The Up Devotional

“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (1 Peter 1:3) When it comes to our faith, it can be very helpful think deliberately about what we mean by certain words or ideas. If we don’t think […]

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). William Gurnall lived in the seventeenth century. He said something very helpful about one of the differences between faith and hope. He said: “Faith tells the soul what Christ has done and hope revives the soul with the news of what He will […]

In the previous devotional I highlighted 1 Peter 3:15: “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…” In it, we talked about taking some time […]

If someone were to ask you about the reason for your faith, what would you say? A critical verse that provides us with some guidance is 1 Peter 3:15: “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the […]

“Actions speak louder than words.” I appreciate where that statement is coming from. If someone says certain things but doesn’t back them up with their actions, we learn to mistrust and devalue what they have to say from then on. But that doesn’t mean words don’t make a difference. We all know they do.  Elie […]

There are different kinds of prayers. There are prayers of gratitude. This is when we thank God for something. There are prayers of confession. This is when we confess our sin and ask for his forgiveness.  There are also prayers of “intercession.” This is when we ask God to help someone. We are “intercessing” for […]

When it comes to understanding the will of God, whether that be in relation to something you read in the Bible, or as you seek his direction for your life, let me make a very simple but important suggestion. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Before his crucifixion, Jesus said this to his disciples: […]

In 1 Peter 2:17, the apostle says: “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” First, the word “honour” means “ascribing worth to someone—honour, revere, respect.”* Second, “the brotherhood” refers to the church, including both men and women. Third, “fearing God” is a posture of “reverential awe” (to use the phrase coined by […]

Recently I was driving on a four-lane highway. Everyone in front of me started to break. Some started to veer off at the next exit. Since I wasn’t very far from my destination, I did the same. “Problems ahead, better go around.”  This is often how we treat difficult parts of the Bible. Perhaps we […]

“…as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Our faith is good news. Part of the reason it is good news is because it addresses so much of the bad news around us, including the bad news from within our own souls. Today’s […]

In the previous devotional, I talked about holiness. These days, we don’t tend to talk about holiness too much. Perhaps we think it will make us sound snooty.  Or weird. However, the fact remains that God’s people are called to live in a way that is distinct from the world around us. With God’s help, […]

A few years ago, I came across this prayer from Thomas Watson: “Perfume us with holiness and make our hearts a map of heaven.”* To be holy is to be set apart (i.e. distinct) for God’s special purposes. He calls us to reflect his character in the world. In this sense, holiness is heaven’s map […]

Something we all have in common is that we’re surrounded by people, and that our lives are embedded in relationships.  If we’re being honest, some people drive us crazy.  These are people at school or work, at church, out there in the community at large, or even in our own families or friend circles. So […]

When you’re young, certain ideas seem big, bad or burdensome. One of them is “responsibility.” It probably made you think about cutting grandma’s lawn or doing chores when you didn’t want to. Over time, however, you realize there’s more to it than that. It’s “response-ability.” God has given us certain abilities, and when we respond […]

Faith is more than feelings. And that’s actually very good news. Let me explain. Our feelings are important. They tell us things about what we are experiencing. The risk is when we falsely equate certain feelings with the presence of God, or with a “spiritual” idea that we think is God-given.  For example, if I’m […]

Affliction can be an accelerant which refines you to bless others in your future with greater integrity, wisdom or power. Let’s unpack that sentence a few ideas at a time.  First, affliction. It’s one of those things that isn’t nice, but can serve a greater purpose over the long haul. Consider what God’s people were […]

In 1 Peter 1, the apostle is encouraging his readers to persevere and to have hope, even when they are experiencing hardship and affliction.  In verses 8-9, he says: “Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of […]

When we open the Bible, it’s not just about what we’re learning, but who we’re learning it from.  Take, for example, the letter of 1 Peter. It was written by Peter the apostle (of course), who walked and talked with Jesus.  But let’s notice six details about his life. He was passionate, imperfect, rebellious, reconciled, […]

Diamonds.  People love them. They’re valuable, obviously. But did you know that diamonds don’t start as diamonds. They start as simple carbon. So, how are they transformed? Through pressure. The same principle sometimes applies to humans. Difficulty and affliction—“pressure”—can often refine us into someone who is more faithful, humble, wise and strong. The apostle Peter […]

There is a lot of battle and warfare language in the New Testament.  For example, we are to “take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:13). In Romans 13:12 we are told to put on the […]

“…make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness…” (2 Peter 1:5-8). In the past few devotionals, we’ve been talking about spiritual disciplines, and what to do when you feel as if you’re in a bit of a rut. […]

In the previous devotional, we talked about spiritual disciplines. These are deliberate, repetitive, biblical practices the Holy Spirit uses to make us more like Christ. Even still, there are times when we can feel stuck.  When that happens, one suggestion is to shake things up. Here are some examples. I know people who have moved […]

I recently presented a workshop on spiritual disciplines. These are deliberate, repetitive, biblical practices the Holy Spirit uses to make us more like Christ. Some of the most well-known practices that fit into this category are prayer, Bible-reading, fasting, worship, serving others, etc. There are others, but those are some of the most popular. Over […]

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). When I was in university one of my professors told our class that during our discussions, we weren’t allowed to use the word “interesting.” Why not? Since it was a word that people over-used, it had lost it’s meaning. […]

Jesus said: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 5:44) Do you have enemies? Perhaps you do, perhaps you don’t.  If you don’t, perhaps you still have people who you feel are somehow “against” you. They always seem to say the wrong thing at the right time. They foil your plans, […]