Video Devotionals

Monday, February 4, 2019

Redeeming Your Regrets

| 1:26 MIN READ |

Do you have any regrets? One origin of the word “regret” means to weep. “RE” = continue. “GRET” = weep. We might say that regret is to keep weeping over something you have done or experienced, or some choice you have made. Regret is an ongoing reminder of a mistake or failure.

There are lots of people who live in regret. They continue to weep, perhaps without physical tears, but certainly in their hearts and minds, over certain decisions in the past. They regularly and painfully revisit their foolish moments and choices.

The reality is, everyone has regrets. No one has lived a perfect life, made perfect decisions, or been completely wise. Everybody has foolish moments, bad choices and experiences in their past. How do we move past our past regrets?

One of the names of God is the answer! The psalmist described a group of people who had some significant regrets and the remembrance that freed them from their regrets. Take a look at Psalm 78:35 (NIV) “They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.”

In the midst of their regrets, these folks remembered one of the names of God — REDEEMER! We need to remember this too!

God is able to redeem our regrets. He is able to take our failures and transform them into valuable lessons. He is the God who redeems the ashes of our lives and makes something beautiful out of them!

Do you have any regrets? Remember, God is your Redeemer!

Pastor Dale

Friday, February 1, 2019

Speak Words of Faith into Your Life

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Change Your Words, Change Your Life

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Your Words Set Your Direction

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Your Words Shape Your Life

Monday, January 28, 2019

The Power of Your Words

Friday, January 25, 2019

Curing A Bitter Heart

| 1:54 MIN READ |

Have you ever bitten into something intensely bitter? The moment you do, your taste buds tell you. Your mouth usually reacts by automatically rejecting the item. Your body is telling you, “Don’t eat this!”

Bitterness can happen in the heart too. Life experiences and relationships can be bitter and can make us bitter. Unfortunately, our internal systems are not as quick to react to it or reject it as our mouths are. Far too often, bitter thoughts and feelings lodge in our soul, and slowly leach their poison into our choices and interactions with others. Over time, bitterness in the heart wreaks havoc on us; spiritually, emotionally, relationally and even physically. Sadly, there are lots of bitter people in our world.

The Bible warns us about bitterness in Hebrews 12:15 (TPT) “…And make sure no one lives with a root of bitterness sprouting within them which will only cause trouble and poison the hearts of many.”

Bitterness is dangerous, not only because of what it does to you, but because of what it does through you to others. It’s contagious!

What’s the cure for bitterness? Bitterness is purged from the soul by a choice — a decision to release. Bitter people hold on to things that have hurt or angered them. They carry grudges, and often are still seeking revenge. They ruminate over their pain and imagine the pleasure of a potential payback. They’re storing up poison in their hearts that seeps into their thoughts, conversations and interactions. Bitterness can only be cured by forgiveness.

Look at these words of guidance from Paul, the apostle in Ephesians 5:31, 32 (NLT) “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Let go of your bitterness today. Forgive. It will cure your soul!

Pastor Dale

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Calming An Anxious Heart

| 1:14 MIN READ |

Worry is one of the most common human activities. Almost everyone does it. We imagine and play out worst case life scenarios in our heads. We contemplate catastrophic future events and fret ourselves about them, as though they were already reality.

An honest look at worry reveals how worthless it generally is. It wastes huge amounts of time and energy, and subjects us to terrible psychological torment. It erodes physical health and affects our relationships with others. When worry gets into your heart, it does you no good.

Note what the Bible says about this in Psalm 12:25 (NLT) “Worry weighs a person down…” How true this is! When you’re worrying, you’re carrying a weight you weren’t designed to carry, and it will eventually take its toll on you.

Jesus instructed us to avoid worry several times. Here are a couple of examples:

Matthew 6:25 (TPT) “This is why I tell you to never be worried about your life, for all that you need will be provided…”

John 14:1 (TPT) “Don’t worry or surrender to your fear. For you’ve believed in God, now trust and believe in me also.”

How do you calm an anxious heart? Trust that God’s got you! He’s going to take care of you. He’s working in and around you. He’ll never disappoint you!

Pastor Dale

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Healing A Wounded Heart

| 1:30 MIN READ |

Has your heart ever been broken? Broken hearts are often the by-product of broken relationships. When we’re betrayed, rejected, condemned or dismissed by people we care about, our heart can be wounded. And a wounded heart is a dangerous thing. People with broken hearts suffer. They also make poor decisions.

