First15 Devotional

In our second episode positioning ourselves to more fully experience God’s promises, today we’re going to look at the role of renewing our minds in opening our heads and hearts to receive all God longs to give.  May God do a mighty work today as we make space for him to fill. Our Scripture for today comes from Romans 12:2 , and today's worship is Your Word  by Hillsong Worship featuring Jad Gi...

In today’s podcast, we’re launching a brand new series seeking to position ourselves to receive more of the reality of God’s promises every day. There is so much available to you and to me in God that we fail to tap into.  And today we’re looking specifically at how waiting on the Lord, sitting patiently and intentionally at his feet, positions us to receive God’s promise of strength.  May God gui...

In the last episode of this series on God’s promises, today we’re looking at the promise of his return.  The suffering and pain we’re right now experience is not for forever. There is a conclusion to this story, to all of our stories. And that conclusion is being written by a God so good, so loving, and so powerful, that we know this story of humanity ends triumphantly.  So may God fill us with ho...

As we near the end of series on God’s promises, today we’re going to look at the promise of his presence.  The nearness of God is always to our good. In every situation, good or bad, challenging or easy, it’s so good to be near to God.  So wherever you are today, lay down every other pursuit, just for the next few minutes, and focus simply on resting on God’s presence. Our Scripture for today come...

In today’s podcast, we’re continuing our series focusing on God’s promises by looking at his promise of comfort. We serve a God of all mercy and comfort, a God who knows our pain, weeps with us, and has a perfect plan to lead us to abundant life even in the midst of it all.  Let’s come to God today open-hearted, ready and willing to receive his comfort, that we might be nearer to him as the result...

As we enter the middle of our series on God’s promises, today we’re going to look at his promise of freedom.  Every day this world tries to chain us to its ways, holding us down where God is trying to lift us up. But in Jesus, we’ve been offered total and complete freedom. And in the Spirit we’re offered a continual pathway to exercise that freedom.  Whether it’s fear, lust, pride, or something el...

On today’s podcast, we’re going to look at God’s promise of compassion.  Few things draw me nearer to God, faster, than a fresh revelation of his compassion. In a world that judges us so quickly, and so often fails to offer second chances, compassion is in short supply.  May we not only get a revelation of God’s compassion in our own lives today, but may God mold and fashion us into his likeness,...

In today’s podcast, we’re continuing our series of taking hold of God’s promises by looking at his promise of strength. Every day I wake up, I’m reminded of my weakness. No human has ever lived a perfect day. But the goodness of this promise lies in that God promises his strength when we are weak. In his grace, you and I can live with the real, meaningful, and powerful strength of our God. Our Scr...

In today’s podcast, we’re launching a brand new series looking at various promises our heavenly Father makes towards us, and creating space to take hold of them a little bit more every day. Today we’re looking at how God promises us his will, and how we can live our lives in connection to his desires and plans for us.  May God stir our hearts to surrender anything that isn’t best for us, and may h...

In the last episode of this week where we’re seeking to stir up our affections for God, today we’re going to look at God’s faithfulness. You and I can have faith, because God is faithful. His faithfulness lays the foundation we need to love him, follow him, and walk with him. May God draw us closer to him, and give us a greater measure of faith today as we focus on his steadfast love and faithfuln...

In today’s podcast, we’re going to stir up our affections for God by looking at what it means when Scripture calls us God's children.  As a child of God, you are adopted into the family of the Creator of all. And you have a good, and loving Father, filled with grace, mercy, and compassion.  May God give us eyes to see who we are to him today, and the courage to abide in him in life-giving rela...

In today’s podcast, we’re going to stir up our affections by looking at God’s invitation to us in Revelation 3:20 to share a meal with him.  This metaphor, this image of sitting across the table from God, especially in the context of the author of Revelation, John’s, culture, creates a pathway for you and me to journey down that leads to real, close relationship with our Creator and Savior.  May w...

