Video Devotionals

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Do You Want to Know How?

| 1:24 READ TIME |

One of the most reassuring qualities of the nature of God is His ability to bring restoration. No matter where we have taken ourselves or where we find ourselves, God is able to put the pieces of our lives back in perfect wholeness. God is our restorer!

How does God restore us? First and foremost, He restores us by reconciling us to Himself through a relationship with His Son Jesus. He also restores us through His Word. Wonderful things happen when we read scripture. We find encouragement and direction. We find correction and strength. God restores us through His Spirit. Jesus said, as He began His earthly ministry in Luke 4:18-19 (NLT), “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

Another way that God restores us is through relationships with His people. Think about the people God has put in your life who have developed you, encouraged you, cared for you, and be gracious to you. God’s restorative process is carried through by believers that graciously bring healing into our lives.

We have a God who loves us more than can we imagine, a God who is more powerful than we can comprehend, and who has promised to restore us to wholeness as we put our trust in Him.

Pastor Dale

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

As Good As New

| 1:22 MIN READ |

In this season of life, we find ourselves searching for a new normal. All of us have had to adjust to how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our work, families, and friendships. During these times of adjustment, it can become very easy for our joy, hope, resilience, and overall spiritual health to become worn down and worn out.

In Psalm 23:1-3 (ESV), David reminds us that Jesus is the great restorer of our life. He writes, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.”

The word “restore” is one of the most exciting words in the Bible. What does it mean that Jesus is the restorer of our souls? It means that He wants to help reconcile broken relationships in our life. It means that He is able to return what has been stolen from our lives. It means He is able to refresh and heal our bodies, minds, and souls. It means He is able to bring back to strength what has been made weak, and make whole what has been damaged. He is able to make you as good as new!

Today, be reminded that Jesus is your restorer. He is with you as you navigate this new season of life. You can be at peace knowing He is able to rebuild, refresh, and restore you. No matter what areas of your life are depleted, damaged, or broken, invite Jesus, our Good Shepherd, to be the restorer of your soul.

Pastor Dale

Monday, April 13, 2020

Restoration Needed

| 1:10 MIN READ |

Have you ever felt lost, discouraged, or broken on the inside? You’re not alone. We all have experienced times in our lives when we feel this way. You may be feeling this way right now.

David knew what it was like to be in despair, confused, or lacking strength. When he was a shepherd, he would, at times, find his sheep in places of brokenness. It is common for sheep to get themselves into trouble. They wander away from the fold, they get damaged by parasites or disease, or they get disoriented. As a shepherd, David responded to his sheep in their place of need by rescuing and restoring them back to health.

Just as David was a caring shepherd to his sheep, he knew that he needed a caring shepherd to experience freedom from his brokenness. The Lord is our good and caring shepherd. Jesus said in John 10:11 (NIV), “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus knows how to perfectly restore us from our brokenness.

Has the stress of the current pandemic revealed brokenness on the inside of your soul? Take heart. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He is able to rescue you and bring the restoration your soul needs!

Pastor Dale

Friday, April 10, 2020

Stinking-thinking

| 1:09 READ TIME |

Much of the stress in our lives is the result of tormenting thoughts and anxious, unsettling, or angry emotions. Until we learn how to rest our thoughts and find peace in our emotions, we will never be able to manage stress.


God gave us the capacity to think. How we chose to think will determine the quality of our lives. Right thinking will produce a peaceful and healthy life. Wrong thinking will have the opposite effect. When our minds and heart are infected with toxic, painful, and negative thought patterns, we are unable to experience peace and rest.

Getting the right thoughts in us and pushing the wrong thoughts away is not easy, but it’s necessary to be free of stress. God guides us in His Word about the way we should think in Philippians 4:8 (NLT) “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

God wants us to be at rest — mentally and emotionally. He wants us to be able to lie down, undisturbed by tormenting thoughts and emotions. Get rid of the stinking-thinking!

Pastor Dale

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Load Free!

| 0:59 READ TIME |

Perhaps today you are feeling tired and worn out. You’ve juggled housework, office work, homeschool, kids, business, or just all that is happening around the world. Each day brings a load of demands in our lives. When we try to carry everything on our own, we become fatigued and stressed out.

In Matthew 11:29 (NLT), Jesus invites us to come to Him with all of our cares and concerns, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

What does this verse mean for you and me? It means that when we are feeling overwhelmed by the burdens of life, we can have the confidence that Jesus is ready and willing to take the burden off of us.

He is able and available to take the load off from you. Give your worries to God, and trust your life and your future into His hands!

Pastor Dale

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Soul Food

| 0:54 MIN READ |

Nurturing our bodies with the right kind of food is essential for our physical health. Just how our bodies need nourishment, our souls need nourishment too. A key to managing stress and finding rest is learning to feed our souls with the right spiritual nourishment. What we spiritually feed ourselves will determine what we experience on the inside.

