One Verse Devotional

God is doing a new thing in your life. He is creating streams in the wilderness. Sometimes life is confusing. We don’t know what the future holds. It can feel like our future is nothing more than a barren wilderness of options. But that’s not true, even if it feels that way, because God is doing a new thing in our lives. In our One Verse today, God is talking, and He tells us that He is doing a new thing. He is forming streams in the middle of the wasteland. Life is never perfect. There will be times when it feels like a wilderness. But God has not left you. He has a plan, and He is not surprised about your circumstances. Stay true to Him. He IS doing a new thing in your life. Keep your eyes on Him, and He will show you the life-giving stream you’ve been waiting for!

I wanted to give you an update of some things God shared with me this past weekend. It really comes down to asking ourselves a tough question: What do you want? Yes, that question may seem selfish, at first. And it can be if we are seeking after ourselves. But if we are seeking after God, He promises to show us the TRUE desires of our heart. The desires that God placed there! As long as what you want--your desires--line up with the Bible, you can be confident that it is coming from God. Sometimes, we need to spend time in deep reflection. That is what I did this past weekend. I did an exercise that I learned from a friend and former pastor. It goes like this: Take a piece of paper and draw a line, like a timeline. Then think of a certain period of time. This can be your entire life or a smaller section of time. Since it has been a rough summer, I chose to focus on that past 3-4 months. Now, on top of the line, you write the word PASSION and below the line, PAIN. Then you simply plot out all the things that br

Today’s One Verse is one of the great promises of the Bible, yet very few Christians know about it or act on it. James opens his letter with this plea: “Does anyone lack wisdom? Ask God! He will give it to you!” What an awesome verse! What an amazing promise. Do you need more wisdom in this life (Um, yeah!). Ok, Ask God. He promises to give it to you. It doesn’t get any more simple than that! There is no technicality or red tape. There is no trick. You need it? Ask for it. He’ll give it. If you are reading this, I STRONGLY encourage you to take God up on His promise. Add into your daily prayer life. I truly believe this one simple prayer can alter the path of your life. How would life be different if you would have God’s wisdom with every decision? If we take Him up on this promise, our future is in much better hands!

Let’s be quick to open our ears and slow to open our mouths. The Book of James teaches us that we need to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to have anger. Have you looked at your Facebook newsfeed, lately? Oh, my! The internet has given us a voice. What we haven’t realized is that it has given us a great way to listen, as well. You can be firm in your beliefs. This verse isn’t about compromise. Look at Jesus. He spoke to tax collectors and prostitutes and all sorts of people. He always listened. Let’s follow the teaching of James and the example of Jesus. Let us listen before we speak. Understanding James 1:19 is a core foundation to living a “Love first” lifestyle.

Many of us feel pain and regret over past mistakes and sins. However, you will never fully realize the glorious future that God has for you until you let go of your past. In our One Verse Devotional today, Paul says “this one thing I do” and then goes on to list two things. Was Paul stupid? No. Paul was a very well-educated man. But he is using this as a word illustration to point out and teach us a critical principle of life. In order for us to be able to move into the future and live out our God-given purposes, we have to let go of our past mistakes, sin, guilt, and shame. I know this because I’ve lived this. For over 10 years! I just couldn’t get over my guilt and shame, but I would still try to step into God’s will for my life. And it was impossible! Why? Because we have to do this ONE thing: Forget what is behind AND move into what is ahead at the same time. If we follow this principle, it will allow us to step into God’s best for our lives.

This world needs love. And if God is Love, His people need to lead the charge. “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other.” What a beautiful way to begin a verse. It is a prayer of blessing. May the Lord bless you. May He keep you. May the Lord make your love increase. That is kind of how I read this verse. I also love that Paul purposefully says “for each other and everyone else.” We can’t read this verse and think that it only means we show love to other Christians. There is no stipulations to this verse. May the Lord increase your love to everyone. That’s it. May God increase your love. It doesn’t matter who. May God increase your love for everyone. Always.

Let's have an honest conversation about depression, shame, and grit. Today, I wanted to share a little bit about what has been going on in my life, as well as a recent sermon I preached. I talk a little about the podcast and the shame I've felt from not posting regularly. Love you guys. This is a long one! I hope you enjoy it.

Yesterday, we talked about being crucified with Christ. But what does that mean for our lives? Where do we go from there? Our One Verse, Colossians 3:2, answers this question: We must set our minds on the things above. As followers of Jesus, we are strangers in this world. We belong to a different kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes, we have jobs and homes and bills. Yes, it’s ok to have fun and take vacations. But where is our FOCUS? If we can remind ourselves daily that the “old self” is gone and we are new creations in Jesus; that we belong to His Kingdom more than this world, it will give us a different outlook on God, our lives, and other people.

The Christian life has some strange themes and ideas. It’s true. Many of the teachings of Jesus simply confused the people He was talking to. In today’s One Verse Podcast Devotional, Paul writes about death and life. A strange thing to write. Why would Christians be called to die? This idea of death and life deals with our spirit. We all have a dark side, deep down, that we would rather not think about. I do. The greed, jealousy, envy, pride, and lust that wants to creep up in my life. That is the “old flesh” as Paul called it in another passage. There is only one response to the old flesh: death. We crucify is with Jesus on the cross. BUT through this death, we experience true life in Jesus. We are transformed. We are given new life and the “new flesh” in Christ. Now, we no longer live for #1. Because Jesus didn’t either. He gave His life away. Let’s follow Jesus’s example and spread His Light and Love to this dark world.

