Devotions with Pastor Stanton

Imagine you’re standing in a courtroom. You know you’re guilty. The evidence is stacked against you, and you’re waiting for the hammer to drop. But then, the Judge looks at you and says, "Case dismissed. Not because the crime didn't happen, but because the person who committed it no longer exists." Today, on day two of our Metamorphosis series, we’re looking at the radical finality of our new life...

Have you ever felt like life was just... squeezing you? Like you’re trapped in a situation that is exhausting, violent, and honestly, not very "pretty"? We often pray for God to snip the shell/trial of life and let us out of the struggle/storm. But what if that very pressure is actually the secret to your future flight in Christ? Today, we’re starting continuing our series called Metamorphosis, lo...

If you were standing in the middle of a violent thunderstorm, you wouldn't try to dodge the raindrops or yell at the clouds. You would look for shelter. You would look for something strong enough to take the hit for you. Yesterday, we faced the storm of God's justice, the reality that, as "pests" in His garden, we owe a debt we cannot pay. But today, we are going to discover the Shelter. We are go...

We live in a culture that loves the idea of a loving God but hates the idea of a judging God. We often ask, "If God is so good, why doesn't He just forgive everyone? Why all this talk of wrath and judgment?" But think about that for a moment. If you hired a gardener to care for your prize roses, and he watched a swarm of pests eating them leaf by leaf, would you call him a "good" gardener if he ju...

We have a tendency to categorize people, don't we? We divide the world into "good" people and "bad" people. We look at the person who pays their taxes, volunteers, and speaks politely, and we say, "That is a good person." Then we look at the person whose life is a mess, maybe they are battling addiction, or they’ve made terrible choices, and we think, "That is a bad person." But what if I told you...

Here is a hard question to start your day: When you look at the world around you, do you see yourself as the victim of its brokenness, or a contributor to it? We all like to think of ourselves as the flowers in the garden of life: adding beauty, color, and value. But what if the true reality is something far less flattering? What if, in the eyes of the One who owns the garden, we aren’t the flower...

Have you ever felt the deep frustration of trying to connect with your spouse, but it feels like you are speaking completely different languages? As a wife, do you crave a word of affirmation, but you get silence. As a husband you crave physical closeness, but you feel emotional distance. You start to wonder, Why is this so hard? Is something wrong with us? But what if I told you that this frictio...

"What's mine is mine, and what's yours is yours." We hear that a lot lately, don't we? In a world of prenups and separate bank accounts, we’ve turned the marriage ceremony into a business contract where we keep our resources close to our chest, just in case things don't work out. It’s a strategy born out of fear: the fear that if we give everything, we’ll end up with nothing. But today we’re looki...

We live in a world where marriage and relationships are treated like transactions. We sign contracts with our spouse with an eye on the exit. We treat marriage ceremonies like transactions where we protect ourselves. Today’s culture of non-protection marriage leaves us incredibly vulnerable; where we end up standing next to someone but still feeling like we have to look over our own shoulder. It’s...

Have you ever heard the saying, "Marriage just a piece of paper." "Why do I need a certificate to prove I love someone?" In our culture, marriage is often viewed as a restriction: a legal trap that limits your freedom. But over the next five days, we’re embarking on a series called "A Sacred Wedding" to challenge that narrative. We’ll be exploring how marriage, in its divine design, isn't a cage,...

If you’ve ever tended a garden, you know that a gardener’s love for their plants is shown in how they deal with the things that destroy them. A good gardener doesn't ignore the pests; he removes them to protect the beauty of the harvest. As we conclude our look at the "Caterpillar series" we have to face a sobering reality: we aren't just caterpillars trying to survive; apart from Christ, we are t...

We often think of sin as a series of isolated events, a lie here, a moment of anger there. We view it as a "mistake" we can just sweep away. But in reality, sin is more like a biological process. If a caterpillar never changes, it doesn't just stay small; it eventually becomes a destructive force to the very plant it lives on. And for us, living "according to the flesh" isn't a harmless hobby; it’...

