Sinner, have you confessed your sins recently? I mean, have you REALLY confessed your sins? Sure, you may attend a liturgical church where you are given some lines to recite as part of the worship service, but have you confessed your sins, and not just as a passing phrase or petition in your prayers? I am talking about confessing like David… Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! [Psalm 51:1-2] This is the heart of guilty man throwing himself at the ..read more

14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Worship Obedience Prayer These are things that people of faith do, but they are things that can be faked, at least for a while. For those who follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior, worship, obedience and prayer are threads intimately woven into the fabric of their being. It is what they do without thinking; an automatic function like breathing or blinking your eyes. You do not think about doing those things, nor does a di ..read more

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? Here we go, let the rich bashing begin. “Boycott Amazon!”, “Boycott Wal-Mart!”, “Boycott Elon Musk!”. Nope, that is not where this devotion is going. Sure, the psalmist is encouraging people to fear not when they are being oppressed by the rich; being cheated, but rich bashing other people is not what we ought to be doing. We can not point our fingers and say, “They are the problem”. No, that is not where we are going. “So ..read more

A monstrous debt. Broke – payment is demanded. Canceled – Jesus lives ..read more

The greatness of a building, city, or nation is not due to its beauty, size, strength or any other physical characteristic. In Mark 13, the disciples make note of this very thing with Jesus, “And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” To which Jesus responds, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” He did not say that the temple and the buildings were not beautiful, rather, he was emphasizing that they are only buildings. Gre ..read more

When you have a bunch of someones striking their hands together you have a loud sound. When those someones are doing that in unison (somewhat) for a unified reason, then you have an applause. And what is an applause other than a bunch of people, in unison, showing how much they appreciate what someone(s) has done. Hmmm, strange how much this sounds like worship. After reading this, you may never look at an applause in the same way again. Sorry, well, not really actually, because it is what it is. When we applaud someone we are giving them our attention and showing them how much we value what t ..read more

I remember the day very well – Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I was in seminary at the time. I had just returned to my dorm room after studying in the library early that morning. After I logged into my computer and pulled up my news source, I was horrified by what I saw. Being in disbelief, I immediately turned on the TV where my fears were vividly verified. I stood in the middle of my room stunned. Soon others who had walked by my open door joined me in silence. Not a word was said. Soon we heard the bell calling us to the chapel. In unison we left my room. I do not even remember turning the TV ..read more

In the wilderness. The enemy’s teeth bearing. Safe, by my Shepherd ..read more

“My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.” (Psalm 45:1) As a person who likes to write, I just love the beauty of this verse. It speaks to why I write on a daily basis. People have asked how I can do this, but believe me, it is not because of some talent I have (far from it). It is ALL Holy Spirit. It is ALL about God. It is a natural outflow of what GOD has done, the “pleasing theme” in my heart. And therefore, I have updated the description line on my blog (www.heartofapastor.blog) and my blog’s Facebook site with ..read more

As I go through my day, Please show me Your way. May I not turn aside, For You are my guide. As I go through my day, Please hold me, I pray. May I not seek to sin, For my heart’s not akin. As I go through my day, I will be okay. May I never forget: Jesus paid my debt ..read more