Category: devotionals

• God Leads

  Click here to read 1 Samuel 17. These are the stories that capture our imagination and restore hope. Rudy, The Karate Kid, Cinderella Man, Million Dollar Baby…these are all stories where the “wrong person” wins. But these stories stick with us. Why? Because of who wins! We love for the underdog to win. Why? I […]

  Ryan Stratton

  06/22/2021

  anxiety, attitudes, awakening, believe, belonging, Bible, bible stories, bible study, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, disciples, faith, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, legacy, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, motivations, preach, preaching, trust, Truth, Uncategorized, Worry, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  1 Samuel 17, Christian life, David and Goliath, faith in Christ, God leads to victory, Good News of Jesus Christ, Jesus changes everything, rooting for the underdog, transform the world, underdogs win

• God Sees

  Click here to read 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 How good a judge are you of someone’s character? How well do you have the ability to choose/pick who the next leader should be? Has it worked out for you in the past? These are questions that we should be thinking about when we read the passage today. […]

  Ryan Stratton

  06/15/2021

  belief, believe, Bible, bible study, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, evangelism, faith, faithful, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, maturity, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, preparation, prepare, transformation, trials, trust, uncategoried, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  1 Samuel 15:34-16:13, anointing of God, bible study, choosing leaders, God chooses, God chooses leaders, God sees the heart, Good News of Jesus Christ, Jesus king of kings, king David anointed, new life in Christ, prophet Samuel, Trust God

• God Responds

  Click here to read 1 Samuel 8. Samuel is an interesting character. He is a mild-mannered prophet who has no problem removing the head of enemy kings. He is someone you can go to in order to hear from God, and also someone who will make sure the job gets done. (Stay with me this […]

  Ryan Stratton

  06/08/2021

  bible, Bible, calling, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, conflict, confrontation, devotionals, disciples, Emotions, faith, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, holy, holy life, holy living, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, Life, methodism, methodist, ministry, praise, Prayer, prayer life, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  1 Samuel 8, God hears prayers, god is not caught off guard, God knows, God loves you, God seeks us, God’s response, Israel asks for a king, rejecting God

• God Calls

  Click Here to Read 1 Samuel 3:1-10 I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the Old Testament. Yeah, there are many things I still don’t understand, but I do know this, what we call the Old Testament takes up 66% of our Bible, so taking the time to understand the storyline is vital for […]

  Ryan Stratton

  06/01/2021

  belief, bible study, Christian Life, Christianity, church, conflict, conversion, devotionals, disciples, freedom, freedom in Christ, glory of God, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, holy, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, preach, preaching, speech, Spirit, uncategoried, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  1 Samuel 3:1-10, bible study, Christian life, God calls, hearing God’s voice, knowing God’s voice, knowing Jesus, live differently, love the Old Testament, new life in Christ, responding to God, sermon on 1 Samuel 3, trusting God

• FREE BOOK!

  FREE book to help you study the Old Testament book of Jonah.

  Ryan Stratton

  05/26/2020

  belief, believe, belonging, bible, challenge, Challenges, Christian Life, Christianity, church, Communication, compassion, conflict, confrontation, conversion, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, faith, faithful, glory of God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, holy living, Holy Spirit, Identity, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, judgement, judging, kindness, leadership, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, mindset, ministry, miracles, mission, motivations, peace, people, Relationships, repentance, respect, revival, Savior, serve, service, sharing our faith, Sin, Spirit, Spirituality, struggles, transformation, travel, trials, trust, Truth, uncategoried, worldview, Worry, worship, writing, youth ministry

  bible study, book of Jonah, Christian life, faith in Christ, glory of God, God, God is with us, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel of Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, mission, new life in Christ, praying for revival, revival, talking with God, transform the world, Trust God, Trust Jesus, Who is God

• 5 Powerful Words

  In today’s world, especially in times of crisis, let us be the people who spread joy and hope.

  Ryan Stratton

  03/20/2020

  awakening, belief, Bible, Christian Life, Christianity, church, daily devotionals, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, example, facing challenges, Failure, faith, faithful, God, God’s grace, Golden rule, good news, gospel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, judgement, judgment, kindness, leadership, live, live stream, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, praise, relationships, repent, revival, Spirit, Spirit led, transformation, trials, trust, Truth, Worry, worship, writing, youth ministry

  finding toilet paper, God loves you, Jesus is with you always, jesus loves me, living in times of crisis, loving people, people of Walmart, saying God loves you, saying please, saying thank you, sharing God’s love, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, trusting God, where is the bread, words we can say

• Fear & God

  What drives your actions and your attitude? Most people will say their determination, the family, their purpose. But below that there may be something else. Look around when there’s a crisis and what do you see? People panicking and doing what they can so they survive. This is caused by fear. Now, there is a […]

  Ryan Stratton

  03/15/2020

  belief, believe, Bible, Christian Life, Christianity, devotionals, disciples, faith, fear, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, leadership, Lent, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, Temptation, temptations, testimony, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Worry, worship, writing, youth ministry

  bringing hope into the world, faith not fear, Fear God only, Good News of Jesus Christ, how Christians live, light of Christ, living in faith, living in fear, pandemics, trust in God, what do you fear?

• Knowing Jesus

  I’m sure you have heard it said, “know Jesus.” I have often wondered what different people think when they hear something like that. How do you get to “know Jesus?” John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was asked, before his Aldersgate conversion, if he knew and believed in Jesus. His answer was, “I believe he […]

  Ryan Stratton

  01/31/2020

  belief, believe, bible, Bible, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, faith, faithful, forgiven, Forgiveness, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, pastor, relationships, religion, trust, Truth, uncategoried, witness, worship, writing, youth ministry

  do you know Jesus, evangelism, getting to know Jesus, gospel of Jesus Christ, John Wesley and Aldergate, knowing Jesus, life change, loving God, saved from sin, saved from sin and death, spending time with Jesus, the savior of the world, total life transformation, who is Jesus

• The Problem of Evil

  A perfectly good God exists, and evil exists. This is a challenging enigma to contemplate and understand. After all, a good God would stop all evil and suffering from happening, so we would not have to experience it, right? This is where we need to pause and consider some of the characteristics of God and […]

  Ryan Stratton

  01/24/2020

  beauty, belief, believe, bible, challenge, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, disciples, Failure, failures, faith, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, holy living, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, learn, Life, pastor, power, Prayer, preaching, purpose, reconciliation, Relationships, religion, Sin, sin, Sinners, trust, Truth, worldview, Worry, worship, writing, youth ministry

  children of God, Christian life, evil in the world, freedom in Christ, God, God is with us, God with us, Good News of Jesus Christ, Gospel changes us, gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Kingdom of God, live differently, new life, transform the world, Trust God, Trust Jesus

• Discovering God through the Book of Jonah (Part 4)

  

  Do we see the world, people, as God wants us to see them? This post shows us some things we can learn about God in Jonah 4.

  Ryan Stratton

  11/01/2019

  beauty, belief, believe, bible, bible stories, bible study, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, Failure, faith, forgiven, Forgiveness, glory of God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, holy life, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kindness, leadership, Life, Love, methodism, methodist, mindset, ministry, miracles, mission, new life, pastor, patience, possibilities, power, praise, preach, preaching, proclaiming Christ, revival, Spirit, travel, trust, Truth, uncategoried, understanding, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  God is good, gospel of Jesus Christ, Jonah 4, learning about God, live in peace with each other, purpose of the book of Jonah, repent and believe the gospel, saving the world, the bigger picture, the prophet Jonah, what does God want?