Devotionals

💧 Living Water Vineyard Devotion Monday — Four Days from Christmas 🎄 Good News of Great Joy We use the word joy a lot. We sing it 🎶 We write it on Christmas cards ✉️ We say things like, “I hope you feel joyful.” But if we’re honest… joy can feel complicated—especially this close to Christmas. Because biblical joy isn’t a mood. It’s not tied to personality. And it’s definitely not the same thing as happiness. Joy in Scripture is something God gives— because He is near 🤍 An

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION — THURSDAY “Guided Through Obedience” 🧭✨ Scriptures: Matthew 1:18–25; Matthew 2:13–23; Psalm 32:7–8; Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV) ⸻ Obedience sounds good— until it costs you something. Most of us like the idea of obedience, especially when it leads to blessing, clarity, or favor. But obedience gets much harder when it disrupts our plans, challenges our comfort, or puts our reputation at risk. If I’m honest, growing up I didn’t really believe rules were

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION Wednesday, December 17 “Interrupted on Purpose” ✨ Joseph didn’t live a flashy life. He wasn’t a priest. He wasn’t a scholar. He wasn’t a man with influence or a platform. Joseph was a carpenter—a tekton—a skilled tradesman who worked with wood and stone 🪵🛠️. He lived in Nazareth, a small, overlooked town in Galilee. Nothing about Nazareth was impressive. Later in the Gospels someone will ask, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Joseph’s da

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION — TUESDAY The God Who Keeps His Promises 🕯️ Scriptures: Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 55:8–9; Luke 1:26–38; Hebrews 6:18 (NIV) ⸻ I still remember my first real job. I was working retail as a store manager at a Western wear store. It was the Saturday before Christmas—the busiest day of the year. The line was backed up, people were buying Wranglers, boots, belt buckles… everything. The store was loud and rushed, full of holiday energy. At the counter was a

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION — MONDAY “When Hope Crosses the Storm” 🌊✨ Scriptures: Mark 4:35–41; Mark 5:1–6; Romans 15:13; 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV) ⸻ WHAT HOPELESSNESS FEELS LIKE Hopelessness doesn’t usually arrive all at once. It settles in slowly—when help runs out, when answers stop coming, when people stop trying. By the time we meet the man in Mark chapter 5, hopelessness has completely taken over his life. “A man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet Him

🌿 LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION 🎄 Christmas Traditions — Saturday ✨ “The Light That Never Goes Out” If Friday was about life, Saturday is about light 💡 A long time ago—centuries after Saint Boniface—another man was walking through a dark winter forest 🌲❄️ He wasn’t preaching. He wasn’t confronting idols. He was just a dad… and a pastor… heading home. His name was Martin Luther. One cold December night, Luther stopped beneath a wide, quiet sky 🌌 Tall fir trees surrounded

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION Thursday — “When the Fire Doesn’t Go Out the First Time” There are moments in life when it feels like the very ground beneath us is shaking. Storms rise without warning. Fires burn where we least expect them. And sometimes, even after we believe a trial has passed, the flames return hotter than before. Peter knew that feeling well. And he wrote these words to believers who felt like life was burning down around them: 1 Peter 4:12–13 “Dear friend

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION Wednesday — “Another Yes… Another Boat… Another Storm” Luke 2 • Matthew 8 • Mark 4 ⸻ THE STORY — THE CENSUS AND THE JOURNEY NOBODY WANTED Mary has already said her yes. Joseph has already said his yes. And then Luke 2 opens with a reminder of something we don’t always like to hear: When you say yes to God, there will always be another yes. Another step. Another boat. Another storm. The next “yes” for Mary and Joseph came in the form of a decree

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION Tuesday — “When Obedience Costs You Everything” Matthew 1 • Matthew 8 • Mark 4 ⸻ THE STORY — JOSEPH: A RIGHTEOUS MAN WITH A BROKEN HEART Before Joseph ever holds Jesus… before the manger… before Bethlehem… Joseph faces a storm of his own. Scripture tells us he was a “righteous man” (Matthew 1:19). That means something specific in Jewish culture: • He loved God. • He honored the Law. • He valued integrity. • He cared deeply ab

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION Monday — “The First Step Into the Boat” Matthew 8 • Mark 4 • Luke 1 ⸻ INTRO — WHEN THE DUST TURNS TO MUD Yesterday was an amazing and sacred service. Tears everywhere. Hearts soft. Jesus close. We talked about the difference between being a fan and a follower — how fans cheer from the shore, but followers actually get in the boat when Jesus says: “Let us go over to the other side.” (Mark 4 / Mark 5) Scripture points out something easy to miss: “

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION Friday, December 5, 2025 “WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE JUST SAID YES?” Imagine you’re walking down a dusty road with Jesus. You hear His sandals brushing the dirt. You feel the warmth of His presence. You sense His nearness — and for a moment you think: “I’m following Him.” But then Jesus slows His pace. He stops. The crowds keep walking… but He turns toward you. He looks right into your eyes — and in that gentle voice that shakes the soul, He asks:

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION Thursday, December 4, 2025 “WHEN ‘WHATEVER’ HOLDS US BACK” Luke 9 gives us a powerful picture of Jesus walking along the road, speaking with three different people who say they want to follow Him. We’ve already looked at: • The enthusiastic man — “Wherever!” • The delayed man — “Whenever!” Today we come to the third man — the “Whatever” follower. ⸻ THE THIRD MAN — ‘LET ME SAY GOODBYE’ (Luke 9:61–62) As Jesus walks, another man steps forward and

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: •