First15 Devotional

As we continue our week on vision and boundaries, today we’ll explore what it looks like to have vision for loving and serving others well. Is loving people something you do intentionally? Or is something you believe will happen effortlessly as you live your life? Sometimes God is asking us to intentionally discover vision for certain seasons, and is specific about ways we could minister to or ble...

Today we will take some time for ourselves, something we’re often not very good at doing. The reality is God cares deeply for you before you can do anything for him, and he wants that truth to settle deeply into our hearts today. We will be exploring what it means to have vision for ourselves holistically. How do we set ourselves up for success emotionally, physically and spiritually? The truth is...

As we focus this week on boundaries for life and vision, today we’ll explore what it would look like to have the right priorities in place in our relationship with God. Many of us live as though God has a long list of expectations for us to meet. Today may God’s priorities for us become our own, and may we set the necessary boundaries in place to keep our priorities in the correct order. Our Scrip...

We serve a God of boundaries. In his limitless capacity, endless creativity, and boundless existence he still chose to create boundaries. He still had vision for what was good, right, pleasing, and perfect. And as children made in his image, we are to live, think, and create as he does. In a world marked by busyness from seemingly infinite opportunities, it’s important now more than ever for us to...

In today’s devotional, the last in our series on the parables, we’ll be looking at the parables of the lost sheep and coin. May you discover today how precious you are in the eyes of God. And may you be empowered to see yourself, your value, as he does. Our Scripture for today comes from Luke 15:4-7 , and today's worship is Extravagant by Steffany Gretzinger & Amanda Cook. This Christmas,...

As we near the end of our week on the parables, today we’re going to look at the parable of the prodigal son. Hanging in my office is a print of Rembrandt’s depiction of this biblical scene. It’s hard for me to think of another passage of Scripture that produces such continual fruit in my life on a daily basis. May these words of Jesus redefine our relationship with God for the better today. Our S...

One of my favorite stories is the parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector. Through this story, Jesus makes it abundantly clear how we’re to come before God. May we today begin a fresh revival of humility in the church as we humble ourselves before God in prayer and honest worship. I want to encourage you to be open and vulnerable as you approach the Lord today. Our Scripture for today comes from...

As we continue to look at the profound, life-transforming concepts Jesus shared through parables, today we’ll focus on the parable of the lamp on a stand. May what might’ve once been a concept that caused many of us to feel pressure, now bring forth peace, purpose and freedom in God’s love and identity for us. Our Scripture for today comes from Matthew 5:14-15 , and today's worship is Let Ther...

Continuing our week on Jesus’s parables, we’ll look today at the parable of the mustard seed. As we dig into this rich, beautiful parable, may our hearts and minds be enlightened. Take a moment even now to ask God to give you fresh revelation. Our Scripture for today comes from Matthew 13:31-32 , and today's worship is New Wine by Hillsong Worship. This Christmas, find the peace God has waitin...

As we continue this week allowing the parables of Jesus to speak directly to our situations, mindsets, and core beliefs about who God is, today we’ll dive into the parables of the hidden treasure and valuable pearl. Upon learning about God forsaking everything to find us, we’ll assess our own hearts and see what they value most in this life. Open your heart today and choose to take an honest look....

Jesus loved to use stories to illustrate profound, life-transforming concepts. He loved to use real and genuine settings, characters, and ideas that apply to all of us to reveal God’s heart of pursuit and love. This week we’re going to spend time allowing the parables of Jesus to speak directly to our situations, mindsets, and core beliefs about who God is. Open your heart and mind to be transform...

As we wrap up this week looking at the desires of every heart, we’re going to look today at the desire to live a life of significance. God has a plan to use you in ways far beyond what you could ask or imagine, a plan for you to make an eternal impact in the world. As we make space for God to speak and lead today, may he give us a deeper sense of purpose and calling in him. Our Scripture for today...

