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Living Water Vineyard — Monday Devotion “Two Gates, Two Roads, Two Crowds, Two Destinations” Matthew 7:13–14 ⸻  Where We’ve Been Since...

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION Wednesday, December 3, 2025 “WHEN ‘WHENEVER’ BECOMES ‘NEVER’” ⏳➡️🙏 In Luke 9, Jesus is walking along a dusty road 🚶‍♂️🌿 — leaving the crowds behind, heading toward Jerusalem with purpose. As He walks, a man approaches… and Jesus does something shocking: He calls him. “Follow Me.” This is radical. In the Jewish world, a rabbi never asked someone to follow — disciples asked him. And rabbis only picked the best of the best. But Jesus chooses the

💧 LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION December 2, 2025 “WHEN DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE A FAN… OR A FOLLOWER?” 🙋‍♂️➡️✝️ In Luke 9, Jesus is walking along a dusty road 🚶‍♂️🌿 — leaving the crowds behind, heading toward Jerusalem with purpose. The miracles are still fresh ✨, hope is rising 🙌, and people begin stepping up beside Him to talk. This is where we see the difference between a fan and a follower. A fan gets excited about Jesus… 😄 A follower obeys Jesus. 🙇‍♂️ A fan enjoys t

🌊 Living Water Vineyard — Monday Devotion “FOLLOWING JESUS UP CLOSE” Matthew 8:18–22 Setting the Scene Capernaum is shaking. The sun hasn’t even set, and the whole town is running through the streets. People are shouting from their rooftops: “He healed a man with leprosy!” “The Roman soldier’s servant was healed with just a word!” “Peter’s mother-in-law sat up instantly!” It’s chaos—but holy chaos. Everywhere Jesus steps, life breaks out. Mothers are crying as their children

💧 Living Water Vineyard Devotion – Monday Six Days of Thanksgiving – Day 3 “When God Calls You Deeper: Blessings, Burdens, and a New Beginning” (From our family tradition of reading Stories of the Pilgrims) ⸻ 🕊 Introduction — When Obedience Leads to a New Land After betrayal, prison, storms, and painful separation, the Pilgrims finally stepped into Holland — a place where they could worship freely at last. For the first time in years: • No spies at their windows • No soldie

💧 Living Water Vineyard Devotion Two – Thursday, November 20, 2025 “When the Enemy Steals Our Joy: The Battle for Forgiveness” Inspired by Beloved by Francis Chan, Chapter Two Featuring the testimony of Jacob DeShazer ⸻ 🕊 Introduction — When the Devil Doesn’t Roar… He Whispers One of the chapters in Francis Chan’s Beloved hit me deeply this week — the chapter about spiritual warfare and deception. Francis says something powerful: Most believers expect Satan to show up like

💧 Living Water Devotional – Tuesday, November 19, 2025 “Fix Your Eyes” — The Story of Robert Raikes and the Fight Against Distraction Last night, as we were finally pulling into our driveway—nearly twenty-four hours after planes, layovers, trams, trains, shuttles, and the long drive over Vail Pass at two in the morning—I sat there thinking, What a day. What a trip. And honestly… what a reminder of how easy it is to get distracted. It took me back to when I first started moun

💧 Living Water Devotional – Monday “Beloved: Learning to Live as God’s Deeply Loved Child” 📖 1 John 4:13–18 📖 Inspired by Francis Chan’s “Beloved” 📖 Illustrated by the life of George Washington Carver ⸻ 🕊 Scripture Focus “We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit… God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them… There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear.” — 1 John 4:13–18 In Beloved, Francis Chan asks on

💧 Living Water Vineyard Friday Devotional — Not Stepping Over the Beggar 📖 James 1:27 | Luke 16:19–31 | Mark 6:34 | Matthew 8:3 ⸻ 💬 Seeing What God Sees There’s a line in The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns that stays with me: If we cut out every verse in the Bible about the poor, justice, and compassion, we’d lose over two-thirds of Scripture. That’s how central the poor are to the heart of God. Yet when World Vision surveyed pastors, here’s what they found:    •   