Healing a heart wound starts with an awareness and acknowledgment of it. Denying or ignoring the pain hinders us from overcoming it. We need to do the very thing we often don’t want to do — open up the wound so that the infection brewing within can be cleansed.

Our broken heart needs to be brought in the presence of someone who is safe, caring, kind and capable of bringing healing. All of these are characteristics of God. The psalm writer spoke of God as the Healer of broken hearts. Psalm 34:18 (NIV) “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” And again, in Psalm 147:3 (NIV) “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

When Jesus came, He came as a Healer to the brokenhearted. Isaiah described the work Jesus would do in Isaiah 61:1 (NIV) “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”

If you’re brokenhearted, your best Friend is Jesus. He can and will guide you to healing, as you open the wounds in your soul to Him. Let Him in to your pain today!

Pastor Dale

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Restoring A Hopeless Heart

| 1:19 MIN READ |

To live life well, you need something deep inside your soul called hope. Hope is the confidence and internal assurance that good is on the way. It’s the expectation that positive change isn’t only possible, it’s inevitable. It’s just a matter of time.

The Bible describes what happens to us when we lose hope. Look at these words in Proverbs 13:12 (NLT) “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.”

When the things we hope for are delayed, the Bible says that our hearts can become “sick.” The Hebrew word means “ill, weak, faint and diseased.” It implies a condition that robs a person of vitality. When hope runs low, we become discouraged about our future. Hopelessness in the soul feeds on itself and breeds more of the same.

What’s the cure for hopelessness? Renewed confidence in God’s love and care! Look at Isaiah 40:31 (NIV) “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Hope increases as our trust in God grows.

Do you need more hope today? Believe that God loves you, He has a good future planned for you. There is a purpose for your life. He is with you. He hears you. He will help you. Let your hope rise. God is for you, not against you!

Pastor Dale

Monday, January 21, 2019

Softening A Hard Heart

| 1:33 MIN READ |

How’s your heart? If you’ve had a physical recently it probably included an EKG. It’s one of the ways physicians discover heart issues that need attention.

There’s another kind of heart that needs a checkup also. It’s your spiritual heart. It’s a part of you that is invisible, but very real. It includes the way you think, what you feel and how you process life.

As surely as your physical heart has a state or condition of health, your spiritual heart does too. Your spiritual heart can be sick. It can be seriously diseased.

One of the diseases of the spiritual heart is hardness. The Bible warns us of the dangers of heart hardness. Take a look at Hebrews 3:15 (NLT) “… ‘Today, when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.’”

The word “harden” describes a condition we need to avoid at all costs, and recover from, if it’s present. The symptoms of a hard heart include stubbornness, rebellion and resistance to God, and often times, callousness toward others. A hardened heart produces coldness, cynicism and contempt in us.

The good news is, a hard heart can be softened again. It starts with admitting the problem. The cure involves acknowledging the causes of our hardness. When we confess our sin and pride, anger, hurt and disappointment to God and ask Him to forgive us, the softening begins. Connecting with people who demonstrate tenderness of heart also helps us soften up on the inside.

Is your heart hard? Don’t let it stay that way. Begin to address this condition today.

Pastor Dale

Friday, January 18, 2019

Live One Day at a Time

| 1:09 min read |

If you happen to be a fan or a historian of country music, you might recall a song written a few decades ago by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson titled, “One Day At A Time.”

The words of the chorus are:

“One day at a time sweet Jesus, that’s all I’m asking from you.
Give me the strength to do every day what I have to do.
Yesterday’s gone sweet Jesus, and tomorrow may never be mine.
So for my sake, teach me to take, one day at a time.”

The song comes from a very important truth in the Bible. It’s found in both the Old and New Testaments. In Psalm 90:12 (NIV) “Teach us to number our days, so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” In Matthew 6:34 (NIV) “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Both of these verses point to the importance of living one day at a time.

There’s power in the present. Today is the most important day of your life. Better tomorrows start with your choices and actions today. When we live one day at a time, we’re choosing the wisest way to live. Don’t waste today. What you do with it is the key to a brighter and better future!

Pastor Dale

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Get Rid of Extra Baggage

| 1:34 min read |

I’m a light traveler. I’m a carry-on kind of guy.

Packing light is an art. If you search online, you’ll find lots of suggestions and instructional videos about the topic. I know! When packing a suitcase do you roll or fold your clothes? Are packing cubes the key to smart travel, or are they unnecessary? How many of what items should you pack? What should you leave behind? These are important questions to the person obsessed with traveling light!

