Pastor’s Blog

Daily Devotion Nov. 15, 2023

Today’s Focus: Gratitude for a smell I enjoy

“But thanks be to God! For through what Christ has done, he has triumphed over us so that now wherever we go he uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Gospel like a sweet perfume” (2 Corinthians 2:14, TLB).

     My wife, Cathy, was the administrator at the Brice Christian Academy in Columbus, Ohio. Cathy wears a perfume called Eternity. Small children periodically gave my wife hugs and would say, “Mrs. Wells, you smell good!”


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Daily Devotion Nov. 14, 2023

Daily Focus: Being grateful for a treasure

“Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51, NIV).

     Fifteen years ago, I captured a sense of what God feels like as a father who has lost his child. Ashville, Ohio holds an annual carnival around the fourth of July. More than 100,000 people descend upon that tiny village. My daughter, Courtney, was four years-old at the time. She was walking with her friend, Natalie, ahead of my wife and me.


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Daily Devotion Nov. 10, 2023

Today’s Theme: A freedom for which I am grateful

“Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again” (Galatians 5:1, CEB).

     Four decades ago, I traveled by bus from Fort Dix, New Jersey to my next duty station at Fort Devins, Massachusetts. Interstate Ninety-five passes within a short distance of Liberty State Park from which the Statue of Liberty can be seen. I had dreamed of seeing Lady Liberty since I was a boy.


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Daily Devotion Nov. 9, 2023

Today’s Theme: A goal for which I am grateful

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, ESV).

     On August 31, 2002, Phil Brabbs lined up for the most important field goal of his life. The Michigan Wolverines trailed the Washington Huskies 29-28 with five seconds left on the clock. Earlier in the game, Brabbs was booed by the home crowd for missing three field goals.

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Daily Devotion Nov. 8, 2023

Today’s Theme: An animal for whom I am grateful

“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24, NRSV).

     My family recently experienced a significant loss. Belle was my grand dog. She was a beautiful, thirteen-year-old pug who carried the nickname of princess. Belle crossed the rainbow bridge last week at the age of thirteen. She made everyone she met feel special. I am grateful for her presence in my life.

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Daily Devotion Nov 7, 2023

 
Today’s Theme: A friend I am thankful for.

  “ Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, NIV).

     Last week many of us lost a friend. Matthew Perry died tragically from drowning. Perry played the beloved character, Chandler Bing, in the 1990’s sitcom, Friends. Chandler’s quirky personality and wry sense of humor endeared him millions of television viewers.

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