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  Listen to today’s devotional Ezekiel 13:1-7 We have put people in space, but keeping cereal fresh is still a chore. How long, O Lord, should we wrestle a cereal bag into submission, folding it over, and hoping the cardboard tab holds everything together? But finally, someone called the meeting. Cheerios and Ziploc are partnering. Now, two familiar names will share one package. Both belong there because both are involved. That's where breakfast meets Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 13:1-7, God confronts prophets who have put God's name on their ideas. They follow their own spirits, have their own visions, and expect God to deliver what God never promised. In a sense, they've announced a partnership without consulting the Holy partner. Now, before we shake our heads at those prophets, we might need to check our own packaging. It's easy for something I want to become something God must want, too. And add a favorite Bible verse that sounds close enough, and we can have it all ready f...

  Listen to today’s devotional Psalm 107:1-7 I’m always surprised how surprised Christians can be when “the world” acts like, well, the world. We complain as though everyone attended the same Bible study and agreed to bring the casserole. Let me ask you, Would you expect an Eagles fan to cheer for that Dallas team? Then why are we so shocked when someone who doesn’t follow Jesus doesn’t share our convictions? And why are we sometimes more overly interested in correcting their behavior than sharing the grace that keeps changing ours? Psalm 107 begins with gratitude for God's goodness. God’s steadfast love endures forever. Then comes the charge: “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” Say what, exactly? Well, tell how God found us. The psalm remembers people wandering in the wilderness, hungry, thirsty, with no place to call home. They cried out, and God delivered them. God led them toward a place where they could settle. That’s the story we’ve been given to tell. We know something ab...

  Listen to today’s devotional Psalm 119:41-48 Even people who have never opened a Bible can name something Christians "shall not" do. Over time, we’ve let those prohibitions shape an understanding of faith that means God is keeping us from living. Well, if debauchery and wickedness are your favorite pastimes, you might feel inconvenienced. But there is wisdom in God’s commandments that actually opens life to us. Unfortunately, abundance and freedom aren’t always the first words Christians associate with faith. Yet Jesus came so we could have abundant life. Somehow, we’ve made that sound like a disappointing offer. In Psalm 119, the psalmist begins with God’s steadfast love. Before declaring what he will do for God, he asks for the love and salvation God has promised. That love gives him an answer when others taunt him. God’s word gives him something trustworthy to stand on. Then we hear an important connection he makes. Because he seeks God’s commands, he says, “I shall walk...

  Listen to today’s devotional James 2:14-17 We’re supposed to give people the gospel, right? People ask me that sometimes when we talk about church work. Mostly, they mean, “When do we start preaching and praying for salvation?” First, thank you for caring. Second, you should already be praying. Third, whether we realize it or not, we’re all preaching a sermon. And I'll strongly ask you to consider that people hear loud and clear something about our faith through the way we treat them. That’s why I encourage churches to serve their communities. We can organize something at church or join good work already happening somewhere else. We don’t have to worry that caring for people somehow distracts us from sharing the gospel. James makes that connection uncomfortably clear. Someone needs clothing and food, and a believer offers a blessing without offering help. What good is that? Faith without works is dead. James won’t let us talk about someone’s soul while ignoring their empty stomac...

  Listen to today’s devotional Psalm 90:13-17 "You take the good. You take the bad. You take them both, and there you have the facts of life." I've always liked that opening line from the theme song to The Facts of Life . Of course, I'd like to keep the good and give the bad back to the network. Apparently, that's not an option. Our faith has taught me, though, that God is with us through both. Good days don't mean we've earned God's grace or approval. Bad days don't have to mean we've lost God's attention. Psalm 90, introduced as a psalm of Moses, brings to mind the good and bad of a people wandering through the wilderness. They have known deliverance. They have also buried a lot of people they love. So, the prayer gives us images of life's swiftness. A dream disappears, grass flourishes and fades (vss 5-6). It also brings to light questions about the people's sin and God's anger. Their whole troubled relationship with God is b...

  Listen to today’s devotional Spilling Hope October 20, 2026 Romans 15:13 One of my nieces asked me if I knew Romans 15:13. I couldn’t call it to mind at the moment, so I asked her, "In the Greek?" I'm kidding, but have you noticed that when some people don't have an answer, they just make the question harder? My niece reminded me of this blessing: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Oh. That one. Maybe I needed to hear it. In English. I've used that as a benediction many times. Of course I know it. But is it still with me? The apostle Paul prays for a hope that fills us so fully that it begins spilling into the lives around us. Some people come in and spill all the latest news. They spill the beans about what's going on. Some spill their frustrations. Oh, but what joy to be around someone who spills a little hope. Paul prays that we will overf...