Whether you’re a “pack everything possible” person, or like me, prefer the “carry-on” approach, when it comes to life, the Bible is clear about the best approach to travel—light is better!

The writer of Hebrews lays this case out for us in Hebrews 12:1 (NLT) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

While this verse changes the metaphor from travel to racing, the principle is the same. Light is better! Getting rid of the excess baggage is the way to go! We can’t run or travel well when we are loaded down with guilt, shame, and condemnation from the past. We don’t run or travel well with loads of resentment, grudges, and offenses toward others. We won’t run or travel well with the extra baggage of wrong priorities and distracted focus.

When it comes to your spiritual life, decide to be a light traveler. Get rid of the extra baggage. You’ll go farther, faster without it!

Pastor Dale

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Attitude Adjustments

| 1:42 min read |

You can’t think wrong and live right. Conversely, right-thinking never leads to wrong living. You get the point. As your thinking goes, so goes your life.

Your thoughts control your attitudes, and your attitudes determine much of your behavior. An attitude really is a set of thoughts about something or someone. If your attitude is good, it’s because your thoughts are good. If your attitude is bad, it’s because your thoughts are toxic and perhaps sinful.

Often people spend significant time and energy trying to climb to some level of achievement and/or recognition in life. Their goal is to rise above the rest of the crowd and make a mark for themselves. While there’s nothing wrong with achievement or recognition, we would better serve ourselves, others, and certainly, God, if we changed our focus from the level of our life altitude to the degree of our life attitude.

Airplane pilots understand the relationship between an aircraft’s attitude and its potential altitude. Altitudes are restricted by wrongly adjusted attitudes. That’s why God gave us this reminder through the pen of Paul in Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV) “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; and to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Have some bad attitudes crept into your life? Are they affecting your behavior? Are you losing altitude in your relationships, your work, your life? If so, make some fast attitude adjustments. When you straighten out your thinking, you’ll straighten out your life!

Pastor Dale

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Return to God

| 1:36 min read |

“I need to get back on track!” Certainly, you’ve said something like this at some point.

There are times when we realize that we’ve slipped, drifted, lost our way a bit and need to get back on track again.

To get “back on track” presupposes a “track.” It’s an acknowledgment of a solid, sure set of rails that will guide you where you need to go, if you’ll return to them. The key is getting back!

While we get “off track” in many ways, no area is more dangerous than in our relationship with God. Whether it is a slight drifting from God or serious rebellion against Him, being “away” from God is never a good thing.

One of the beautiful things about God is His willingness to take us back when we’ve drifted and to help us get back on track with Him. The prophet Zechariah reminded a group of people who drifted from God of their need to return, and of God’s promise to restore them. Here is what is recorded in Zechariah 1:3 (NIV) “Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord.”

Note the assurance God gave them. Three times He affirmed His words to them—“This is what the Lord Almighty says…declares the Lord Almighty…says the Lord.” God wanted His people to have no doubt that He was the One calling them back because He wanted them back!

Perhaps this is what He wants you to hear today. Maybe you’re “off track” in your relationship with Him. If so, all you need to do today is to return to Him. He knows how to get you “back on track!”

Pastor Dale

Monday, January 14, 2019

Seize The Moment

| 1:33 min read |

How well are you handling the opportunities God gives you?

Every day and every moment of the day contain wonderful opportunities. An opportunity is a possibility of something good and productive waiting to be realized. Opportunities can be missed, or they can be seized. Missed opportunities often are gone for good.

The Bible describes how we are to think about life opportunities. Paul, the apostle, wrote about this in Ephesians 5:15, 16 (NIV) “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

Life is to be lived carefully. To be careful is to give special attention to something. Carefulness with anything reveals respect and appreciation for it.

God tells us to live carefully because of the opportunities found in each moment. When Paul reminded us to “make the most of every opportunity” he used the Greek word “kairos.” This word can be translated “time,” but it more specifically refers to the qualities and gifts available in a moment of time.

All too often we allow our busyness, our preoccupation with personal problems and plans, and our focus on things that really don’t matter to get in the way of the opportunities in front of us. It might be an opportunity to encourage someone, send a quick note of thanks to someone, listen to someone, pray with someone, or help someone along the way. Opportunities are everywhere.

Slow down. Refocus. Live carefully. Discover the diving opportunities awaiting you in the moments of life!

Pastor Dale