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The Resurrection Pattern

  Hebrews 13:20-21 Listen to today’s devotional The Hebrews sermon ends with an inspiring benediction that shows resurrection is God’s signature move. So, it’s not only a great reminder that Jesus was raised, but it also reveals how God works. When something looks finished or beyond repair, that’s often the very place where God begins again. With God, endings aren't always conclusions. The Lord often uses them as invitations. And the same power that brought Jesus out of the grave is still at work in the "too far gone" places of our lives. Resurrection, then, isn’t just a past event we celebrate. Through the resurrection of Jesus, we see a pattern of God that we continually experience. Now, here’s the tension many of us feel within that. If God is calling us into that kind of new life, do we have what it takes? Hebrews answers that directly by saying that God equips you with everything good to do God's will. Not some things. Not most things. Everything good to do God...
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What You Leave Behind

  Ezekiel 34:17-18 Listen to today’s devotional God's concern is not just whether the sheep are fed. It's whether there's anything left for the others as well. The sheep in Ezekiel 34 aren’t starving or fighting over scraps. In fact, they have enough. Plenty, even. But after they eat, they trample what's left. And after they drink, they muddy the waters they leave behind. The problem, then, for some of God's sheep, God's people, is not hunger, but carelessness or selfishness of others. Now, Ezekiel has already taken the religious leaders to task. But he doesn't stop there because sometimes, too, the problem in the flock is the flock. So, let's think about this careless and selfish faith. It's the kind of attitude and presence that consumes space, it dominates conversations, and leaves little room for anyone else. To be sure, it doesn’t always come across as overly loud or aggressive. It's just that it has a need to be heard that drowns out everyo...
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Flamingo Fest 2026

 Y'all know I love my hometown. And I've always said my spirit animal is either a moose or a flamingo.  Next year, I need to make plans to attend the Flamingo Fest in Galveston . It looks like fun; this will be the 7th year the city has hosted it. Maybe I need to buy a golf cart, too. I don't know what it is about flamingos that I've always thought were cool. We used to have a mechanical flamingo we pulled out for Christmas every year. But the elements finally got to it.  And I've never seen a moose in real life. I was hopeful the times I went to Colorado, but no. One day! Do they have flamingos in Del Rio? Stay blessed...john
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Go In Peace

  Exodus 4:18-20 Listen to today’s devotional When Moses first heard God's command, he had reservations. It took a minute, but God convinced Moses to go back to Egypt. Now, he just had to get permission from his father-in-law, Jethro, to leave the clan. As Exodus 10 tells the story, Moses doesn't explain or share any details about his experience on holy ground. Even his request to leave sounds more personal than what God commanded. I assume that Jethro could have refused Moses' request. He could have leaned on his need for someone like Moses to keep watching his flocks. But Jethro offers Moses a blessing. And this blessing sets in motion the great exodus story of God's people. A 3-word blessing that afforded Moses the chance to fulfill God's purpose for the Israelites: Go in peace. Of course, we focus on Moses as the one called, the one sent, the one who stands before Pharaoh demanding, "Let my people go." But let's not forget Jethro. He is the one who...
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When the Shepherd Moves Me

  Psalm 23 Listen to today’s devotional This weekend, we sang a worship song that centered on the image of God as our shepherd. We've sung it before, but this time I felt it a little more. The chorus says, "For the Lord, my Shepherd, leads me, leads me and he is all I need." I was a little emotional singing this time because I knew what those words meant for me in that moment. For about a week, I had been sitting with the news that I will have a new appointment this year. As a United Methodist pastor, these moves do not always come when you expect them. This one wasn't on my radar. Still, we offer our lives in service to the church. And we trust our Bishop and Cabinet to prayerfully discern where we are best suited to serve. Underneath that understanding is a deeper conviction that God is leading us through it all. And whether you're moving churches or cities, starting something new, or simply trying to be faithful where you are, that is a comforting thought. But ...
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Keep the catch

  John 21:4-8 Listen to today’s devotional This is Plan B for the disciples. They had seen what happened to Jesus and knew it was over. So, they go back fishing. For sure, this doesn't feel like a quiet day on the lake to get away from it all. This story is often seen as a return. These followers of Jesus didn't know what to do next. And as many people know, when you don't know what to do next, you often return to what's familiar. That day, then, their fishing wasn't a hobby or a retreat weekend. Still, Jesus shows up there. The Lord meets them while they are in the wrong direction and fills their nets. What a blessing grace is! By morning, their emptiness turns into an overflow. Some of them may have remembered a catch like that before. In both cases, their abundance was not connected to what they understood about what was happening but to their willingness to listen. As they’re witnessing this miracle, one of the followers recognizes what is happening. "It is...
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Without the church

  1 Peter 2:1-3 Listen to today’s devotional There's an old question that pops up from time to time: "Can I be a Christian and not go to church?" Now, I assume there are good intentions behind the asking. So, here's my typical response. It's totally possible for someone to do Christ-like things and even be Christ-like on their own. But it is impossible to live the life that Jesus proclaimed and that the Bible portrays without the church. Can I go sailing without a sail? Well, you can float around, taking in the view. But you won't move forward how you’re supposed to without the wind in your sails. To be sure, the Spirit is the wind in the church's sail. And without the church, we're barely even in the water. That's not anything I haven't said or preached before. But I saw it again in today's reading. Notice the examples that Peter uses in this quick verse about growing into salvation. He says to get rid of malice, guile, insincerity, envy, ...
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