The Up Devotional

“Surely I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20). Advent is the four-week period leading up to Christmas. It is from a Latin word meaning “coming.” At this time of year, we think about the first coming of Christ at Christmas. Makes sense. Historically, however, it is also a time to think about the “second coming” when […]

Firefighters do their work in a state of readiness. Picture a firehall. The firefighters need to be ready to respond to a call at a moment’s notice. The firepole exists to save time getting from the second or third floor to the first, quickly. The truck is also always full of gas and ready to […]

A father dragged his college-aged son into the office of one of his professors, Dr. Campolo. The father was angry. It turns out that the son had spent his time at college in a different way than the father had intended. The father said: “I sent him to college to get a good education, to […]

Dr. James Tour is a professor at Rice University. His church has a ministry to support families dealing with the challenges of cancer. People need treatment like chemotherapy for months at a time, so families from their church welcome these families into their homes. Sometimes, as we know, even children get cancer. In the midst […]

I recently heard a story about an ancient King. He was known for being perfectly just and perfectly loving.  It was discovered that someone was stealing gold from the royal treasury. The King said that the punishment would be ten lashes. The next week, more gold was taken. And more the week after that. Each […]

Providence. John Calvin defined it as the invisible hand of God. It’s when God guides and directs what is happening in the world (and in our lives) even when we can’t see how everything fits together. One of the most famous biblical examples of this is Joseph. He was favoured by God, and also his […]

Prayer is vital to the Christian life.  But let’s be honest, we can get stuck. Even if we don’t get stuck, we probably want to go deeper. Prayer is deceptively simple. A very basic definition is that it is talking with God. So, why can it be so hard—either to get out of a rut, […]

Let me share two quotes with you. The first is by C.S. Lewis who famously wrote: “There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”* I used to think that statement was a bit extreme, but not any more. The more I understand the Bible, […]

While in college John Ortberg had to attend mandatory chapel services.  They had assigned seating. It was a clever format. After all, since the services were mandatory, and since the students had assigned seating, it was easy for the monitors to see who was (or wasn’t) in attendance. During one of the semesters a controversy […]

Note: New Podcast Episode and Blog (link below)~ Have you seen the world lately? The pain, the division, the hardship, the anxiety, the threat of war, the evil, the darkness… The Dark Knight trilogy of movies with Batman came to a head with the final release in 2012. People thought, ‘Oh, this is going to […]

“God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:5-6). The apostle John has a particular way of writing. His style makes us see clear and definite contrasts. Throughout his […]

Have you ever heard the expression that someone is “sitting on the fence”?  It’s about being neutral, or perhaps being slow to make a decision about something.  With that in mind, let me say this: You can’t follow Jesus if you’re sitting on the fence.  The exact expression “follow me” occurs twenty times in the […]

“Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart” (Psalm 51:6). In 1992 a movie came out called “A Few Good Men.” It’s been a while since I saw it, so there are a lot of parts I don’t remember. But one line stood out, and […]

One of the most well-known verses in John the apostle’s first letter is this: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).  People tend to quote that verse to say we never have any need to be afraid of anything.  However, the second part of the verse explains […]

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). I sometimes see T-shirts or online memes that say something like this: “Surround yourself with people who make you happy.” I get it. But that’s an unfortunately shallow way to look at life.  Now, before you think I’m being too […]

One of Jesus’ most famous statements—and also one of his most challenging—is about taking up your cross. Here it is: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake […]

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). What comes to mind when I say the word “rival”? A rival competes for something—and that competition is usually fierce. Perhaps you think about a sports rivalry, like the one that […]

I’m going to share Jesus’ famous statement about loving our enemies. Then I’m going to point out what is perhaps the most neglected part of that statement: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those […]

Hi everyone, Matthew here with a quick reminder that The Up Daily Devotional is on pause this week. I’m having some dedicated study and prayer time. It will return this coming Monday. Until then, here’s a short message and request for those who listen to the podcast version:

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). I was recently surprised to learn that JRR Tolkien could get discouraged about his work. He wrote the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, perhaps one of the greatest movie epics of all time. It chronicles the battle […]

My colleague Paul Carter says: “Faithfulness is a team sport.”* That’s an important reminder, especially for Christians in the modern west. Our society is highly individualistic. We can get sucked into the thinking that faith is only about “me and Jesus.” Don’t get me wrong. It is definitely about you and Jesus. But it is […]

Look at the word ‘encouragement.’ In the middle of it there is the word ‘courage.’ It’s based on an old French word for heart: ‘corage.’  Encouragement is about enlarging or fortifying someone’s heart—who they are within—so that they can face the battles of life.  As Jesus’ people, encouragement isn’t just something we receive, but something […]

Today is Remembrance Day, also called Veterans Day or Armistice Day in other countries. We remember and give thanks for those who lost their lives in the miseries of war. We wear poppies. We read In Flanders Fields. We thank veterans. We pray for peace. We consider the value of our freedoms. We attend Remembrance […]

Some of the biblical authors use repetition to drive home a point. It is an effective way to keep focusing our attention on something critical. The apostle John does this very well. He uses the word “abide” a lot. This refers to “a close, intimate (and permanent) relationship between the believer and God.”* I’m going […]

Let me share one of the most comforting verses in the Bible. There are times when we feel as if our prayer life is deflated. In fact, there are times when we feel deflated, generally speaking. Things are not as they should be. We feel as though we can barely do the basics let alone […]