Have you ever wondered why it’s so much easier to be selfish than it is to be selfless? Why we don’t have to teach a toddler how to say "mine," but we have to spend years teaching them how to share? It’s because the "caterpillar life" isn't just something we learn from watching others; it’s something we’re born into. We aren't just caterpillars because of the leaves we eat; we’re caterpillars beca...

Have you ever noticed how quickly and naturally we camouflage? Like a caterpillar trying to blend into a leaf to avoid being seen as a pest, we spend a massive amount of energy trying to blend in our society and culture so that no one, not even God, can see the reality of our sin. We are terrified that if people looked too closely, they wouldn't see a "butterfly in progress," but rather the ugly,...

Have you ever watched a caterpillar? It spends every waking second on a single leaf, eyes fixed just an inch ahead, focused entirely on one thing: consumption. It doesn’t look at the sky, it doesn’t care about the beauty of the garden, and it certainly isn't thinking about the gardener who planted the tree. It just eats. But here’s the unsettling truth: many of us are living our entire lives exact...

Have you ever wondered why God makes the journey of answering prayer so long? If God knows what we need, and He knows He is going to provide it, why the delay? Why the confusion? Why the long silence? It often feels inefficient. If He is sovereign, He could just zap the answer into our laps instantly. But He rarely does. He takes us the long way round. Today, we are going to see that the delay isn...

We live in a world that hates the pause button. If a webpage takes three seconds to load, we get frustrated. If a text isn't answered immediately, we panic. And what is crazy, is that we often bring this same hurry into our relationship with God. When we are praying for an answer, maybe for a spouse, a job, or a breakthrough, and we see something that looks even remotely like a "yes," we tend to j...

When you have a big decision to make, how do you usually pray? If we are honest, many of us treat God like a Magic 8-Ball. We say, "Lord, if the traffic light turns green right now, I know that job is for me." Or, "Lord, if she texts me at exactly 5:00 PM, I know that she is the one you want me to marry." We crave a sign. We want a supernatural coincidence to make the decision for us so we don't h...

Have you ever stood at the edge of a decision, knowing exactly what God was calling you to do, but felt completely paralyzed by the sheer size of the task? It wasn't that you were rebellious; it was that the path ahead just looked too daunting. Maybe it felt too long, too heavy, or too risky. You wondered, "How can I possibly take this step when the journey looks impossible?" We often find ourselv...

Have you ever felt like you were being ripped off? Maybe it was an emergency home repair, or perhaps, you were sitting in a funeral home, looking at the price of caskets, feeling like your grief was being abused. It is a terrible feeling to know you are paying way too much just because you have no other choice. Today, we are going to watch Abraham get ripped off. He is going to be quoted an astron...

If a major crisis hit your home today, a tragedy that brought you to your knees, who would show up at your door? Would your neighbors care? Would your community rally? It’s a sobering question. We often think our private faith is just that, private. But today, we see Abraham in a foreign land, surrounded by people who don’t worship his God, facing his darkest hour. And the way these "strangers" re...

Have you ever been at a funeral and heard someone say, "Don't cry, they're in a better place"? Or maybe you've felt the pressure to hold it together because you want to show people you have faith. There is a dangerous myth that creeps into our spiritual lives, the idea that strong faith means zero emotion. We think that if we trust God enough, we won't fall apart. But today, we are going to look a...

If you were to write your own obituary today, what would fill the page? We usually fill it with our earthly resumes, career milestones, awards, and worldly accomplishments. But when God records the passing of one of the most significant women in history, He flips the script entirely. He doesn't focus on her status or how she died; He focuses intensely on how she lived in faith. Today, we are stand...

We live in an "on-demand" world. We want our food fast, fast gratifications and fast internet. If we want something, we buy it. If we feel something, we express it. But in the landscape of love, haste is often a destroyer. It's like a gardener who gets impatient for spring, so they pry open the rosebuds with their fingers to make them bloom. They don't get a flower; they get a dead, torn petal. To...

Have you ever had that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that the person you love is drifting away? Maybe it wasn't a physical separation, but an emotional distance that felt like a chasm. You reach out, but they aren't there. You try to speak, but the connection is gone. In relationships, fear is often a louder emotion than love. We fear being abandoned. We fear that the reality of marri...