Tag: devotionals

• Strength to Stand

  

  Click here to read Acts 14:8-20. The passage today has many things going on. First of all, we see Paul and Barnabas come upon a man who was crippled in his legs and couldn’t walk. Paul heals the man who is able to walk. The people in the crowd see the miracle and call Paul […]

  Ryan Stratton

  09/05/2017

  Apostle Paul, apostles, arrogance, belief, believe, bible, calling, challenge, Christian Life, Christianity, church, comfort, compassion, conflict, confrontation, controversy, conversion, devotionals, disciples, faith, faithful, fear, giving thanks, glory to God, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, passion, pastor, peace, service, serving, sharing our faith, trust, Truth, uncategoried, witness, witnessing, Work, worship, writing, youth ministry

  Acts 14:8-20, answers to prayer, Apostle Paul, book of Acts, devotionals, Holy Spirit within us, humble lifestyle, loving God, loving people, share our faith, stand up and walk, strength to stand, trusting God, trusting the Holy Spirit

• Can’t Be Contained!

  

  Read Acts 12 here. Being told to keep quiet when you know the truth should be spoken is challenging. Being told not to do anything you think is right is challenging. For some, it is more important not to ruffle feathers or to disturb the status quo or cause a disturbance in the force. But […]

  Ryan Stratton

  07/25/2017

  Apostle Peter, belief, believe, Bible, Challenges, Christian Life, Christianity, church, conflict, controversy, faith, faithful, freedom in Christ, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, pastor, patience, peace, praise, proclaiming Christ, Relationships, trust, Truth, uncategoried, worship, writing, youth ministry

  angels of God, book of Acts, Christ gives freedom, devotionals, devotions on Acts, do not be afraid, God is always present, grace of God, nothing can stop God’s grace, Peter released from prison, pleasing people vs pleasing God

• Rejoice!

  Christmastime is such a joyous time of year for so many people. This is the time we celebrate families with gift giving, parties, travel, and much more. We can see the good things in life, when we get together. Unfortunately, many people do not have this same experience of this time of year. So many […]

  Ryan Stratton

  12/15/2015

  Advent, advent devotional, belief, belonging, bible, bible study, Christian Life, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas story, church, daily devotionals, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, faith, forgiven, glory, glory of Christ, glory to God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus’birth, judgement, Life, Lord, mercy, methodism, methodist, new creation, new life, pastor, Prayer, preparation, prepare, reconciled, reconciliation, relationships, renewal, repent, repentance, revival, Savior, Spirit, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, Spirituality, transformation, trust, Truth, Uncategorized, worship, writing, youth ministry

  advent devotional, advent season, bible study, book of Zephaniah, Christian life, Christmas story, Christmas time, daily devotionals, devotionals, gathering us in, God, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel of Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the good shepherd, Trust God, Trust Jesus

• God’s Invading

  Last week, a New York newspaper ran a headline that said, “God is not fixing this,” in response to the shootings that happened in San Bernardino, CA. The article was saying that something has to be done and people can’t “hide” behind meaningless phrases – more specifically, “my thoughts and prayers with with…” When we […]

  Ryan Stratton

  12/10/2015

  Advent, advent devotional, belief, believe, bible, Christian Life, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas story, church, daily devotionals, devotionals, disciples, evangelism, faith, Forgiveness, gift, glory, glory of Christ, glory of God, glory to God, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, Gospel of Luke, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus’birth, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, new creation, new life, pastor, Prayer, preach, preparation, prepare, reconciliation, relationships, renewal, repent, revival, sharing our faith, Spirit, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, Spirituality, transformation, trust, Truth, Uncategorized, worship, writing, youth ministry

  advent devotional, advent season, answer to prayers, answer to problems, changing the world, Christian life, Christmas story, Christmas time, daily devotionals, devotionals, God, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel message, gospel of Jesus Christ, Gospel of Luke, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, new creation in Christ, new life in Christ, transform the world, transformation in Christ, Trust God, Trust Jesus

• Really Ready for Christmas?

  This week, we have asked some tough questions, hopefully preparing us and challenging us to embrace the real Christmas event so our lives reflect Christ in this world. Once more, I invite you to read the scripture focus for this week. Take some time to ponder what we have talked about this week. Most importantly, […]

  Ryan Stratton

  12/04/2015

  Advent, advent devotional, belief, believe, bible study, challenge, Christian Life, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas story, church, Creation, daily devotionals, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, faith, faithful, forgiven, gift, gifts, glory, glory of Christ, glory of God, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, Gospel of Luke, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus’birth, Life, light, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, new creation, new life, new year, pastor, Prayer, prayer life, preach, preparation, prepare, reconciliation, relationships, renewal, revival, Savior, Spirit led, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, Spirituality, transformation, trust, Truth, Uncategorized, worship, writing, youth ministry

  advent devotional, advent season, Christian life, Christmas story, Christmas time, cradle to the cross, daily devotionals, devotionals, God, Good News of Jesus Christ, Gospel changes us, gospel of Jesus Christ, Gospel of Luke, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, new creation, new creation in Christ, new life, new life in Christ, O come Emmanuel, Savior is born, sharing our faith

