Before the Lord

How does a person actually act with knowledge — and where does that knowledge come from? In this episode, we slow down on Proverbs 13:16 and trace the answer back to its root — the fear of the Lord — and forward into the places where wisdom shows up first: your words and your emotions. Featuring Proverbs 13:16 alongside Proverbs 1:7, we explore the root-and-fruit connection between reverence and w...

What happens when you can’t shake that unsettled feeling — and you don’t know if it’s God or just anxiety? In this episode, we look at what John reveals about how the Lord uses our heart as a steering mechanism to guide our decisions. It’s not about condemnation — it’s about direction. Featuring 1 John 3:19–21, we explore why “peace means go, no peace means wait” — and how the Lord uses conviction...

What happens when your relationships are built on control instead of love? In this episode, we explore how the instinct to manage relationships — through distance, over-functioning, or conflict avoidance — keeps us from truly living them. The bridge from managing to living is trust in the Lord. Featuring John 13:34–35, we look at how Jesus modeled sacrificial love on His last night with His discip...

What does it mean to let the peace of Christ “rule” in your heart? In this episode, we dig into the original Greek meaning of that word — and discover that Paul is describing an umpire, not a feeling. We explore what the peace of Christ actually is, how it’s meant to govern our thoughts, decisions, and relationships, and why gratitude is the key to keeping the umpire honest. Subscribe to receive B...

Do you struggle with shame? In this episode, we explore the difference between guilt and shame, and why shame is a liar for those in Christ. Using Paul’s thorn in 2 Corinthians 12, we look at how God doesn’t always remove our struggles — but He transforms them. The key to moving forward from shame isn’t substitution. It’s transformation. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in your inb...

What do you do when you’re called to make peace, but the other person isn’t peaceable? In this episode, we explore why not every broken relationship requires the same response — and why the path to peace with others always starts with being at peace in Christ yourself. Whether sin is involved or not, Romans 12:18 gives us the guide: do what you can, as far as it depends on you, and trust the Lord...

Paul told the Corinthians that he and the Apostles were considered foolish, weak, and dishonorable — and he said it like it was a badge of honor. Years ago, that idea collided with my own struggle with failure and shame. In this episode, I share what I learned: the world determines worth by its own standards, but the Lord settled yours once and for all at the cross. Subscribe to receive Before the...

Paul loved the Corinthians. He taught them, cared for them, and sacrificed for them. In return, they doubted his authority and withheld their love. So what did Paul do? He kept loving. In this episode, we explore what sacrificial love really looks like — and why the love that quits when it isn’t returned was never truly sacrificial to begin with. Subscribe to receive Before theLord devotionals in...

Most Christians would say God is always with them. Far fewer live like it on a Tuesday afternoon. In this episode, we explore what it means to practice the presence of God — and why a believer facing execution under Stalin’s regime might have understood this better than we do. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in your inbox: www.blakescrawford.com / Follow Before the Lord on Faceboo...

Paul told the Corinthians that the only thing required of a steward is faithfulness — not success, not popularity, not approval. So why do we spend so much energy performing forpeople instead of serving the Lord? In this episode, we explore what it means to stop filtering your obedience through other people’s opinions — and why the servant who knows their audience will always know which voice to f...

Jesus wept — the shortest versein the Bible, and maybe the most revealing. But if Jesus knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, why did He weep? In this episode, we explore what those two words reveal about how God meets us in our grief — and why His tears tell us more about His heart than His miracles. Subscribe to receive Before theLord devotionals in your inbox: www.blakescrawford.com...

When I think about my faith, I think about Jesus — God’s Son. But there’s another sun worth thinking about, too. In this episode, we explore Colossians 1:17 and what the Sun teaches us about life with Christ — why even a small shift in orbit changes everything, and what to do when you realize you’ve drifted further from center than you thought. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in y...

There are seasons when your faith feels like it’s running on fumes — when your quiet time goes dry, your service feels pointless, and discouragement settles in like fog. In this episode, we look at 1 Corinthians 15:58 and the promise Paul makes to people who are tired: your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Not some of it. All of it. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in your inbox:...