Today’s One Verse can be used as a prayer for our lives: “May the words of my mouth and the things I say be pleasing to You, God.” He is our Rock, our Redeemer, and our Savior. He has done so much for me, that I want everything that I say, do, and even think about to be pleasing to Him. Obviously, this isn’t easy. We are surrounded by temptation and have a million reasons to let something not-so-pleasing come out of our mouths every day. I want my words and deeds and thoughts to be pleasing to the One that truly matters.

Let’s live our lives with gratitude! In every situation, find something you can rejoice in. At the end of the book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul tells us to “rejoice always,” but what does that really mean? Do we still praise God during the messy times of life? Isn’t this command a little cruel and uncompassionate? Today, we are surrounded with ads and marketing. TV, internet, social media. It’s everywhere. And that’s a problem. Marketing has one fundamental message: Get you to be discontent with your life. Yes, you have a car that works fine, but how much better would your life be if you had OUR car! Yes, you have dinner planned out for tonight and it is within your budget, but what if you didn’t have to work so hard and just ordered our delicious pizza, instead. On Instagram, we get paid recommendations from celebrities. We live in a world where we are surrounded by these types of messages. It can have a serious impact. It’s easy to get to a place where we are never content with what we have. We lose our

Your faith can actually bring great encouragement to others who are struggling in their own faith journey. Just like yesterday, today’s One Verse is a personal message from me to you. Paul told the church of the Thessalonians that he had actually been encouraged by their faith in his times of distress (and Paul had some distress!) I feel the same about you. There have been times when I’ve wanted to quit the podcast. But right when I feel that way, I get an email or a private message or even a Facebook comment from someone telling me how much what I am doing means to them and their spiritual life. What an encouragement! You have the power to encourage other Christians who are struggling in their faith. By seeing your faith, it can give them hope. What about your pastor? That’s a tough job with little thanks. I know! So many pastors are tempted to quit. Your faith could be just the thing that is bringing them encouragement and allowing them to feel like their efforts and their ministry are actually making a di

By holding on tight to the teachings of Jesus, we can stand firm in an unpredictable world. I love today’s One Verse because I want to adopt Paul’s message. He encourages his brothers and sisters in the faith to stand firm and hold fast to the teachings he passed on to them by mouth or by letter. Through word of mouth (podcast!), I am also passing on these teachings of Jesus to you, my brothers and sisters. My hope, like Paul, is that you stand firm in these teachings. God’s Word remains firm in a constantly shifting world.

The beauty of the Church happens when different people from different backgrounds and different cultures come together under the name of Jesus. God has invited us into His will to bring unity to heaven and earth through Jesus. God’s will is that heaven and earth would be reunited. After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, a gap was created between us and God. His will is for that gap to be removed, and that is exactly what Jesus did through His sacrifice on the cross. Now, we are invited into the story. As we grow closer to God and chase after His will in our lives, we get to participate in bringing unity to all things.

God’s will is the journey, not a destination. He wants you to know His will! #godswill #purpose One of the biggest questions many have about the Christian life is “What is God’s will for my life?” We have this idea that once we find God’s will, life will be great. It will all fall into place. But that isn’t the case. God doesn’t want us to get comfortable and content with where we are. He wants us to keep moving and growing. His will isn’t one perfect destination in our life. If we just get “there” everything will be perfect. No. It is the journey of growing closer to God. And even more than that, God wants to reveal His will to you. The closer you get to God, the more He will uncover His will in your life.

When we feel lost, God sees a clear path. Have you ever been lost, really lost? Maybe you were driving in a new city or hiking in the woods. Either way, you didn’t know where to go next. You had lost the path. Has this ever happened in life? Have you ever said, “Why God?” Whenever we are lost driving or lost in life, one thing is true. If we could only get high enough, we could see the whole picture. We wouldn’t be confused and we would see exactly where we needed to go. Our One Verse today teaches us that God’s ways are higher than our ways. As high as the heavens are from the Earth, God sees the whole picture. Trust in Him to guide you down the right path

Nothing you do for God is done in vain. Being a follower of Jesus is not easy. There will be days when you are tired, hungry, and want to give up. There will be days that you will wonder if it’s worth it. There will be days that you look up at God and say, “Really? Why am I doing this?” But on those days, stand firm. Nothing you do for God is ever in vain. You may not see the results you expected. You may not see results for a while. But God is faithful. He sees your deeds. He knows your heart. It may be tough now, but it is worth it.

Is spending just 5 minutes a day with God worth it? Yes! Our One Verse today is Isaiah 55:11 and it reminds us that God’s Word never returns to Him empty. It always accomplished the purpose He meant for it. What does that mean for us? Even if you don’t feel like it, even if you only have a few minutes, spend time with God. Dive into His Word, if only one verse. It will accomplish exactly what God meant for it. God promises His Word will continue to work in our lives, bringing life like rains to a dry land.

Hey, everyone! A quick update: This is the McCarrick moving week! We got the keys to our new place on Friday, so we are deep into packing, moving, and cleaning. Thanks for all the messages. I'm going to take this week to focus on the move, but I'll be back on Monday. Have an awesome week! Love you all, Matt

You may have to wait on God, but He always hears your cry, and He will turn to you. We never know when God will answer our prayers. It may happen instantly, or it could take years. But one thing is for sure, God is listening to you. He hears you! Your prayers are not hitting the ceiling. I don’t know why God has us wait. I don’t know why He doesn’t answer some prayers. But God is listening to you. And when He is ready, He will turn and answer you.