In today’s podcast, we’re going to stir up our affections for God by looking at his wisdom.  Not only is our God wise, but he longs to share his wisdom with us as his people. Living with true wisdom, true perspective, knowing how to order our desires and our days is one of the real keys to living an abundant life.  May we praise God for his wisdom, and ask him with boldness and confidence to share...

We're so excited to share this conversation Craig recently had with our friend Alison from Living Water International. In addition to discussing some of the amazing work Living Water is doing around the world, Alison and Craig also got to talk about the challenges we all face in staying connected to God in our work, some of the difficulties of working in a faith-based organization, and how we...

In today’s podcast, we’re going to continue our series seeking to simply stir our affections toward God, by looking at his boundless grace.  On a daily basis, it’s God’s grace that always draws me close first. His forgiveness, his loving compassion, his gaze changes everything.  May God open our eyes and hearts in a special way today to receive his grace in every corner of our hearts. Our Scriptur...

In today’s podcast, we’re going to continue our pursuit of stirring up our affections for God by looking at how God exchanges our burdens for his peace.  As a society, we are more continually stressed now than ever. Stress has become our new normal. But in God, we have the opportunity to live with a peace that surpasses our understanding.  May God guide us down his path to peace today as we make s...

This week we’ll start a new series, making space to simply stir up our affections for God every day.  Today, we’re going to look at the reality that our God loves to give us good gifts. May God empower us to live with open hands and an open heart, ready and willing to receive all that he longs to give. Our Scripture for today comes from James 1:17 , and today's worship is Garments  by Cory Asb...

In our final day of this week-long series seeking to put our faith to action, today we’re going to look at the victory we have in God’s love.  As God’s people, he’s inviting us into his victory, a victory we so desperately need.  May God establish us in his power today, and may chains fall off us and others as God guides us into a lifestyle of victory in him. Our Scripture for today comes from Rom...

As we near the end of our series on love does, today we’re going to look at the role of hope in putting our faith into action. You and I need hope more than ever. We need God to give us fresh vision for the work he’s doing and will do in the world around us. And we need him to empower us to share that vision with others, that our perspective would be grounded in his goodness. May God fill us as hi...

In today’s podcast, we’re going to look at the role of forgiveness in putting our love into action.  In God we have forgiveness for every sin we can commit. And that forgiveness not only washes us clean, but empowers us to become like our great Forgiver. Every day we’re wronged in some way. And every day is an opportunity to show others forgiveness, not because they deserve it, but because loving...

In today’s podcast we’re going to look at the role of encouragement in putting our love into action.  In a world that constantly seems to beat us down, we’re in need of some real encouragement. God has an encouraging word to speak to everyone around you. And if we’ll make space to listen, he longs to share that word with us that we might see his kingdom advancing in the heart of another.  May God...

In our third day of this series exploring how to put our faith into action, we’re looking at how we can love others by simply making time for them. The busier our schedules get, the harder it can be to make time for the needs of others. But we see in Jesus someone who while holding the power to save and heal the world, made time for the one.  May God grant us his perspective and fashion us into hi...

As we continue this week’s focus, seeking to put love into action, today we’re going to look at how simply being present can make all the difference in the life of another.  As our world becomes more and more distracted, and takes less time to notice what’s happening in the life of another, may God empower us as his people to simply be present today. Our Scripture for today comes from Psalm 139:7...

James 2:26 tells us, “Faith apart from works is dead.” If we are going to experience the fullness of life offered to us through our faith we must be those who put our words into action. We must not profess to love God on Sunday and live as if he isn’t present, real, or good on Monday. May your faith come alive this week as you seek to be a doer of the word. Our Scripture for today comes from James...

As we finish this week of looking at different ways God speaks, today we’re going to look at the role of taking action in hearing God.  One of the most powerful ways to discover what God thinks and how God feels is joining him where he is at work in the world around us.  So my prayer today is that God opens our eyes and ears to discover fresh parts of how he declares his heart to us, and that we’r...