter, I would encourage you to do that right now. It is an amazing picture, and John is trying to describ...  Read More

READ JOHN 1:1-3Think about the very beginning when there was nothing but God. No turmoil, no brokenness, just His perfect purpose. This was before the world we know now, with its complications and str...  Read More

READ COLOSSIANS 1:16We all have those moments when we’re fascinated by creation.  We look at the vast world around us and find ourselves amazed by what we see.  Maybe you enjoy hiking up in the mounta...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:22-24I love technology.  I love my tablet, my phone, my laptop.  I couldn’t do most of what I do without technology.  But when I write, I love to start with pen and paper.  There is som...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:20-21Has anyone ever shown you grace when you knew you deserved far worse? I'll never forget the soccer game as a teenager when I got into a fistfight, earned a red card, and was ejecte...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:17-19 Our kids are at the phase of life where their best excuse when they get into trouble is: “It’s not my fault!” Apparently, that is literally the oldest excuse in the book, and we k...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:16 As I reflect on Genesis 3:16, I can’t help but think about the tension that exists in many relationships today. The struggle for control, misunderstandings, and unmet expectations al...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:14-15There’s a tension we all feel—a deep sense that something isn’t right with the world. Whether it’s our own personal struggles, broken relationships, or the evil we witness daily, w...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:12-13 “It wasn’t my fault!” As a parent, I hear this all the time. One of my kids will do something they shouldn’t have done, then when I correct them, they immediately explain to me ho...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:9-11 I used to navigate life wearing a mask, presenting a façade of strength and composure. “I’m fine, I’m good, life is great.…” These were the rehearsed lines I delivered in conversat...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:7-8I remember being asked a simple, yet profound, question years ago while playing disc golf with one of our student leaders: “What is the hardest part about marriage?” My brain quickly...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:6In Genesis 3:6, we read the account of original sin and the fall of mankind. Eve was tempted by the crafty serpent in the Garden of Eden, and she disobeyed God’s command to not eat of ...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:4-5 Satan is a liar.  Don’t ever forget that truth!  Genesis 3:1 describes him as “more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made.”  Then, in Gen 3:4-5, the very ...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:2-3I am the proud father of two little girls - one six-year-old, and one three-year-old. Naturally, now that I’m a parent, so many passages of scripture have taken on a whole new meanin...  Read More

READ GENESIS 3:1 This scene opens with the woman, full of innocence, living her best life in paradise. I imagine the garden suddenly growing silent as ominous music begins to play, signaling the serpe...  Read More

READ GENESIS 2:22-25Genesis 2:22-25 illustrates the first wedding between man and woman, blessed by God, and it serves as a perfect example of our relationship with Christ.We see the first woman made ...  Read More

READ GENESIS 2:21I often forget that I’m reading Bible stories from the comfort of the "cheap seats." I know how these stories end, but the people living them did not. As a result, it’s easy for me to...  Read More

READ GENESIS 2:18-20 It is not good for man to be alone. God Himself is never alone; as a triune being, Elohim is in constant community with Himself. Relationship is in His very nature. Yet, even thou...  Read More

READ GENESIS 2:15-17 These verses offer us a profound glimpse into God’s heart in creation. He placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, entrusting him with the responsibility to cultivate and care for it. T...  Read More

READ GENESIS 2:10-14I love a good map. In these verses, we get a description of the rivers and lands surrounding and flowing through the Garden. Unfortunately, we do not know anything about two of the...  Read More

READ GENESIS 2:8-9Milton, my oldest son, is majoring in French Horn Performance at the University of Alabama. His dream is to play in a symphony orchestra one day. Why go to Alabama to study French Ho...  Read More

READ GENESIS 2:7Does God have hands to form mud, or lungs to breathe life? As a young child, I used to think in these literal terms. However, Genesis 2:7 intends to communicate something infinitely mo...  Read More

READ GENESIS 2:4-6 One of my favorite movie tropes is the flashback scene.  They give you a scene showing what happened, but then go back and show you the same scene from a different perspective.  You...  Read More

READ
GENESIS 2:1-3At the beginning of Chapter 2, we witness the conclusion of God’s creation: “the heavens and the earth were completed.” After six days of intentional work--from the creation of light...  Read More

READ GENESIS 1:29-31When was the last time something grabbed your attention? Maybe it was a kid yelling your name from the other room in that precise panic-inducing pitch. Maybe it was a stunning sunr...  Read More

READ GENESIS 1:28In Genesis 1:28, God gave Adam and Eve a clear purpose and picture of what their role would be in the world. First, they were called to be fruitful and multiply together. As image bea...  Read More

READ GENESIS 1:26-27These verses are so familiar to us that we often just scan over them, without thinking deeply about the impact of what’s happening. God had already created the heavens and the eart...  Read More

READ GENESIS 1:24 – 25Have you ever felt like you were in a season of waiting for God to change your circumstances? Maybe you were waiting for God to bring along that new job or a promotion because yo...  Read More

READ GENESIS 1:20–23Living in the Colorado Mountains was an unforgettable experience. The quiet majesty of the peaks, the streams teeming with fish, and the birds soaring high above the valleys made m...  Read More