• Urgency

  Today, we again look at the passage in Luke 21 of Jesus speaking about the end and the glorious return of the Son of Man. This time, I invite us to look at verses 34-36. “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this […]

  Ryan Stratton

  12/03/2015

  Advent, advent devotional, belief, believe, bible, Bible, bible study, challenge, Christian Life, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas story, church, daily devotionals, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, faith, faithful, forgiven, Forgiveness, glory, glory of Christ, glory of God, glory to God, God, good news, gospel, Gospel of Luke, grace, heart, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus’birth, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, new creation, new life, new year, pastor, pray, Prayer, preparation, proclaiming Christ, reconciliation, relationships, renewal, repent, revival, Savior, sharing our faith, Spirit, Spirit led, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, Spirituality, testimony, transformation, trust, Truth, Uncategorized, witness, worship, writing, youth ministry

  advent devotional, advent season, birth of Jesus Christ, book of Luke, Christian life, Christmas story, daily devotionals, devotionals, end of the world, follow the Spirit, God, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel message, gospel of Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, live with hope, new creation in Christ, new life, new life in Christ, sharing our faith, transformation in Christ, Trust God, Trust Jesus

• Preparing for What?

  We have just entered into the season of Advent. This marks the beginning of a new Christian church year. Advent is one of my favorite times because we have the opportunity to focus on the actions God took by becoming man, Jesus Christ. We are invited, once again, to deepen our faith and allow the […]

  Ryan Stratton

  11/30/2015

  Advent, advent devotional, belief, believe, bible, born again, challenge, character, Christian Life, Christianity, Christmas, church, conflict, daily devotionals, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, faith, faithful, family of God, forgiven, Forgiveness, gifts, glory of Christ, glory of God, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, heaven, holy, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus’birth, Life, Love, methodism, methodist, ministry, new creation, new life, new year, pastor, patience, peace, power, pray, Prayer, preparation, prepare, relationships, renewal, Savior, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, Spirituality, trust, Truth, Uncategorized, youth ministry

  advent devotionals, Christ’s return, Christian life, daily devotionals, devotionals, end times, faith in Christ, God, God’s actions, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel of Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, new life in Christ, O come Emmanuel, prepare our hearts, ready for Jesus

• “Prayer and Praise” Week 3

  This is our third week of intentionally taking time to give God thanks in all situations in our life, especially those times we may not see his grace and his active presence. God is always with us. Jesus said in Matthew 28, “remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” There […]

  Ryan Stratton

  11/16/2015

  anxiety, belief, Blessings, Challenges, Christian Life, Christianity, church, daily devotionals, devotionals, faith, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, pray, Prayer, relationships, Spirit, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, Spirituality

  daily devotionals, devotionals, giving thanks, God, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel, gospel of Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, prayer and prasie, trust, Trust God, Trust Jesus

• “Prayer and Praise” Week 2

  This week, we look at the passage in Mark 12. In this, we can see several things; but the biggest concept I think we can take out of it for this week, is the concept of giving thanks in our lack and being thankful for the opportunity to give. Mark 12:38-44 “As he was teaching, […]

  Ryan Stratton

  11/08/2015

  belief, bible, bible study, Blessings, Challenges, Christian Life, Christianity, church, faith, gifts, giving thanks, glory of God, glory to God, God, good news, gospel, Gospel of Mark, grace, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, Love, methodism, methodist, new creation, new life, praise, Prayer, prayer life, relationships, renewal, Spirit, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, Spirituality

  Christian life, daily devotionals, devotionals, disciples, give God glory, giving thanks, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel of Jesus Christ, Gospel of Mark, new creation in Christ, new life, new life in Christ, prayer and praise, transform the world, transformation in Christ, trust, Trust God, Trust Jesus, widows and orphans

• Prayer Walk (Mark 10:46-52)

  Jesus and his disciples are walking from Jericho. Sometime today, tomorrow and the next day, I invite you to take a walk. Place yourself within this passage. It may be helpful to have a time limit, if you’re not used to doing an exercise like this. I used to not enjoy reading when I was […]

  Ryan Stratton

  10/28/2015

  beauty, belief, bible, bible study, Christian Life, Christianity, church, Creation, daily devotionals, devotionals, disciples, faith, God, good news, gospel, Gospel of Mark, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy, Life, Love, methodism, methodist, new creation, new life, Prayer, prayer life, renewal, revival, Spirit, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, Spirituality, transformation

  bible, bible study, caring for our neighbor, Christian life, daily devotionals, devotionals, finding God in life, God, God changes us, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel of Jesus Christ, Gospel of Mark, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus healing Bartimaeus, making scripture come alive, new creation in Christ, new life, new life in Christ, pray without ceasing, prayer, prayer changes everything, prayer life, prayer walk, transform the world, transformation in Christ