Devotions (Page 42)

Have you seen the lightning lately?! I’ve started going for walks in the evening with the friends I live with and the last few nights we have been seeing these incredible lightning displays. Last night we decided to stop and enjoy it! We sat on a park bench and watched the clouds light up with mysterious streaks of lightning somewhere far behind them. We ooohed and aaahed as if we were watching a fireworks show and, honestly, it sort of…

“You Just Never Know” was the concluding words of our guest speaker, Mike Woodard of Global Aid Network (aka. Jerry’s boss”). As Mike shared about the impact of what a clean source of water can do – I couldn’t help but be reminded of our very first water project in Rubongi, Uganda. You just never know what kind of impact it can make. You just never know what God will do with small steps of obedience. When we installed a…

Look! I’m doing a new thing;now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it?I’m making a way in the desert,paths in the wilderness. Isaiah 43:19 Back when Life-Spring was using the church house as our office, we had a little space in the entryway with a dining table and some chairs. Up on the walls, we hung a bunch of Bible verses that were significant for our church over the years. This verse from Isaiah 43:19 was one of them. The…

Dear LifeSpring Family, As a new school year starts and the many uncertainties are still with us, allow me to share this liturgy with you again.  A L I T U RGY FOR:  Seasons of UncertaintyCOPYRIGHT © 2020 D O U G L A S  M C K E LVEY 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 again and again upon your eternal promises.  How this…

One of the things I’ve learned from doing discipleship is that God cares more about the line of your eternity than the dot of your present. That principle has never been more real to me in my life today than ever before.  Looking back on my life thus far, there have been many times where the “dot of my present” did not look promising, in fact if I were to judge my future based on the dark seasons of my…

Hebrews 12:1-2 ” And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” It was great to have Uncle Perry speak to us on Sunday! I certainly felt affirmed, encouraged, and inspired by his sharing. There was one part of his message that especially caught my attention and got me thinking. Uncle Perry shared a verse with us that he heard from God many years ago. In…

Happy September everyone!! It seems a little silly to always be surprised when we find ourselves at the beginning of another new season… but for some reason, I still cannot believe it’s already September!? It feels like August just began!! I suppose this feeling of surprise doesn’t come so much from the fact that the seasons are changing, but more so about how quickly they seem to change. On the first day of grade 9 English, Mr. Collins told our…

What an amazing privilege it is to have Uncle Perry & Aunty Catherine speak to the Lifespring family. A couple who truly loves God and loves others. They have been at Lifespring from the very start – they have seen the brightest moments of our family history and have lived through the darkest moments of our past as well. Perry spoke specifically on 3 major areas he felt the Lord wanted Lifespring to hear: Affirm God’s Call & People Encourage…

Have you ever felt like you’re not quite good enough? Like, just about anyone on this big old planet is better qualified or confident or whatever-it-may-be, than you? Earlier this week I was feeling especially discouraged. I felt out of sorts and not like myself at all. There were moments when the problem wasn’t even that I “wasn’t myself” …it was more like I didn’t even know who “myself” was; like something was missing. And it was! Somewhere along the…

I remember the first time I ever heard the voice of God. It was a Friday night and Overflow (youth group) met in the church basement to do something called intercession. Ryan was singing and we simply sat asking the Lord what to pray for or sang along in worship. I had no idea how or what to pray for – but I enjoyed worship, I enjoyed His presence, and I enjoyed the friends around me. In the midst of…

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 1. A New Covenant – Hebrews 8:6,13 – an upside-down value system.2. A New Love of Grace and Truth – Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:14,173. A New Life with Eternity in Sight – John 14:1-7 Taken from the book Irresistible by Andy Stanley (page 229) “Full of grace and truth. John shared a meal with and listened to the teaching of a man described as full of grace and truth. Not the balance between grace and…

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. isaiah 41:13 Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about Pastor Alvin’s message about moving forward in challenging times. One line that Pastor Alvin shared in his devotion especially stuck out to me. He said, “God’s word is always instructing us to move forward and not stay stuck and worse still, look back.” I…