January 3, 2025
Here is today’s reading. I will update this post when my own devotional is complete, but please share yours in the comments! Continue reading →
Author: bspangle
Starve the Beast
Message: God wants my first fruits, not just my contribution. He wants my best, and to be first. When I don’t put him first and give him my best I end up tossing him leftovers as if I am appeasing... Continue reading →
In the Beginning…Well that escalated quickly!
My devotional is posted below, but remember to post yours in the comments! Message: In the beginning God created everything with beauty, purpose and intent. He literally thought of everything and spared no detail in his creativity. I could feel... Continue reading →
Ask the Right Questions
Message: The rich young ruler came and asked Jesus “What good must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus answered this in two pieces by first answering his question with another question. “Why do you ask me about what is... Continue reading →
Blameless
Message: “Live in my presence and be blameless.” This was the short and simple command that God gave Abram right before telling him that he would bless him and make him the father of nations through his wife Sarai. I... Continue reading →
The Spin Doctor
Message: In Genesis 16 Sarai got impatient with the promise that God made about she and Abram having a child so she convinced Abram to take her slave and sleep with her. But after she did and the slave got... Continue reading →
Persistence
Message: The Canaanite woman pushed Jesus for a miracle for her daughter who was tormented by a demon. Jesus even resisted her at first by telling her that this was only for the Jews. He even insulted her by referencing... Continue reading →
Roots
Message: It isn’t enough for me to just read the word. I have to ponder it and let it teach me something or else it just becomes a checklist item. When Jesus spoke in the parables he was very clear... Continue reading →
Careless Words
Message: A tree is known by the fruit it produces. A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit and a bad tree doesn’t produce good fruit. Command: I am going to have to give an account for every word, and on... Continue reading →
Unity
Message: The people of Babylon came together in unity for a rebellious cause. Their united desire was to make a name for themselves and build a tower up to the sky. Their reason was “otherwise we will be scattered over... Continue reading →
The Miracle Nobody Was Asking For
Message: When the paralytic man was brought to Jesus the first thing Jesus said was “take courage son, your sins are forgiven.” I can’t help but wonder what the men who carried him to Jesus were thinking. ‘Ummm, that’s really... Continue reading →
Wisdom Speaks
Message: Wisdom calls out to me and provokes me to do not only what is right, but what is beneficial. Wisdom is not only an attribute of who God is, but it is the part of him that guides me... Continue reading →
Foundation Check
Message: Matthew 7 takes me back to that childhood Sunday school song about the wise man building his house upon the rock, and the foolish man building his house upon the sand. As I read this I thought about the... Continue reading →
Adjust the Motive
Message: Matthew 6 is a reminder to me that although my character is on display, it is not for show! On one hand this sounds obvious, but it can almost sound contradictory in contrast with this passage from yesterday’s reading... Continue reading →
Blessed
Message: The “beattitudes” are a reminder to me that in whatever situation I find myself in, if I am walking with the attributes of God I am blessed. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like blessing though. It feels a lot like... Continue reading →
Sin is Crouching At My Door
Message: What really stood out to me in Genesis 4 this morning is that we don’t just happen upon trouble. It is usually rooted from something deeper going on within us. In the case of this story, Abel was offended... Continue reading →
The Cost of Wisdom
Message: As I read between Genesis 3 and Proverbs 3 I couldn’t help but notice a theme with the word “wisdom”. Maybe I always assumed that Eve ate from the tree because the serpent tricked her into believing she wouldn’t... Continue reading →
The Garden
Message: The message I got today was in more of a symbolic form, but it has a very practical message. As I read in Genesis 2 about the one river in the garden of Eden that watered the garden, I... Continue reading →
Order is the Foundation For Productivity & Creativity
Message: In both Genesis 1 and Matthew 1 I see the order of God at work and the result is not only fruitfulness, but so much variety and creativity also. What struck me about this first was when I was... Continue reading →
Not What He Asked For
Message: The paralyzed man at the temple gate was in his usual place doing his usual thing, begging for money from those who were entering the temple. When Peter and John came along and saw him in his usual place... Continue reading →
