The Daily Rebel Devotional with Derek Griffon

Genesis 2:24 | Matthew 6:33 | Monumental Love Great marriages need more than great chemistry. Chemistry might start a relationship, but chemistry cannot carry a covenant. In Episode 1 of Monumental Love , we’re talking about the first mark of a marriage built to last: SAME VISION. Marriage isn’t two people merely sharing an address, a bank account, and a last name. Biblical marriage is two people...

Episode 155 — Poured Out Philippians 2:17–18 | Lights in the World Your life is already being spent. The question isn’t whether you’ll spend it. The question is what you’ll spend it on. Paul describes his life as a drink offering being poured out for Jesus and for the faith of others—and somehow, right in the middle of sacrifice, he talks about joy. In this episode: Pour it out — Stop trying to sa...

If we’re going to stand out, stand firm, and shine bright , we need something solid to stand on. Paul tells us exactly what that is: “holding fast to the word of life.” In this episode: Hold it tight — Don’t loosen your grip on truth just because culture tightens the pressure. Know the Word — You can’t stand firm on a Word you barely know. Live it out — Don’t just underline it. Live it. Don’t just...

Light is supposed to look different from darkness. Paul says Christians are living “in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation”—but that’s exactly where we’re called to shine as lights in the world. In this episode: Stand out — There should be something visibly different about people who belong to Jesus. Build a biblical worldview — We don’t filter the Bible through culture. We filter cultur...

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing.” Bro… ALL THINGS?! Paul takes dependent obedience and gets painfully practical. If God is changing our hearts, eventually it should change our mouths. In this episode: Check your mouth — Your words reveal what your heart has been rehearsing. Check what’s underneath it — Is the complaining coming from disappointment, pride, comparison, exhaustion, or e...

New week. New section of Philippians: LIGHTS IN THE WORLD. Before Paul talks about how Christians shine out there , he talks about what God is doing in here. Paul doesn’t say work FOR your salvation. He says work OUT your salvation —because God Himself is already at work within you. In this episode: Own your obedience — Your faith has to become your faith. Work your faith — Eventually, you’ve got...

Psalm 144:15 | Four Marks of a God-Formed Man What are you really counting on to make your life good? Psalm 144 ends by pointing beyond the blessings God gives us to God Himself : “Happy are the people whose God is the LORD.” In the final episode of FORGED , we’re talking about a man whose hope is anchored in God. Enjoy God’s gifts without making them your god. Don’t measure blessing by what you h...

Episode 150 — and what a place to land. Paul brings us to the conclusion of this incredible passage: every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. In this episode: Every knee will bow — Nobody is outside the authority of King Jesus. Every tongue will confess — Jesus isn’t merely helpful, inspiring, or a consultant. He is Lord. Bow now — The ultimate posture of humili...

Jesus went lower than anyone—and the Father exalted Him higher than everyone. Philippians 2 turns on one massive word: therefore. The humble, serving, obedient, crucified King is the risen and exalted King. There is no throne above His, no authority over His, and no name higher than His. In this episode: God highly exalted Him — The One who went lowest is exalted highest. The cross reveals the Kin...

How far does your yes to God actually go? Paul shows us that humility isn’t merely an attitude—it becomes obedience , and Jesus carried that obedience all the way to the cross. In this episode: Humility surrenders — Pride asks God to bless my will. Humility surrenders to His. Obedience has a cost — Eventually following Jesus will collide with your comfort, preferences, plans, or approval. Carry th...

What does it actually mean to think like Jesus? Paul points us to Jesus—the King who willingly took the posture of a servant. The mind of Christ always moves toward others. In this episode: LOOK BEYOND YOURSELF — Humility widens your field of vision. THINK LIKE JESUS — The mind of Christ doesn’t ask, “What do I deserve?” It asks, “How can I serve?” USE YOUR STRENGTH TO SERVE — Jesus used His power...

We’re stepping into Philippians 2 and a new section called HOLY HUMILITY. Paul makes it clear: following Jesus means declaring war on the need to make everything about us. Unity gets difficult when everybody needs to be the main character, and selfish ambition can turn ministry, relationships, and even serving into another way to chase attention. Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. It’s refu...

We’re in Week 3 of FORGED — Four Marks of a God-Formed Man. Week one: HANDS — TRAINED FOR BATTLE. Week two: HEART — SURRENDERED IN WORSHIP. Now David moves somewhere incredibly important: HOME — BUILT WITH PURPOSE. Psalm 144 starts on the battlefield but ends in the household. David realizes the battle was never just about the battle. There were people, families, children, and a future behind him...

