Elevate Your Day with Andi and Brian Hale

“If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned.” (NET) Into the Text A simple fact: a branch that is not connected to the vine has no life flowing through it, so it withers and dies. Without a true connection to Jesus, a person is like that branch, dead and unable to bear any Lasting Fruit....

“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me—and I in him—bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing.” (NET) Into the Text I love how Jesus says, “bears much fruit…” It’s as if He’s gently reminding us that our lives are meant to overflow with Spiritual Fruit. But here’s the best part. We aren’t expected to produce it in our own strength. You, my sweet fr...

“You are clean already because of the word that I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.” (NET) When I read John 15:3-4, I imagine Jesus leaning in and looking each of the disciples in the eyes. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you….” (NET) It is a prom...

Elevate your day is a short daily devotional from Brian and Andi Hale, and can be found at elevateyourday.podbean.com “If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth.”  Abiding in Christ means choosing to walk in His Light, live transparently before Him, and allow His Truth to shape every part of our lives. But sin disrupts...

Elevate Your Day is a short daily devotional produced by Andi and Brian Hale, M-F and can be found at elevateyourday.podbean.com "In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.” - Matthew 5:16 The Light that we are called to shine through our lives is not for others to better see us, but to better see Christ. When...

Friend, God is always at work in your life, even when you don’t realize it. While we’re called to intentionally pursue our faith, it’s God Himself who works within us. He is the One giving us both the desire and the strength to live according to His Will. Staying connected to Jesus, the Vine, and allowing God to transform you is what it means to abide. Abiding isn’t about perfection or instant cha...

I’ll never forget the day our new lawn company came to “treat and trim” our yard after we had moved into our home. What I didn’t realize was that it was pruning season. By the time they finished, they’d cut the rose bushes back so much that they looked like nothing but sticks. I wondered if they’d survive. But to my surprise, not only did the bushes come back, but they grew fuller, stronger, and m...

I’ll be honest. I’m not much of a gardener. I wish I were! But I can tell the difference right away between a garden that’s lovingly tended and one that’s been left to itself. Without a gardener, plants either wither and die or grow wild and unruly. In both cases, they fail to thrive and fulfill the purpose they were planted for. However, when a gardener steps in, the garden is transformed. With t...

When Making Others Happy Is Making You Miserable Day One: No Approval Needed Key Verse: Proverbs 29:25 At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, our adult son had to abruptly return to America from Australia where he’d been living on a work visa. He rented a room from us for a few months until he could make his next move in life. We soon noticed mail addressed to him stuffing our mailbox. As a me...

Victory and the Final Outcome While Jesus was on the cross, He cried out, “It is finished.” The outcome of His sacrifice not only paid the penalty for the sins of the world, but additionally ended the regime ruled by Satan. When Jesus rose from the dead, darkness was defeated and life prevailed. After His resurrection, Jesus said to his disciples, “All power and authority is given to Me in heaven...

From The Triumph by James Goll on YouVersion Blood. What is your first reaction when you read that word? Do you get squeamish? Leviticus 17:11 declares there is life in the blood. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. – Leviticus 17:11 ESV In Christ’s blood, we rece...

From The Triumph by James Goll on YouVersion Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the h...

From The Triumph by James Goll on YouVersion Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. – 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 ESV In 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, the apostle Paul warns of the devil’s plans to outsmart us. Outwit...

From The Triumph by James Goll on YouVersion You were born into a war—no matter where or when you were born—and you were meant to claim victory in that war. This doesn’t sound like great news at first, but as you learn about this war, the news gets better. You have the privilege of choosing which side to fight for; and when you choose to follow Jesus, you make the decision to be on the winning sid...

  From THRIVE with God on YouVersion As we seek, know, abide in, and submit to God there is a beautiful trust that develops and matures. When we spend more time with Him, we begin to know Him better. As a result, we genuinely learn what His voice sounds like. Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers...

From THRIVE with God on YouVersion Have you ever seen the picture floating around of Jesus, the little girl, and the teddy bears? Jesus and a young girl are facing one another while she tightly holds a small teddy bear in both arms. Jesus has one hand out for her to give Him her teddy bear, and the words “Just trust me” are above His head. Above the little girl’s head are the words, “But I love it...

  From THRIVE with God on YouVersion One of the best times of the year (in my humble opinion) is when it’s not too hot, certainly not cold, and the sun is shining bright. The sun rays warm our bodies, we can relax outside without melting, and we may even find ourselves saying, “This weather is so perfect.” It is pure bliss! When we think of abiding in God, it is a similar experience. Every moment...

From THRIVE with God on YouVersion As we begin on our journey of thriving with God, take a twirl with me down memory lane. Imagine you are outside on a playground. Yes, a playground! Imagine you’re standing on pine needles as a soft breeze blows gently across your face. The air is filled with a symphony of laughter, screams, and the “clink, clink” of beads in little girls’ hair. You can smell the...

From THRIVE with God on YouVersion Have you ever tried to utilize an item while missing the key elements needed to do so? Imagine grabbing a pen with no ink, opening a milk carton to find it empty, or attempting to turn on a lamp and realizing the bulb was gone. In each of these situations, the missing components make it almost impossible to interact with the tool as desired. In a similar way, our...

Rescue, Not Religion Why did Jesus come to the world? Was it to create a religion? Or something else? The answer lies in Luke 4. Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth, and when he went to the synagogue service, he was given the scroll of Isaiah to read aloud to the congregation. He read: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent...

Where Do I Go for Help? We sometimes face issues around our health, marriage, finances, relationships, work, and life in general that cause us to feel heavy. They often leave us broken, hurting, wounded, messed up, confused, doubting, hopeless, and uncertain. Where do we go with our stuff? Church? Really, how helpful has that been? Have you, like me, ever felt like your life, story, and/or current...

The Enemy's Footholds in Your Life In our attempts to move toward the future that God wants for us, we have to recognize how our enemy, the devil, is holding us back. In Genesis 3:1-7, he is a deceptive yet convincing snake sowing doubt about God’s goodness. In 1 Peter 5:8, he is a roaring lion seeking to devour us. In John 10:10, he is a thief seeking to kill and destroy us. God wants us to under...

A God-Fearing Life That's the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty. — Ecclesiastes 12:13 What is the purpose of life? Solomon gives us the answer in Ecclesiastes 12:13: "Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone's duty." It's a powerful (albeit succinct) conclusion to a book filled with questions about meaning and fulf...

Empty Materialism Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! — Ecclesiastes 5:10 How much is enough? Solomon observed in Ecclesiastes 5:10 that those who love money will never be satisfied. The pursuit of wealth and material gain often leaves us feeling empty. Why? Because money and possessions can never fill the void in our hearts that...

The Inevitable For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten. — Ecclesiastes 2:16  Death is the great equalizer. Solomon observed that no matter how wise or foolish a person might be, all eventually meet the same end. He writes, "The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool" (Ecclesiastes 2:1...