Read: Galatians 5:22God’s Word help us see new truthsOh how I love the word of God!For over six decades, the Lord has granted me to know Him in His Word. I praise Him for being the Author of our salvation. But I pray that I may never, ever lose the expectation that the Word of God will always speak to me truths I know, and grant me to see truths yet to be discovered.No matter where we find ourselv...  Read More

The Helmet Rule and Final ThoughtsRead: Ephesians 6:17-20I love to ride motorcycles. I still keep the (M) on my driver’s license, although for my family’s peace of mind and for the protection of other people on the road, I rarely, if ever, now ride.I start off with this “confession” because I want to talk about helmets. Most of us know that many states have a “no helmet rule,” while others states ...  Read More

“Everybody Needs a Shield”Read: Ephesians 6:14-16 Shield - do you have one? Especially now in this time of the pandemic, we see images among the medical community of actual face shields.When there is a riot, or major disturbance that is life threatening, we see officers of law enforcement wearing helmets with face shields. The officers may even have a literal shield to protect them from hurled mis...  Read More

C’mon, Get Dressed!Read: Ephesians 6:10-17As best as I can understand this whole concept of being an armored believer, I’ll begin with what I know of how the Roman soldier was clothed.Most soldiers of any rank at all usually had someone to help them put on their armor. It was either a servant or valet, or it could have been a lower enlisted person who was partnered with them.Usually the first piec...  Read More

“Hey, Who Is It We Are Really Fighting?”Read: Ephesians 6:12, 13Let’s review again this principle from 1 Corinthians 15:46 - first the natural, then the spiritual.The “natural” reason for the Roman soldier to be amor-clad was because A, he needed the protection, and B, he was more often than not engaged in warfare and needed effective offensive weapons.The Holy Spirit took this image of the fully ...  Read More

Read: Ephesians 6:10-20The truths that are placed in this portion of Ephesians 6 need to be divided into multiple posts. Don’t worry, we will get to each piece of the armor - I promise!But first, there are some biblical principles that I want us to observe.God uses the natural to reveal the spiritualIn 1 Corinthians 15:46, we read “The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that ...  Read More

Read: Ephesians 6:10-20Recently one of our leaders issued a prayer challenge to all of the staff here at Coastal. To help reinforce the challenge, he quoted the passage from Ephesians 6 about the “Armor of God.”The Lord prompted me to begin a series of devotional posts that would offer some insight into this key part of our lives as Christians. But before we get to chapter 6 regarding the armor, w...  Read More

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him Who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”Morning, blessings all. Once again, my heart is full of thanks and praise for the mercy, grace and love that the Father has already lavished upon you and me.This verse from 2 Corinthians was the “Verse of the Day” in the Bible reading plan that I follow from Gate...  Read More

Read: Joshua 6:2-5God uses “natural” things to accomplish His purposesThere is an interesting and insightful verse in what we call the Resurrection Chapter - 1 Corinthians 15. In the chapter, Paul is defining the resurrection of humankind. In verse 46, he says, “However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.”What I want you to see is the unveiling of a biblical principle...  Read More

Read: Mark 15:15, “Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”This morning, my devotions took me to the first 25 verses of Mark 15. I was listening to some worship songs as I read this scripture, and the first one I was listening to was “Agnus Dei” by Michael W. Smith. “Agnus Dei” means “Lamb of God.”The Lam...  Read More

Read: “Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in.” Joshua 6:1.This chapter of Joshua was part of my devotions recently. As I read this first verse of chapter 6, I immediately thought of the situation that most of us face, and that is being “shut-in.”Jericho quarantines in fearHere was a whole city that was, in a sense, under a total “quarantine....  Read More

“'Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you...  Read More