💧 Living Water Vineyard Thursday Devotional — Called, But Not Going 📖 Jonah 1:1–3 | Acts 1:6–11 | Luke 19:10 ⸻ 💬 A Call We Don’t Want Sometimes the hardest thing about following God isn’t hearing His voice — it’s obeying when we don’t want to. Jonah knew God’s voice. He wasn’t confused. He wasn’t uncertain. He just didn’t want to go. “The word of the Lord came to Jonah… ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it.’ But Jonah ran away from the Lord…” (Jonah 1:1–3

💧 Living Water Vineyard Wednesday Devotional — Who Is My Neighbor? 📖 Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25–37 ⸻ 💬 The Question That Changes Everything When a religious lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” he wasn’t seeking compassion — he was seeking clarification. He wanted to know the limits of his love — “How far do I have to go?” Jesus answered not with a definition, but with a story. A man was beaten and left for dead. A priest passed by. Then a Levite. But finally, a Sa

💧 Living Water Devotional – Tuesday The Towering Pillars of Compassion and Justice 📖 Micah 6:8 • Isaiah 58:6–11 • Luke 4:18–19 ⸻ 🕊 Scripture Focus “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” — Micah 6:8 ⸻ 💬 Devotion: The Hole in Our Gospel There are times when God completely interrupts our comfortable Christianity — not to condemn us, but to awaken us. That’s exactly what

💧 Living Water Vineyard Monday Devotional — “You Lack One Thing” 📖 Mark 10:17–22 • Matthew 19:16–22 • Luke 18:18–23 ⸻ 🕊 Scripture Focus “Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ He said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.’” — Mark 10:21 ⸻ 💬 Devotion: My Story and the Rich Young Ruler There’s a man in the Gospels I can’t help but see myself in — the rich young ruler. He came to Jes

Wednesday Devotion — The Voice in the Wilderness Matthew 7:15–19 | Luke 3:1–23 | Matthew 11:7–11 ⸻ 🕊️ The Setting — A Nation in the Dark Picture Israel in the first century — It’s been 400 years of silence since the last prophet spoke. No visions, no fresh word, no open heavens — just waiting. The people are weary. Rome rules their land with iron fists and high taxes. The religious leaders — the Pharisees and Sadducees — have turned worship into a heavy burden. The Temple is

⸻ 🌿 Tuesday Devotion — The Curse of Compromise Matthew 7:15–19 | Numbers 22–25 | Proverbs 26:2 ⸻ 🕊️ Jesus’ Warning: Two Roads, Two Trees “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.” — Matthew 7:15–16 (NIV) Yesterday we looked at Korah’s rebellion, where pride challenged God’s authority. Today, we turn to Balaam, a prophet whose story shows us how greed and lust can pull

🌊 Living Water Vineyard — Monday Devotion “By Their Fruit You Will Recognize Them” Matthew 7:15–20 (NIV) ⸻ 💧 Celebration and Reflection What an incredible day yesterday! The presence of God was so thick as we watched people go down into the waters of baptism and rise up full of life. It was love, joy, and unity — the kind only Jesus can bring. Heaven rejoiced. The Church rejoiced. Every baptism is a victory — a public declaration that says, “I’ve chosen the narrow road that

🌿 Living Water Vineyard — Friday Devotion “The Road That Ends in Fire” Matthew 7:13–14 ⸻ 🔥 One of the Hardest Truths Jesus Ever Taught...

🌿 Living Water Vineyard — Thursday Devotion Come and Die: Why the Narrow Road Is a Cross-Shaped Road Matthew 7:13–14; Luke 9:23;...

🌿 Living Water Vineyard — Wednesday Devotion Two Crowds: Fans or Followers? Matthew 7:13–14, Luke 14:25–27 ⸻ 🎸 Growing Up a Fan Growing...

🌿 Living Water Vineyard — Tuesday Devotion The Narrow Road: Following Jesus When It’s Hard Matthew 7:13–14, Luke 9:23 ⸻ 🕊️ Picking Up...