One way we can spiritually nourish our spirit is by setting a time to seek God in prayer and diving into His Word. The scripture reminds us in Matthew 5:6 (MSG) that God is the only one who can truly satisfy our souls, “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.”

Today, make a decision to draw closer to God. Start feeding your soul through daily reading your Bible and spending time in prayer. The Word of God will help you grow into a strong and healthy believer!

Pastor Dale

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Where Do We Begin?

| 1:11 READ TIME |

One of the realities of living in a stressed out world is experiencing restlessness. While we all experience restlessness from time to time, God wants to empower us to overcome it and experience real rest.

We often think experiencing rest is about getting enough sleep or doing things we enjoy. While there is value to those things, they cannot give us true rest. To experience true rest, we must understand that we need to experience it on the inside. Rest is a spiritual need.

Only God can satisfy our spiritual needs. The starting point for experiencing rest for our spirit is understanding that rest starts with a relationship with Jesus. In John 10:11 (NLT), Jesus reminds us of who he is, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.” Jesus was the Good Shepherd to David, and He’ll be the same Good Shepherd to us.

If you don’t know Jesus as your Good Shepherd, let today be the day you give your heart and life to Him and start your relationship with Him. If you already know Jesus as your Good Shepherd, continue to depend on Him as He guides your life.

Is your spirit at rest? Enter into the Lord’s rest today. It liberates us from stress!

Pastor Dale

Monday, April 6, 2020

We Need Rest

| 0:50 READ TIME |

There is no doubt we are living in a stressed out world. The inevitability of stress does not mean we are powerless in the face of it. A key to having a handle on stress is learning how to rest.

God created us in such a way that we function best in a state or condition of rest. Rest from a biblical perspective, is not determined or created by external circumstances but by our internal condition.

In Psalm 23:2 (NIV), David described the rest the Great Shepherd provides for us as his sheep, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.” David knew that freedom from stress required being directed by the Shepherd to a place of rest.

As we go through a time when things are changing daily, invite the Lord to lead you to a place of rest. Our Good Shepherd knows where to guide you. He can help you find rest in Him.

Pastor Dale

Friday, April 3, 2020

Give Up Control

| 1:12 MIN READ |

Many times in the trials of life, we want to control things. The way the current pandemic is impacting the world right now is revealing what we can and cannot control. Of course, control is not a bad thing. God has given us the ability to make our own choices, and that’s good. Often bad things happen when we make poor choices or when we don’t handle things well.

On the other side of things, there are things that we cannot control. When we try to handle things we cannot control, all sorts of problems come into our lives, and we experience stress. The best way to handle things we cannot control is by giving them to God. While we have limited ability and capacity, God has unlimited ability and capacity. God is able to control and handle everything we cannot.

In the book of Romans 8:28 (NLT), we find one of the most reassuring promises of God, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

While there are things in life we cannot control, we can release them to God and take hold of His promise. God is faithful, and we can trust Him to cause everything to work together for our good!

Pastor Dale

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Near And Available

| 1:19 MIN READ |

Have you seen little children being reluctant to jump into the swimming pool, even when in the water their father is stretching his arms to catch them? We often behave the same way with our Heavenly Father!

When we face the unknown and we’re filled with anxiety, we too can be reluctant to make God our first resort. There are several reasons for this. There are times that we forget that God loves us and really cares for us. Other times we are too proud and think we can handle things on our own or put our trust on other people. Yet other times, we may feel that we can’t or don’t know how to pray for ourselves.

In the midst of his crisis, David came to the moment when he recognized his weakness and realized that God cared and was near to him. God is not far away, He is near to us in our most difficult times. What does it mean to draw close to God? It means that you are able to reach out to Him. You don’t need religious rituals, you don’t even have to know a lot of the Bible. You simply need to know there’s a God who loves you and cares about you. God promises in James 4:8 (NLT), “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”

I encourage you today, just as David did in the terrible crisis he was facing in his life, to turn your attention away from your distress and say as he did, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

Pastor Dale

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Go to God

| 1:06 MIN READ |

In the midst of distress, anxiety, and worry, going to God is not always our first response. King David, in the Old Testament, gives us an example of how to respond the right way in adversity.

When David faced a time of crisis, he did what he had learned to do earlier on in his life. As a young shepherd, while taking care of his father’s sheep in the hillsides of Judea, he understood the power of going to God and drawing near to his Heavenly Father. In Psalm 18:6 (NLT), he wrote, “But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help…”

Every time we go to God, His presence begins to push away the darkness that stress, hopelessness, worry, and anxiety brings. David declared in Psalm 36:9 that God was his “fountain of cascading light” because he understood that when we go to God in our darkest times, His light brings us back into light again.

