The Up Devotional

In some ways, these are polarizing times. People are becoming very good at arguing.  It can happen face-to-face. It can also happen online. Sometimes it’s with someone you know, and sometimes it’s with a complete stranger. As people of faith we know we have to stand up for certain things. I totally agree with that. […]

“Surely the righteous will never be shaken…” (Psalm 112:6) There is a word that Christians need to reclaim. It’s been neglected and avoided. That’s a problem. Why? Because it’s God’s word. The word is righteousness. Did you wish I had said something else? Perhaps love or courage or community? These are all a part of […]

Today is Ash Wednesday. It marks the beginning of Lent—a forty day period (excluding Sundays) leading up to the ground zero of the Christian faith: the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.  Some churches and traditions have a custom of putting ashes on people’s foreheads on this day. Why? One of the reasons is that ashes […]

Today is known as Shrove Tuesday. It’s the day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. The name comes from a practice in England to “shrive” on this day—meaning confessing our sins and seeking God’s forgiveness. Since many people fast during Lent, there was (and is) a custom of using up fatty foods on this day […]

In one of his books Martin Thielen tells the story of a man named Gus. He got cancer and was angry about it. It was inoperable. ‘Why me?’ When he was in hospice he noticed a girl who was five years old. She too was a patient. It just seemed wrong that a five-year old […]

John Piper is a theologian. His colleague had a saying: “Beware loving loving God rather than loving God.”* Let me state that again: “Beware loving loving God rather than loving God.” Are there times when we love the idea of loving God instead of actually showing him our devotion and commitment?  Let’s apply that logic […]

Mark 9:36-37 describes a moving scene: “He [Jesus] took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’” Today, people […]

In Mark 9:42 Jesus said: “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” Wow!  He went on to say that if their hand, foot or eye caused them […]

I saw a hat: “Make Canada Great Again.” It is, of course, based on the slogan to “Make America Great Again.” I even saw something on the internet to do with making Europe great again. It’s a word we use not only to describe nations but people. “So-and-so is great.” When we use it like […]

In James 3:8 we read: “…no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” At first that sounds a bit harsh—but not if you’ve been on the receiving end of some verbal poison!  Today’s devotional is quite simple. Be careful with your words. They can do serious good, […]

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). A man named Abba Elias told an old story about a man who was living in a temple. Demons came to pester him, trying to get him to leave.  To some of you that might seem shocking. Perhaps you’ve […]

It’s critical to know the difference between salvation and sanctification. When we get them confused, it can be a source of misunderstanding—and even anguish. Salvation is about your standing with God. (This is sometimes called “justification.”) By ourselves we are sinful and separated from him. But when we trust in Jesus and in what he […]

“Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8). More time with God puts you more in tune with God. When you spend time with a friend you learn more about them. The same happens with a spouse. You start to anticipate how they will respond to certain situations. You might […]

Motivation matters.  For example, people who do better in surgery are people who have a reason to live afterwards. It’s a matter of motivation. Or consider the 17-year old girl who didn’t want to go to soccer practice. But then her mom told her that the scout for the university soccer team would be there. […]

“Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice” (Psalm 55:17). Hudson Taylor was a British missionary. He was known to say this: “Don’t have your concert first, and then tune your instruments afterward.”* That makes sense. There’s no point of tuning your instrument after the concert is already over. […]

One of the earliest physical depictions of Jesus is found in some graffiti in Rome. You can see it the graphic that accompanies today’s devotional.  It dates from the late-first to early-third centuries, probably closer to the later. It shows a man on a cross, but the man has a donkey head. There is another […]

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8). In the Odyssey, Ulysses is travelling by boat past the island of the sirens.  He knows that when he and his crewmates […]

An outdoor adventurer loved to get close to big whirlpools in lakes and other locations. He used a body camera and got up close under the water. He would then post the videos to YouTube. It was exhilarating, but dangerous. During one of his dives he died. He got too close and was sucked into […]

In Mark 9 we learn about the transfiguration of Jesus. “There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them” (verses 2-3). Then Moses and Elijah arrive. Then a voice from heaven proclaims: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (verse 7) […]

A.W. Milne was a missionary. He and some others became known as the one-way missionaries. They bought one-way tickets because as they went to far flung regions and into uncertain circumstances they knew they might face danger, lose their lives, and never come back. So they did something strange. They packed all of their belongings […]

In the movie Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury needs to give away all his possessions. He invites in the poor. They start taking away his things. He looks to the cross and says, “You! You! You are the only one who knows how easy this is!” Pardon?  That’s not what we expect him to say. […]

Such-and-such is my “cross to bear.” It’s an expression people use. Someone dealing with chronic pain might say it is their “cross to bear.” Another person who takes care of a loved one in need might say it is their “cross to bear.” We’ve been spending some time thinking about carrying a cross in light […]

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” So said Jesus in Mark 8:34. We’re spending a few devotionals unpacking the meaning of this enigmatic statement. Denying yourself has to do with denying that sinful, selfish part of you. Our computers and phones have a default […]

A man was walking through a Tokyo department store in the Christmas season. He noticed something strange, even offensive. It was someone nailed to a cross. But the person wasn’t Jesus, it was Santa.* At first perhaps we might think that this is the ultimate sign of the horrid commercialization of Christmas. However, it might […]

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6). Kevin Myers and John Maxwell coined a phrase: “win within.”*  It’s meant to help us think about what’s happening inside of us. When we live by faith at our very core, that will flow outward into our words, decisions and actions. If we […]