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  Exodus 14:10-14 Listen to today’s devotional The Hebrews weren’t crazy. When Exodus 14 tells the story, the people looked back and saw Pharaoh’s army bearing down on them. They said, “It would’ve been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die out here.” And… they weren’t exactly wrong. At least in Egypt, they knew how to survive. Oh, there were brutal moments, for sure. But at least it was familiar and predictable. They woke up every morning knowing just about what the day would throw at them. But in the wilderness, there's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Death feels more certain than some promise. And the reality is that we sometimes do that too. We look at the life God is calling us into and tremble at the unknown. There's a stretching of faith and trust that makes us uncomfortable or unsure. We might even start romanticizing the thing God promises to deliver us from. Not because it was so good… but because at least we knew what to expect. “Better that than this....

  Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 Listen to today’s devotional There is loneliness that comes from being alone. Many of us know what that feels like. But there's also a loneliness that comes from being unknown. This is when you carry burdens or pressures no one else can feel. You don't have words or a voice for your prayers. There’s an ache of carrying something no one else can understand. The prayers that don’t make it past your lips. The weight of your suffering has no language to communicate and seems foreign to others. Thankfully, Hebrews tells us something almost too good to be true. That we are not unknown. We do not have a high priest who is distant or detached from pain. We have One who has  felt  it. And not just theoretically or symbolically. Jesus knows bodily, tearful pain that has to shout. Jesus has cried out. Hebrews says he offered “loud cries and tears.” That means there were moments when even the Son of God groaned his prayers. And here’s the tension we often neg...

  1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Listen to today’s devotional There's a strange habit in the church. On the biggest days like Christmas or Easter ,  when our sanctuaries are full, and the energy is high, somebody inevitably asks, “Should we skip communion…to save time?” The apostle Paul doesn’t give us that option in 1 Corinthians 11. Admittedly, he doesn't tell us how often to have the sacred meal. But he does say, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” That means we shouldn't lose sight of something that happens at Communion. We have to stop thinking of Communion as a filler. Scripture says it is its own proclamation. It’s the sermon you can taste and hold. It’s embodied theology because you don’t just hear it, you receive it. And if that’s true, then what are we saying when we skip it on the very days we celebrate incarnation and resurrection, especially just to get people out the door earlier? What are we proclaimin...

  John 13:21-32 Listen to today’s devotional On his last night with his disciples, Jesus says some unsettling things. For one, he tells his disciples that“One of you will betray me.” Now, no one in the room seems to get upset or demand that the one fess up. Instead, the disciples look at each other, uncertain. Not one of them stands up and says, “I know exactly who it is.” Which is strange, isn’t it? Because you would think by now, after all the walking and talking and watching, they’d have it figured out. But they don’t. Maybe that's because betrayal doesn’t announce itself. It hides in plain sight, even at the table of grace, which is part of what makes it so hurtful. So the disciples start wondering. “Is it him?” “Could it be you know who?” And if we’re honest, we do the same thing. When we hear Jesus talk about brokenness, failure, or turning away, our instinct is to scan the room rather than search our own hearts. We’d rather point out Judas than acknowledge the places within ...

  John 12:20-25 Listen to today’s devotional I was in junior high when the phone rang. This was back in the days of landlines, when phones were still attached to walls, and you didn’t screen your calls. When I picked up, a nurse from the nursing home where my great-grandmother lived was on the other end. She asked for my mom. I told her she wasn’t home. There was a pause. Then she asked if I could take a message. I said yes. She replied, “Tell your mom that Byrd has expired.” I always wondered if that nurse felt strange leaving that message with me. Byrd was my mom's grandma who I always remembered as sweet and kind. That day she was  expired . I remember standing there a little confused. That was the word they used for milk or coupons. I wondered if I had misunderstood the message. That was a word used for something that had passed its usefulness. And it felt strange to think of a family member that way. In John 12, some Greeks come looking for Jesus. And Jesus responds in a ...

  John 12:1-9 Listen to today’s devotional A family member once gave me an entire box of cologne that I forgot in the trunk of my car. After a while, the box took on one too many turns, and the bottles inside came out. I knew immediately when one of the bottles finally broke. The smell quickly covered the entire car. And there was no hiding or containing the smell for weeks. In John 12, Mary breaks open a jar of expensive perfume and pours it on Jesus’ feet. John tells us the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Not only was it costly and excessive, but the smell was also unmistakable. I imagine it lingered for a while, too. I'll offer to you today that that is what happens when we do not contain our love for God. Of course, Judas made a stink about it. From his distance, Mary's devotion looks wasteful. It doesn’t make sense to pour out something so valuable in a single moment. But Jesus doesn’t feel the same way. He corrected Judas and received her gift. Because...