Devotions (Page 12)

One of the greatest temptations this church will face is the challenge of complacency. We have seen the favour of God over this church family and our lives, and we are doing OK. But OK can be a dangerous place to be in. 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No…

Dear LifeSpring Family, The books of Luke and Acts are unique in that they are only books in the New Testament written by a Gentile, one of us.  Assuming that the Apostle Paul did not write the book of Hebrews, as it is not conclusive on who wrote Hebrews, Luke wrote more of the New Testament than any other human writer did.  Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary showed us patient endurance in their journey of unbelievable miraculous experiences with God and the angel Gabriel. As…

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Drifting through the wind…  wanting to start again? Yes, yes those are Katy Perry lyrics… and before you think you’ve opened the wrong email or that you somehow clicked the wrong link I want you to seriously consider this idea.  Do you ever feel like you’re just kind of floating around? Like you’ve lost your footing and rather than falling you somehow managed to drift away? That’s how I was feeling on…

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:1-5 Some time ago, I worked on memorizing the…

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Mark 1:35-37  The Scriptures reveal a glimpse into Jesus’ life. He was one that got up early to go and pray. It is interesting that Jesus spent much time in prayer in the morning and throughout…

Lately, I’ve been quite interested in ballet dancers. There’s a group of them from a studio in Arizona that have gotten quite popular on YouTube, and for good reason. They have impeccable technique, tremendous strength, and win many competitions, but they are just kids. We admire their talent but often forget that they have been training in ballet for most of their lives. The videos we see are just their highlights and leave out the hours and years they’ve spent…

How’s your fast going? Is it difficult? If your answer is yes, I think you’re on the right track. During this year’s fast, the Holy Spirit has been revealing to me that I am going through a change in my body, mind and spirit. I felt the Lord tell me that I was going through Spiritual Ketosis.  For those of you who don’t know what Ketosis is, it is a metabolic state that occurs when your body burns fat for…

I’d like to propose that Patient Endurance is not something we just need to think about for the year of 2024… it’s not a thing we’ll do every now and then. Although we’ve sensed the Lord highlighting it to us for this year, it’s not merely a theme or a trending phrase at Lifespring. Patient Endurance is a way of life. We talk a LOT about how Jesus endured the cross, right? Even here, the author of Hebrews is reminding…

Dear LifeSpring Family, As some of us patiently endure and wait upon the Lord, the below liturgy for Seasons of Uncertainty reminded me that there is More Beyond.   In the midst of whatever follows, O Lord,let me meet your mercies anew,and anew, and anew.In the midst of my dismay, fix my eyes againand again upon your eternal promises. How this ends—that is up to you.If the next news is favorable, I willpraise you for the ongoing gift of life.If tomorrow’s…

The memory verse for the church family for the 1st quarter is: When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers… a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant — then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the…

During January, we’ve had messages about our annual theme of “Patient Endurance” that we’ll be focusing on for the upcoming year. Personally, near the end of last year I felt like God was challenging me on one aspect related to patient endurance, and it had to do with growing in the fear of the Lord. First off, I think it’s important to understand how the fear of the Lord is different from the normal kind of fear. When we normally think…

I realize that we’ve already passed the halfway mark of this month, so maybe it feels silly to consider the new year when it’s more… new-ish now. But this specific reflection seems to keep surfacing for me and I’m wondering if it might also resonate with some of you as well!  As I had some conversations with my closest friends, we chatted a bit about our theme words for the year. I dunno about you, but in the past I’ll…