Devotions (Page 2)

One of the things I love about Intercession is how I get to know people more through sharing and being able to support them or be supported in prayer. Over the last week or so, I experienced three prayer moments that I thought I’d share with you. The first was when a lady at church looked at me and asked if she could pray for me. I had no idea why she did that, but she ended up speaking directly…

In 2012, the Lord put business in Karyne’s and my heart. I was about to complete my Master of Theological Studies and begin a career path as a pastor. But the Lord started putting business on our hearts! I was so confused. How could the Lord call me to ministry and call me to start a business? It didn’t make sense. But as we sought the Lord, as we sought council, and as we wrestled with these ideas, one thing…

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 He removes any of my branches that don’t produce fruit, and he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already trimmed because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I…

I heard a story about Kobe Bryant and how the majority of his training routines revolved around drilling down the basics. An interviewer asked him why the best basketball player in the league (at the time) was practicing the basics? He responded with a cheeky “That’s why I’m the best player.” As I gleaned at this inspiring story of mastery, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit to have a similar mindset. As Christians, we often get caught up in…

This week I have come face to face with the realities of how fragile a family can be and how quickly everything can be taken away. In a circumstance where a family has gone through infidelity (no, you don’t know them), everything that was so good fell apart in an instance. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” – Genesis 1:28 God’s assignment to man was to be…

It was a privilege to have Pastor Anita share with us on Sunday. For as long as I’ve known Pastor Anita, she has always stood out to me as an intercessor and prayer warrior. I think her message highlighted that well. Pastor Anita has prayed all over Asia, including in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and beyond. She’s prayed in a Pagoda in China, in Chinatown in Singapore, and at a prayer mountain in Korea. And all that since 2021! While…

I was able to attend the Toronto Children’s Ministry Conference with some of our shepherds last weekend, and I really enjoyed learning from a lot of great speakers and workshop presentors. One of my favorite workshops was “Flourishing as a Ministry Leader”. The presentor, Nicki Straza, defined flourishing as “the whole of yourself is doing well” and went over the different ways and aspects of us that are a part of flourishing and how we can take care of our…

In one of my classes, my professor shared a story about his experience with healing and deliverance ministry. He had worked with gang members and addiction in Asia, and his first encounter with demonic possession was with a gang member who was in rehab for heroin. The patient had more withdrawal symptoms than usual, and when the team started praying for him, he began to throw himself against the concrete wall. They had to restrain him, but they couldn’t seem…

The Lord has been wrestling with my understanding of patient endurance. I naturally understood progression to be an increase in patience and an ability to have greater endurance. This seemed to be the most logical progression in growing in patient endurance. But as I was spending time with the Lord, I felt the Lord highlight that though physical outcomes are great – He is really after our hearts. As I continued to press into what He was saying, I felt…

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches.” – John 15:4-5 We enter the month of November this week. That means we’re already nearing the end of the year and preparing to close out 2024. I’m not sure about you, but for me 2024 flew by. Whenever the…

This past Sunday, Andrew led us in creating the Winter Care Packages. He had so many gems, so please take a moment to listen to it here. As I listened to Andrew speak on seeds, watering, and God causing it to grow, I was reminded of a video I watched this week: The monkey ladder experiment. It is quite a silly video, but it hammers in a point. It shows how the actions and teachings of the 1st few (seed planters) can…

As I was preparing the winter care-packages and trying to figure out what to include this year, I felt the Lord put this verse on my heart. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. – 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (NIV) As I kept repeating verse 6 to myself I felt like God wanted…