The Up Devotional

“…put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). In “The Happy Hypocrite” Lord George was an immoral man with a bloated face.  He fell in love with a lovely young lady. He figured that she would never love him back. So, as the story goes, […]

“…whoever says he abides in [Jesus] ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6). Tucker was in grade eleven. He was in an apprenticeship program to become a welder. He was working and learning under Bill, a retired teacher. Bill was known for three things: his sense of humour, […]

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3). What […]

Holidays like Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving are well-known. “Epiphany,” however, is a different story. (And it’s today.) It’s not a day when we get a vacation, which means it gets less attention. But since it has something to do with our faith, what is it all about? It’s a date which has become associated with […]

Happy 2026! After some vacation time, The Up Daily Devotional is back to your email inboxes and social media and podcast feeds five mornings a week. Let me also say welcome to the new subscribers who have joined us over the past few weeks! Okay, here we go: As we look upon the next twelve […]

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14) Christ is born!  For today’s devotional I’d like to wish you a merry Christmas!  I’d also like to remind you of the good news of Jesus’ arrival—and in general of his life, death and resurrection—through the […]

Welcome to Christmas Eve! Over 700 years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a coming King.  Like many prophecies, not only were the prophet’s words rooted in historical situations and concerns, but they looked ahead to the future.  This King would bear divinity. He would be born of a virgin and […]

At this time of year, we often hear people talking about “the true meaning of Christmas.” I’m glad about that. We need to focus on what and Who matters most. However, be careful. There are competing definitions of “the true meaning of Christmas.” For example, I’ve heard it said that the true meaning of Christmas […]

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13). A dying boy wanted to meet Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th President of America, whose term occupied most of the 1950’s.  Somehow his request made its way to the President. One day, low and behold, Eisenhower just showed up at his front door, […]

In the past few devotionals, I have been sharing some insights about a parable Jesus told in Matthew 25 about his return. In short, a groom shows up at his own wedding banquet. Five women who were faithfully waiting for him get let in to the festivities. Five women who were unprepared get left out. […]

In Matthew 25 Jesus tells a parable about his return.  Some people are ready for him, others aren’t. The people who are ready to meet him get let into a wedding banquet—which, based on my own study, represents the new heavens and the new earth. Others aren’t ready for him and get left outside. After […]

“Surely I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20). Advent is the four-week period leading up to Christmas. It is from a Latin word meaning “coming.” At this time of year, we think about the first coming of Christ at Christmas. Makes sense. Historically, however, it is also a time to think about the “second coming” when […]

Firefighters do their work in a state of readiness. Picture a firehall. The firefighters need to be ready to respond to a call at a moment’s notice. The firepole exists to save time getting from the second or third floor to the first, quickly. The truck is also always full of gas and ready to […]

A father dragged his college-aged son into the office of one of his professors, Dr. Campolo. The father was angry. It turns out that the son had spent his time at college in a different way than the father had intended. The father said: “I sent him to college to get a good education, to […]

Dr. James Tour is a professor at Rice University. His church has a ministry to support families dealing with the challenges of cancer. People need treatment like chemotherapy for months at a time, so families from their church welcome these families into their homes. Sometimes, as we know, even children get cancer. In the midst […]

I recently heard a story about an ancient King. He was known for being perfectly just and perfectly loving.  It was discovered that someone was stealing gold from the royal treasury. The King said that the punishment would be ten lashes. The next week, more gold was taken. And more the week after that. Each […]

Providence. John Calvin defined it as the invisible hand of God. It’s when God guides and directs what is happening in the world (and in our lives) even when we can’t see how everything fits together. One of the most famous biblical examples of this is Joseph. He was favoured by God, and also his […]

Prayer is vital to the Christian life.  But let’s be honest, we can get stuck. Even if we don’t get stuck, we probably want to go deeper. Prayer is deceptively simple. A very basic definition is that it is talking with God. So, why can it be so hard—either to get out of a rut, […]

Let me share two quotes with you. The first is by C.S. Lewis who famously wrote: “There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”* I used to think that statement was a bit extreme, but not any more. The more I understand the Bible, […]

While in college John Ortberg had to attend mandatory chapel services.  They had assigned seating. It was a clever format. After all, since the services were mandatory, and since the students had assigned seating, it was easy for the monitors to see who was (or wasn’t) in attendance. During one of the semesters a controversy […]

Note: New Podcast Episode and Blog (link below)~ Have you seen the world lately? The pain, the division, the hardship, the anxiety, the threat of war, the evil, the darkness… The Dark Knight trilogy of movies with Batman came to a head with the final release in 2012. People thought, ‘Oh, this is going to […]

“God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:5-6). The apostle John has a particular way of writing. His style makes us see clear and definite contrasts. Throughout his […]

Have you ever heard the expression that someone is “sitting on the fence”?  It’s about being neutral, or perhaps being slow to make a decision about something.  With that in mind, let me say this: You can’t follow Jesus if you’re sitting on the fence.  The exact expression “follow me” occurs twenty times in the […]

“Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart” (Psalm 51:6). In 1992 a movie came out called “A Few Good Men.” It’s been a while since I saw it, so there are a lot of parts I don’t remember. But one line stood out, and […]

One of the most well-known verses in John the apostle’s first letter is this: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).  People tend to quote that verse to say we never have any need to be afraid of anything.  However, the second part of the verse explains […]