When I think about my faith, I think about Jesus — God’s Son. But there’s another sun worth thinking about, too. In this episode, we explore Colossians 1:17 and what the Sun teaches us about life with Christ — why even a small shift in orbit changes everything, and what to do when you realize you’ve drifted further from center than you thought. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in y...

We celebrate bold action — decisive leaders, fearless risk-takers, the ones who charge ahead. But Solomon says the person who masters themselves has achieved something greater than a warrior who takes a city. In this episode, we dig into Proverbs 16:32 and explore why patience is the harder victory — and why the kind that comes from waiting on God will always outweigh the kind that comes from avoi...

We tend to think of love as warmth — patience, kindness, showing up when it counts. But in Romans 12:9, Paul connects genuine love to something unexpected: moral backbone. In this episode, we explore why love without moral clarity isn’t genuine — it’s merely agreeable — and what it looks like to be anchored in truth as a continuing quality of life. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals...

We tend to think of pride as something obvious — arrogance, ego, the need to be right. But what if the most dangerous kind of pride is the kind you’d never think to confess? In this episode, we look at James 4:6, the story of Haman, and the subtle pride that keeps us from receiving the grace God is offering — the belief that we shouldn’t need it as often as we do. Subscribe to receive Before theLo...

We often think of disobedience as the easy road — until the day we try to come back. In Ezra 9–10, Israel’s return to obedience meant tearing apart families that never should have been built. In this episode, we dig into Galatians 6:7 and the devastating reality that sin doesn’t stay contained — and when God calls you back, the cost of obedience often falls on more than just you. Subscribe to rece...

In first-century Jewish culture, who you ate with said something about who you were. So when Jesus sat down at a table full of tax collectors and sinners, every Pharisee in the room knew exactly what He was doing — and they were offended. In this episode, we dig into Matthew 9:13 and the scandal of who Jesus chose to eat with. Because the real question isn’t whether you’re worthy of a seat at His...

Most of us treat God’s shelter like a storm cellar — a place we visit when things fall apart and leave when the pressure lifts. But the Hebrew word for “dwells” in Psalm 91:1 doesn’t describe a visit. It describes a life. In this episode, we dig into the difference between being a visitor in God’s presence and making your home there— and why that distinction changes everything about how you walk t...

Jesus says no one lights a lamp just to hide it — so why do we treat Scripture that way? In this episode, we unpack Luke 8:16–18 and the sharp connection between the Parable of the Sowerand the lamp on a stand. What you do with the light you’ve been given determines whether more is coming — or whether what you have slips away. Subscribe to receive Before the Lord devotionals in your inbox:www.blak...

Psalm 13 opens with raw despair and ends with confident praise — all in six verses. That’s not an emotional roller coaster. That’s a faith being refined. In this episode, we explore why the lows of your faith journey aren’t signs that something is broken — they’re often the very ground on which growth happens. If you’ve been in a hard season and are wondering what it means, this one’s for you. Sub...

Most Christians would check the “salvation by grace” box on a statement of faith — then spend the week living as if a missed quiet time put them back at square one. In this episode, we diginto Colossians 1:21–23 and the Greek word behind that unsettling “if.” What we find isn’t a warning — it’s a confidence. And the gap between knowing that theologically and living it practically is where most of...

David called himself a broken vessel — forgotten, used up, shattered. And yet in the very same Psalm, he lands on bold courage. What happened between verse 12 and verse 24? In thisepisode, we trace the turn David made from grief to God’s goodness and explore what it looks like to stop magnifying our troubles and start anchoring to the One who outweighs them all. Subscribe to receive Before the Lor...

We naturally gravitate toward what makes us feel capable — and away from what makes us feel inadequate. But what if some of those uncomfortable places are exactly where God is callingyou? In this episode, we look at Philippians 2:13 and 2 Corinthians 3:5 to understand why your sufficiency was never the point — and how God provides both the desire and the ability to step into what He’s prepared for...