Grow In Faith

How do you know what's true? In a world drowning in information, misinformation, news, fake news, and algorithms feeding us exactly what we want to hear — that question has only gotten louder. And in Day 7 of our Colossians devotional series, we discover that Paul answers it in a surprising way: not with an argument, but with a prayer. Even more surprising? He's writing from a prison cel...

We all want peace — but how many of us actually experience it? In Day 6 of our Colossians devotional series, we slow down on a single word in Paul's opening greeting that holds far more depth than we often realize: peace. Instead of asking "How are you doing?" what if we asked, "Are you sleeping well? And if not, what's keeping you up?" That question gets to the very...

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father." It's easy to skim right past these opening words as just another standard greeting. But Paul chose them on purpose — and today we slow down to discover why grace might be the most important word we keep racing past. In Day 5 of our Colossians devotional series, we dig into the very heart of the gospel. In this devotional, we explore: → W...

A young apprentice walks into a jewelry shop expecting to learn the trade. Instead, the master hands him a piece of jade and says, "Study this." Day after day, the same thing. Until one day, the master hands him a fake — and the apprentice instantly knows. Why? Because he had spent so much time with the real thing. That's the heart of today's devotional as we finally dive into...

What were the real problems facing the church in Colossae? And why does Paul's response still matter for us today? In Day 3 of our Colossians devotional series, we set the stage for a verse-by-verse journey through one of the most theologically rich chapters in the New Testament. Before we dive into the text itself, we need to understand the world Paul was writing into — and the timeless issu...

Have you ever been disappointed by the church? Discouraged by failures, scandals, or broken people in leadership? You're not alone — and as we continue our journey through Colossians , we discover that the church has been wrestling with problems from the very beginning. In Day 2 of our Colossians devotional series, we step back to look at the bigger picture behind Paul's letter and uncov...

Welcome to Day 1 of our brand-new devotional journey through Colossians chapter 1 — one of the most theologically rich passages in the entire New Testament. We're going slow, digging deep, and discovering why this short letter from the Apostle Paul still speaks powerfully into our lives today. In this opening devotional, we unpack Colossians 1:1-8 and explore: → Why Paul wrote this "occa...

In this final devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff brings the journey to a close with one of the most famous declarations in all of Scripture — and one of the most personally searching invitations in the entire Bible. Joshua is an old man now. He has led the people through the Jordan, through Jericho, through victory and defeat, through failure and restoration. And as he gathers...

After Israel's stunning victory at Jericho, the defeat at Ai catches Joshua off guard — and God's response reveals that the real issue wasn't military strategy, but hidden sin in the camp. In this devotional, Pastor Mike Woodruff walks through the difficult judgment of Achan and what it teaches us about holiness, confession, and the corrosive nature of unaddressed sin. The freedom C...

In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff turns to one of the most sobering chapters in the book — the surprising and costly defeat at Ai. Jericho had just fallen. The walls came down, the victory was miraculous, and the momentum was real. So when Israel turned its attention to Ai — a much smaller city with a much smaller army — confidence was high. Too high. They went in wit...

In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff opens the final week of reflections from the book of Joshua by weaving together two of its most powerful threads — the long, silent march around Jericho and the unlikely faith of Rahab — into a single, sustaining encouragement for anyone who feels stuck, stalled, or unable to see where God is taking them. The march around Jericho didn...

In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff arrives at one of the most iconic moments in all of Scripture — the walls of Jericho — and invites us to look past the miracle itself to what this strange, silent march reveals about the nature of faith. Four things stand out from this remarkable account. First, obedience to God can look genuinely odd. Marching around a fortified city...

In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff pauses the march toward Jericho to spotlight one of the most surprising figures in the entire Bible — Rahab. She is, by every outward measure, an unlikely candidate for anything. A Canaanite. A Gentile. A prostitute. An outsider in just about every conceivable way — ethnically, morally, and geographically. And yet when Joshua's t...

In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff returns to that charged midnight encounter between Joshua and the pre-incarnate Christ — and zeroes in on the question at its heart. Joshua asks what so many of us ask: God, are you with me? Are you for me or for my enemies? And the answer — neither — is as jarring today as it was then. Because we want God on our side. We assume He is...

In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff reflects on one of the most searching questions the book of Joshua puts before us — not "Is God on my side?" but "Am I on His?" The Israelites have crossed the Jordan on dry ground, renewed their covenant through circumcision and Passover, and watched forty years of daily manna come to an end. They are finally in t...

In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff sets the scene for one of the most pivotal moments in the entire book — not the famous battle itself, but the quiet, charged encounter that happens the night before. The Israelites have crossed the Jordan and are now in the land. Three spiritually significant moments mark this transition: the men are circumcised, reestablishing the Ab...

In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff opens with a disarming story — a four-year-old lying awake, convinced wolves were lurking outside the window. No wolves were ever there, of course. But the fear was real. The only thing that changed when his mom came in wasn't the situation — it was who he chose to trust. That simple childhood memory becomes a powerful lens for u...

In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff reflects on the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River and what happened immediately after. Just as God parted the waters for the priests carrying the ark — a stunning echo of Moses and the Red Sea — the Israelites were commanded to do something easy to overlook: build altars. Two piles of stones. One hidden beneath the Jordan's...

The Israelites are on the banks of the Jordan River—the same spot where their parents stood 40 years earlier. But this time, they're looking forward in faith. Two million people, plus animals, all organized and ready. The priests lead with the Ark of the Covenant. The river is at flood stage, dangerous, muddy, and impossible to see through. And the people don't know how to swim. It'...

"As soon as the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—step foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap." — Joshua 3:13 Here it is. The moment of decision. The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant are told to step into the Jordan River—still at flood stage, still dangerous, still impossible. They don't know ho...

"Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." — Joshua 3:5 Before the miracle comes the moment of preparation. Joshua stands before nearly two million people and tells them to get ready—not just logistically, but spiritually. Clean your hearts. Examine your lives. Confess your sin. Rededicate yourselves. Because God is about to show up and lead you forw...

"Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give them." — Joshua 1:2 Some decisions can't be delayed. You're either going to take the job or not. Forgive the person or not. Step into something new or stay where you are. In this installment of our "Joshua" devotional series, Pastor Mike Woodruff reminds us that t...

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, because you know that the testing of faith produces endurance. (James 1:2-3) Let's be honest—trials don't feel like gifts. They feel like chaos, disruption, and heartache. Something to be endured, not embraced. But the Book of Joshua highlights a different perspective: even in hardship, even in the middl...

We're still standing at the edge of the Jordan, still talking about second chances. But today, Pastor Mike Woodruff pivots to an uncomfortable truth: resets aren't guaranteed to work. A second chance doesn't automatically produce a better outcome—not unless we do something with it. Some people are given a clean slate, a do-over, a mulligan… and they waste it. They fall right back in...

Let's be honest—most of us would love a second chance. A redo. A clean slate. We romanticize them in sports, root for them in movies, and long for them in life. But second chances are seldom painless. They come at a cost. They're often preceded by struggle, humiliation, and a deep learning curve. In this installment of our "Joshua" devotional series, Pastor Mike Woodruff takes...