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  Click here to listen to today’s devotional What God Sounds Like September 16, 20266 Exodus 15:22-27 The Israelites are three days into the wilderness when trouble starts. They find water, but it is too bitter to drink. So they complain. Moses cries out to God, and the Lord shows him a piece of wood to throw in the water. The water becomes drinkable, and then God says to the people, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God…” I read that this morning and thought, "That sounds easy enough if God actually speaks out loud." If a voice from heaven said, “John, here is what you need to do,” I like to think that I would listen carefully. I might even take notes. But most of us don't hear God that way. There is no thunder or burning bush. No divine voice interrupting the devotional. So, how do we listen carefully when God does not seem to be talking? Think of listening to God as less like receiving a phone call and more like learning a language. Over time,...

  Click here to listen to today’s devotional 2 Kings 2:15-22 The prophets recognize Elisha as the new prophet and bow before him. They can see that the spirit that once rested on Elijah now rests on him. But they still want Elijah. They recognize what God is doing now, but still want what God did in the past. Does that sound familiar? So, the prophets ask Elisha to let them search for Elijah. He tells them not to go, but they keep pressing him until he is embarrassed. Maybe he is embarrassed for them. Maybe he is embarrassed because they refuse to listen. Or maybe he's just tired of arguing about it. Finally, he says, “Send them.” Fifty people search for three days. That is a lot of energy spent looking for something that is no longer there. Churches can do that, too, right? We can invest enormous amounts of time, money, and energy trying to recover what used to work. Then we wonder why we keep returning empty-handed. When the search party comes back, Elisha says, “Didn’t I tell yo...

  Click here to listen to today’s devotional Search Your Spirit September 15, 2026 Psalm 77:4-9 The psalmist says, “I meditate and search my spirit.” But he seems to be doing this in the dark, both literally and spiritually. As he wrestles with his questions, he can't sleep because God seems so silent. So, he wonders: Has God forgotten me? Has mercy run its course? Are the promises gone? Biblical scholars note a movement from lament to remembrance in Psalm 77. The turning point happens when the psalmist looks past God’s supposed absence and begins to remember God’s actions. But before that happens, he searches his own spirit. He pays attention to what is happening within him. That is holy work. But it should not only be emergency work. Too often, we examine our souls after something breaks. We wonder why we feel this way or what has come upon us. But only after resentment, exhaustion, or anxiety has taken over the night. Self-examination, then, becomes a sort of spiritual ambulance...

  Click here to listen to today’s devotional No Silver Bullets September 14, 2026 John 20:19-23 Churches often begin talking about change when they become afraid of dying. They see declining attendance and tired volunteers. They know their budgets are strained, and that younger generations are missing. So, we look for the silver bullet: a new program, a new worship service, a new staff position, or a better communication strategy. But I'm convinced the question of “How do we keep our church going?” is nowhere near as important as “Where is God already at work, and how are we being sent to join in?” After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples hiding behind locked doors. They were afraid, but Jesus did not give them a plan for protecting themselves. He said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” That's a reminder that the church was never meant to survive behind locked doors. It was breathed into life...

  Click here to listen to today’s devotional Genesis 42:1-5 Jacob’s family is running out of food. The famine is severe, and everyone knows something needs to be done. But Jacob finds his sons looking at one another. So, he asks them, “Why do you keep looking at one another?” It sounds like a question Jesus could ask some churches today. Attendance is declining. Volunteers are exhausted. Younger generations are missing. The community outside our doors has changed. We see it. We discuss it. We may even form committees to study it. But sometimes we keep looking at one another, waiting for someone else to move. Social psychologists call this the “diffusion of responsibility.” When several people see the same problem, each person feels less responsible to address it. Everybody is concerned, but nobody moves. In the Genesis story, we don't know the reason for the brothers’ hesitation. Are they overwhelmed or just waiting for Jacob to decide what to do? Maybe each one assumes the other w...

  Click here to listen to today’s devotional Exodus 13:17-22 There are several things I’ve noticed about young people today. One that still surprises me is how early we train them to think about the future. High school students once chose educational tracks to prepare for careers. Then middle schoolers began making similar decisions. Recently, I heard of an elementary student confidently announce his intention to attend MIT. When I was his age, I wanted to be a bartender or a professional wrestler. I love encouraging young people to dream. There is wisdom in setting goals and planning ahead. But I wonder whether we have also taught them, and ourselves, that there is one perfect path through life. You know the path: school, career, marriage, children, home, retirement. Now, there is nothing wrong with that route. But I didn’t follow it exactly, and neither have many others. And when life takes an unexpected turn away from this route, people often feel like they have failed. They que...