We’ve made it to Friday, and Paul closes Philippians 1 with a verse that probably wouldn’t make anybody’s coffee mug. Paul says it has been “granted” to us not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for Him. That word granted is connected to grace. Paul is showing us a dimension of grace we don’t always talk about: GRACE DOESN’T ONLY SAVE YOU FROM SOMETHING. GRACE STRENGTHENS YOU TO STAND T...

This week we’re learning what it means to LIVE WORTHY. Yesterday Paul told us to stand firm, stand together, and strive side by side. Today he tells us what to do when standing actually costs us something. Paul assumes there will be opposition. Criticism will come. Pressure will come. Fear will come. His command is simple: DON’T LET OPPOSITION SPOOK YOU OUT OF OBEDIENCE. DON’T FLINCH.   EXPECT RES...

This week we’re walking through Paul’s command to LIVE WORTHY. Now he shows us what that worthy life looks like: “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.” Notice the two movements: STAND and STRIVE. There are truths we refuse to move from and a mission we refuse to stop moving toward. STAND FIRM IN THE TRUTH. STRIVE FORWARD WITH THE GOSPEL. And...

Yesterday Paul told us that if God gives us another day, that day ought to produce something: Progress. Joy. Jesus. Today we hit the anchor verse for this week: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Whatever happens next, Paul says make sure of this: LIVE WORTHY. Because it’s possible to believe the right things and live in ways that contradict them. DOES THE LIFE I LIV...

New week. Same letter. And this week we’re stepping into a new section of Philippians called LIVE WORTHY. Paul has just spent the previous verses telling us, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” If he lives, he serves Christ. If he dies, he sees Christ. But now Paul explains why he believes God may keep him here: “for your progress and joy in the faith.” That completely changes the scoreboard....

A God-formed man needs more than strong hands. He needs a surrendered heart. Last week in FORGED, David showed us HANDS — Trained for Battle. But David wasn't just a warrior. He was a worshiper. This dude could swing a sword and pick up a harp. He could stand before Goliath and kneel before God. Culture often gives men a false choice: tough or tender, strong or surrendered, fighter or worship...

If you’re still here, there’s still work to do. Paul has already said that departing and being with Christ would be “far better.” So why would he want to stay? Philippians 1:24 gives us the answer: “to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.” Paul understands something we can easily forget: life is an assignment. Another breath isn’t just another breath. Another day isn’t just anoth...

Paul is staring at two possible futures. Door one: I live. Door two: I die. And somehow, when Paul looks behind both doors, he reaches the same conclusion: I CAN’T LOSE. If he lives, he gets another day to serve Jesus and produce fruit. If he dies, he gets to be with the Jesus he's been living for. Paul isn't trapped between bad and good. He's caught between good and better.   That&...

Paul takes the thing the world calls the ultimate loss and gives it a completely different name: GAIN. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  Around AD 155, an elderly pastor named Polycarp was given a choice: deny Jesus and live, or remain faithful and die. He refused to deny the King who had been faithful to him. Different century, same conviction we see in Paul: Jesus is worth more...

Finish this sentence—and don’t give the church answer: FOR ME, TO LIVE IS ________. Whatever goes in that blank tells you a lot about what has your heart. Success? Family? Money? Comfort? Approval? Influence? Ministry? Paul fills the blank with four words that reorder everything: TO LIVE IS CHRIST. Jesus wasn’t simply part of Paul’s belief system. Jesus had become the center of Paul’s entire exist...

What if you could decide to rejoice before you knew how the situation turned out? That's where Paul is in Philippians 1:18–20. He doesn't know what's next. Release? More prison? Life? Death? None of those details have been settled. Yet Paul makes a declaration before his circumstances make a decision: “I WILL REJOICE.” Paul hasn't predetermined his circumstances. He's pred...

Men, God doesn’t just call us. He forms us. He trains. Corrects. Strengthens. Refines. And Psalm 144 gives us a picture of what that God-formed man looks like: a warrior and a worshiper, a fighter and a father, a man strong enough to stand but surrendered enough to know where his strength comes from. Welcome to FORGED — Four Marks of a God-Formed Man. HANDS — Trained for Battle. HEART — Surrendere...