Devotionals
What Are You Chewing On?
Have you ever watched a cow eat? The longer you watch, the more entertained you are. She bends her neck to the ground, grabs a clump of grass or hay, uses her tongue to position the food in her mouth, and starts chewing in a motion that is as much “round and round” as it is “up and down.” Then, after a long time of chewing, you think she’s finally finished. She pauses for a bit, but then starts chewing again. Part of a cow’s digestive process involves the cow chewing, swallowing,… Read More
Why Are People So Judgy?
I’m convinced that we not only need to be set free from sin, we also need to be set free from self-righteousness. When righteousness is defined as “being good” or “doing good,” the result is legalism. We commend ourselves for our efforts, while condemning others for their faults. We grew ourselves according to our intentions, while we judge others by their actions. Self-righteousness always results in judgmentalism toward others. Legalism and self-righteousness are two of our greatest enemies. While we stand on the ramparts and watch for enemy intrusions from the outside,… Read More
What Makes a Person Righteous?
Today’s reading is Romans 2. Being good does not make a person righteous, yet that is exactly how we often live. We weigh out our actions, dividing them into categories of “good” and “bad,” concluding that, because our good actions outweigh the bad, we are essentially good people. Further, we justify our bad actions, claiming that our motivations were right, even if our actions weren’t. Paul cuts through that self-righteousness, reminding his Jewish readers that, even if they are devout, religious, law-abiding Jews, people are not righteous because of their outward works,… Read More
The Book of Romans
The apostle Paul wrote at least 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament, including the book of Romans. Paul is believed to have written this letter while he was in the city of Corinth, receiving financial gifts from the believers which he would then take to those in need in Jerusalem. Once he delivered the gifts and ministered to those in Jerusalem, his plan was to visit Rome, a city to which he had not yet visited, but had heard much of the faith of the believers there. Our church… Read More
Wisdom Comes One Bucketful at a Time
This month I am reading the book of Proverbs for my daily devotion time. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, which makes it easy to read one each day. Today I read a verse that Hs taught me for many years. “Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out.” Proverbs 20:5 NKJV There are some people who have deep wells of wisdom. It’s more than mere knowledge and information; it is practical wisdom for real life. Some of it was learned… Read More
Pastor Dale Jenkins 