Devotional Blog

On every trip, decisions are made. Along the road of life, we inevitably face intersections and decisions about which way to go. It is at those moments that we must live by faith, asking God for wisdom and believing that He will never lead in the wrong direction. It is our hope that each article on the blog will encourage you to keep enjoying the journey…and look for Jesus along the way.

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A journey through 1 John reveals our place in the family of God, how we can have assurance, and that our joy is rooted in Christ.

Journey through 1 John

December 12, 2025

Journey Through 1 John Five men in the New Testament bear the name John. The name means “Jehovah is gracious,” but one of them seems to stand head and shoulders above all the rest. Before he became a disciple, he was a fisherman. He was actually a cousin of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their mothers…

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“Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.” (John 1:47-48)

Why the Story of Nathanael Sitting Under the Fig Tree Matters

By John Buckner | December 10, 2025
Sitting Under Your Fig Tree  “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael...
It also discusses the Four Sermons in Haggai It is in that context that God raises up the prophet Haggai with four sermons in four months. The Word of the Lord comes to Haggai, and he preaches four sermons. Each one of them is dated for us. Each sermon targets a different problem. You can read them in Haggai chapters one and two. In his first sermon (Haggai 1:1-15), Haggai preached on the danger of waiting when we should be working. They were waiting for a sign to build. He said, You don't need a sign, you need to obey God. Haggai's second sermon (Haggai 2:1-9) explained the danger of lamenting the past and missing the present. They were sorrowing over the destruction of the past temple. God said, Build a new one. It was G. Campbell Morgan who said, “It is impossible to unlock the present with the rusty key of the past." Many people are bogged down in their past and miss the present. Keep in mind what is at hand and what is ahead. The third sermon he preached (Haggai 2:10-19) described the danger of seeing only the material and neglecting the supernatural. They could see the work that needed to be done, but they missed the fact that God had resources that would help them get it done. The Lord was behind all of this. The fourth sermon (Haggai 2:20-23) warned against the danger of recognizing who is against us and forgetting who is for us. They were concentrating on the opposition and forgetting that “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). A journey through Haggai shows us the importance of performing the work that God has told us to do, and His glory in our obedience. Image leads to an overview of Haggai

Journey through Haggai

By Scott Pauley | December 9, 2025
Journey Through Haggai There seems to be a lot of weeping when you read through the Old Testament prophets. And yet, there is a prophet...
How Social Media Shapes Our Heart

How Social Media Shapes Our Hearts

By David Pack | December 5, 2025
How Social Media Use Shapes Our Hearts The average person spends roughly 2 1/2 hours per day on their mobile devices, with teenagers spending nearly double...
A journey through Micah reveals the Faithful King, and lets us know what the Lord requires from us as we live to serve Him.

Journey Through Micah

By Scott Pauley | December 2, 2025
Journey Through Micah In the 1950s, the Quakers coined an expression. Maybe you have heard it: “speaking truth to power.” We sometimes hear this phrase...
Fruitful winter

A Fruitful Winter

By Scott Pauley | December 1, 2025
Today is the first day of the winter season, according to meteorologists who track winter weather from December through February. The official first day of...
Mattaniah was a descendant of Asaph (1 Chronicles 9:15) and one of the many Levites who labored in the Temple worship during Nehemiah's day. National thanksgiving was deeply personal for Mattaniah. Image gives article title and is set to the background of The-second-Jewish-Temple-by- artist Alex-Levin

A Thanksgiving Message from Mattaniah

By Scott Pauley | November 27, 2025
This week, I have been reading again through the Old Testament historical record of Nehemiah. It is full of names and genealogies, and I am...
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Love, Luck, and Wishes

By Michael Pack | November 24, 2025
On a recent vacation to Japan, I visited Kobe, the capital city of Hyogo Prefecture. This area is perhaps most famous for Kobe beef, a...
Philemon

Journey Though Philemon

By Scott Pauley | November 20, 2025
Journey Through Philemon It only takes up one page in our New Testament, yet it is quite a story. In our journey through Scripture, we...
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45 Days of Praise

By Scott Pauley | November 17, 2025
The coming holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas reminds us of both the goodness and grace of God. Turkeys and trees, family and festivities, gatherings...
Image of a hand on a casket for an article on Ecclesiastes reveals lessons learned at the funeral. Not the nursery or the wedding ceremony, but at the graveyard, in seasons of mourning.

Lessons Learned At the Funeral

By Scott Pauley | November 15, 2025
Editor's Note: This article is a modified transcript of a recent message by Scott Pauley. The timeframe was soon after the public assassination of Charlie...
Leviticus-Slide

Journey Through Leviticus

By Scott Pauley | November 12, 2025
Journey Through Leviticus A Christian lady was once asked if she had ever read the Bible all the way through. Her response was brutally honest,...
Striving Together For The Gospel

Striving Together for the Gospel

By Micah Hendry | November 11, 2025
"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may...
2 Corinthians Slide

Journey Through 2 Corinthians

By Scott Pauley | November 6, 2025
Journey Through 2 Corinthians Many years ago, William Burns was asked, “Are you ready to preach?” His answer: “Not yet. I have not yet got...
Reality-of-the-Resurrection

The Reality of the Resurrection

By Michael Pack | November 4, 2025
The reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the foundational tenets of the Christian faith. Paul lays it out clearly in 1...
When you die, what will live on?

When You Die, What Will Live On?

By Scott Pauley | November 3, 2025
It was a sunny, crisp fall day when Tammy and I visited the Mountain Grove Cemetery in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Our trip to the historic cemetery...
Ebenezer and the Ark of the Covenant

Ebenezer

By John Buckner | October 31, 2025
“And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him....
Jonah represents for us what all of us are to do: carry the message of both sin and salvation to those who desperately need it.

Journey Through Jonah

By Scott Pauley | October 29, 2025
Journey Through Jonah Jonah is the one Old Testament minor prophet that almost every child in Sunday School knows. This is the one book that...
We all go through seasons of change in life. Our homes change. Our work changes. Schedules, routines, and so much that have been familiar are suddenly very different. Through it all, God reminds us that as He changes us, He never changes.

10 Things to Do When Everything Changes

By Scott Pauley | October 28, 2025
When Everything Changes... Sometimes the straightest line between A and B is not the route God chooses for us. His ways and thoughts truly are...
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