During these unprecedented times, be encouraged that you have access to your Heavenly Father. Make a decision to go to God with whatever you are feeling, whatever is going through your heart and mind, and He will take care of you.

Pastor Dale

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

We Lack Nothing

| 1:16 MIN READ |

In the midst of everything happening in the world around us, we are all experiencing stress. King David, in the Old Testament, understood what it meant to experience stress.

In 2 Samuel 15:13-14, a messenger tells David that his son Absalom is leading a conspiracy with the people of Israel to take the kingdom away from him and that he should flee Jerusalem. Can you imagine the stress David began to experience when he received this news? In the midst of his stress, David decides to leave. 2 Samuel 15:30 describes David to be weeping and mourning as he travels away from Jerusalem. His very own son was trying to take the kingdom away from him and forced David to flee the city. David is in tremendous distress.

It’s in this stressful situation where David makes this declaration in Psalm 23:1 (NIV) “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” Though David was experiencing severe stress in his life, he understood and declared that God was his shepherd and provider.

As we all walk through this unprecedented season of our lives, remember that the Lord is our Shepherd and our Provider. With the Lord as our Shepherd, we lack nothing. We can put our full confidence and trust in God. He gives us what we need as we walk with Him through this season.

Pastor Dale

Monday, March 30, 2020

A Way Out

| 1:31 MIN READ |

The last few weeks have been full of unprecedented moments. Fear about COVID-19 is everywhere. There’s a lot of turmoil around us. One of the things we are all experiencing right now is stress.

Stress can work for you, or it can work against you. When stress overwhelms and weighs you down, it disables you. When stress leads you to grow, it helps you develop into the person God wants you to be.

This dynamic of stress and its impact on us it’s seen throughout the Bible. In Psalm 31:9 (NLT), we see the effects of distress in our lives, “Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress. Tears blur my eyes. My body and soul are withering away.” Jesus Himself describes the impact of stress in our lives in Mark 4:18, 19 (MSG) “The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.”

Worry, distress, and stress do have an impact upon us. We can choose to let them render us unproductive, or we can choose to grow through them. This week we will focus on a familiar passage of Scripture that describes a very stressful time in the life of the psalmist David. Psalm 23:1. We will learn from David what we need to possess to overcome stress.

God doesn’t expect you to have your life altogether all the time. When you feel stress, there’s always a way to come out if we look in the right direction and do the right things!

Pastor Dale

Friday, March 27, 2020

Stronger

| 1:03 MIN READ |

What are some of the benefits of stress?

Yes, it’s true, not all stress is bad. Some stress in life is good for us. It makes us sharper, more focused and energized. It helps us learn, grow and change. It develops strength of character and stronger spiritual, mental and emotional roots. Good stress helps people excel.

If we spend our time running from all stress, we’re actually running from something that can make our lives better. We’re fleeing from one of the things God designed for our health and increase. We’re failing to build inner muscles of spirit and soul that will not only improve our lives but will also allow us to become more useful to God and others.

Before you see stress and an enemy, see it first as a friend. Find out what you can learn from the difficult moments in life. Let them stretch you and grow you. Don’t run! Dig in, hold on and pray through. Persevere! James the apostle said it this way in James 1:4 (NIV) “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Pastor Dale

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Honorable Life

| 1:03 MIN READ |

This week we’re talking about a very important topic—our relationships. There is nothing that can cause more joy or pain in your life than your relationships. God cares about the quality of your relationships. The Bible is a relationship book. It not only teaches us about how to have a relationship with God, it also shows us how to relate to other people.

The best quality to have in a relationship is peace. Peaceful relationships make life far more pleasant. They also will make your life far more productive. Peace with people doesn’t just happen. You have to choose to think, act and speak in ways that create peace. You have to value peace above conflict. You must realize that developing peace with others is a truly honorable way to live. Look at Proverbs 20:3 (NLT) “Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.”

Do you want to be known as a person of wisdom and honor, or as a foolish person? Wise, honorable people avoid fights. Fools create them. Choose to be honorable and wise by avoiding unnecessary fights!

Pastor Dale

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Stop Arguments

| 0:53 MIN READ |

This week we’re talking about a very important topic — our relationships. There is nothing that can cause more joy or pain in your life than your relationships. God cares about the quality of your relationships. The Bible is a relationship book. It not only teaches us about how to have a relationship with God, it also shows us how to relate to other people.

The greatest joy in a relationship is an atmosphere of peace. Peaceful relationships are a pleasure. But peace doesn’t just happen. It is something that we must purposefully seek and create. How? By stopping conflicts before they start. Look at Proverbs 17:4 (NLT) “Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate, so stop before a dispute breaks out.”

The best time to stop an argument is before you start it. Once it’s started, it takes a life of its own. What can you do to stop arguments before they get started?

Pastor Dale