In today’s devotional, we’re going to explore the desire we all share to be passionate. Everyone of us desires to give our lives to something, our passion to something that truly matters. And God has given us all that desire with a perfect plan to satisfy it in a unique way, a way he’s perfectly wired each of us for. May each of us get a greater sense of how we can live more wholeheartedly in him...

In today’s devotional we’re going to look at the desire we all share to be fully know and fully loved. You and I were made for this. And pursuing that sense of knowledge and love from the world has left so many of us wounded. But the good news is that God has a path for healing, relationship, and love that’s void of shame, and wants to guide us down that path today as we create space and follow hi...

Today as we continue our series looking at the desires of every heart, we’re going to take time to recognize and satisfy our desire to be great. The desire to be great within the heart of man has produced tremendous and terrible things. It’s produced peace and war, advancement and destruction. And as we look at this desire today, I pray that God reveals the purity and power of it as well as his pl...

As we continue our week-long focus on the desires of every heart, today we’re going to look at the desire we all share to behold beauty. God has created beauty all around us, beauty we can see and beauty we can feel. And in a world so inundated with false notions of beauty, today my prayer is that God reveals the purity within this longing that resides within each of our hearts, and his perfect pl...

In today’s devotional, we’re going to look at the desire we all share for wonder. We serve an absolutely fascinating God – a God who has created a whole world to marvel us. May we set our eyes on him today by the power of the Holy Spirit, that our desire for wonder would be satisfied in relationship with our powerful and good God. Our Scripture for today comes from Romans 1:22-23 , and today's...

All of us have insatiable desires that can only be satisfied in communion with our heavenly Father. The desire to be delighted in, for wonder, to behold glory, and to be someone great are driving forces within each of us. The desire to be fully know and fully loved, to be passionate, and to live a life of significance resound within each of us at the foundation of who we are. God created these des...

As we wrap up this week focusing on tilling the soil of our hearts, today we’re going to look at the role of hearing God’s voice in living open and responsive to God. I know for a lot of us the idea of hearing God speak can be a confusing, sometimes too far out there subject. But as God’s children, he wants us to live in communication with him. And through the Holy Spirit, you and I have the abili...

In today’s podcast, we’re going to continue our week long focus on tilling the soil of the heart by looking at the power of prayer. There is no better way to soften our hearts towards God than making space to have a real conversation with him. His voice breaks down our walls. His answers give us the peace and direction we need. And his presence, simply resting in him, builds the solid foundation o...

As we near the end of our week focusing on tilling the soil of the heart, today we’re going to look at the role of community in positioning ourselves to receive all that God longs to give. God is calling us into a deeper commitment to love others, and be loved by others. He wants to use us and those he’s placed around us to guide us deeper into fullness of life. So as we set our eyes on him, may h...

As we reach the middle of our week-long focus on tilling the soil of our hearts, today we’re going to look at the power of Scripture in receiving all that God longs to give us. Within the pages of Scripture there is a wealth of stories all conveying how God has met with and restored his people from the beginning of civilization. And these stories are powerful resources in softening our hearts towa...

As we continue this week-long focus on tilling the soil of our hearts, today we’re going to look at the power of worship in opening our hearts to receive all that God longs to give. For most of us, worship is something we engage in in a corporate setting. It’s a collective expression of adoration and relationship. But worship can be so much more than the songs we sing together. It’s a powerful ave...

As we continue this week focusing on tilling the soil of our hearts, today we’re going to look at the role of thankfulness in opening our hearts to receive all that God longs to give. While Scripture is filled with encouragements to be thankful, I think our own lived experience tells us that being thankful is essential in the pursuit of an abundant life. So may God remind us of all we have to be t...

This week we’ll look at a vital spiritual practice to all those seeking to grow in God: tilling the soil of the heart. Jesus spoke in  Matthew 13  of two different types of soil—hard and soft. God longs for us to till the soil of our hearts that we might be receptive to the seed of his word and bear fruit. May your heart become more responsive to the presence, will, and love of God this week as yo...