Category: Trust

6/9/2026 2 Comments

Faith in the Dust: A Devotional for Those who Feel Forgotten

I asked Pastor Daniel Mugeni, one of our First Cause international leaders, to share with you what it is like to minister in a poor rural community in Uganda. Daniel pastors Grace Harvest House of Worship in Iganga, Uganda, a town 33km from the source of the Nile in Jinja. This is critical because it is so easy to be complacent and selfish in a prosperous nation and forget what it means to suffer and struggle not just in faith but in surviving.

Meditation
2 Corinthians 1:6,7--If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is experienced in your endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you will share in the comfort.

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4/8/2026 1 Comment

"We're Going to See a Miracle in the Next 24 Hours."

Nate Holding Sushi

Last week, my brother Nate received a cash offer from his neighbor across the street for his 20-acre farm, which he and my parents purchased over a decade ago. Both Dad and Mom died on that property, and it is a place that holds a lot of family memories. The house will close in a few weeks, leaving Nate, Missy, and their great friend Roger without a place to live. They had hoped to purchase a lodge in Alaska, but that fell through. So, faced with enormous uncertainty regarding their future and where they would live, Nate declared, “We’re going to see a miracle in the next 24 hours.”

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2/27/2026 1 Comment

Authentic

Citadel Cadets and Coast Guard Academy Grads with the Author

A youth pastor recently shared that authenticity is most important to members of Generation Z (born roughly between 1997 and 2010). Raised in the ever-present influence of social media, they have learned that what one sees and reads is often not true. They understand hype, disingenuousness, posing, and fakeness. They have observed what materialism does to people. They feel the pain of inflation and understand that, in a nation deeply underwater in debt, getting ahead economically is unlikely. They know what it’s like to live in a polarized country where both sides manipulate information. What they crave is honesty.

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7/12/2025 0 Comments

Breakfast at Banning's

Herb and Craig began meeting for breakfast in Tigard, Oregon, in 1992, weekly on Tuesdays. Later, they shifted their meetings to Friday mornings. Other friends have joined them periodically over the years, but it is these two men who have met together for 33 years and counting. It takes incredible commitment, faithfulness, love, and enjoyment to maintain such a longstanding tradition. Very rarely do friends have such a sustained track record.

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12/24/2024 0 Comments

Insignificant

He was born in a lowly place—a smelly stable in a manger, nursed among unclean animals because his parents were required by edict to register in an obscure village—Bethlehem, the town Micah, the prophet, foretold (Micah 5:2). His father, Joseph, nearly in secret divorced the unborn Child’s mother, Mary, until an angel intervened and informed him that she conceived through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:19,20). Joseph was a humble carpenter, whose trade he would pass on to his Boy, raised in the Galilean town of Nazareth. “‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Nathanael asked him. ‘Come and see,’ Philip answered” (John 1:46).

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10/3/2024 0 Comments

Peerless

In Isaiah chapter 45, God communicates to King Cyrus nine times that He has no peer; there is no other God. This message extends far beyond a pagan king; it applies to all people.

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2/17/2024 1 Comment

How Does a Little Child . . . ?

My father caught me in some forgotten misbehavior when I was a little child. He explained that when we did things wrong, that was called sin, and sin displeased God. I knew about God because we prayed to Him each meal, and Dad, at that time in Naha, Okinawa, always started his day off by reading his Bible, praying, and drinking his coffee. Dad explained that if we told God that we were sorry for our sins and placed our trust in His Son, Jesus, Jesus would forgive us, and we could look forward to living with Him in heaven someday. He asked me if I would like to do that. Of course, I don’t remember his exact words or direction because that was over 60 years ago, but I remember confessing what I had done was wrong and eagerly wanting Jesus to come into my heart.

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2/6/2024 1 Comment

You Must Be Quiet

I was talking to my stressed certified public accountant (CPA). It is that time of year when he prepares tax returns for all his clients. The strain on his face was palpable, so his answer was no surprise when I asked him what I could pray for him. “Ask God to relieve the stress and anxiety of this tax season.”

Eric requests prayer for Ben and Kelly’s failing marriage. Erwin needs intercession for his beloved wife, Sue’s deteriorating health. Jerry seeks wisdom in his job addressing conflicts with Iran, Russia, Ukraine, China, Taiwan, Israel, and Hamas. Nanette argues passionately for the right to see her grandson to the deaf ears of a drug-addicted daughter. Her prayer is for reconciliation and healing.

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9/25/2023 0 Comments

Every Generation

God has left the planet. The world is a mess. He does not care about His people or humanity any longer. Have you ever had those thoughts? That is why it is so important to study Scripture.

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6/5/2023 1 Comment

Drinking the Living Water

If you have ever hiked in the mountains, you know that the higher you climb, the purer the water source will be. But as the streams flow downward, they become part of the forest, and now purification tablets are needed to protect against giardia parasites which can cause giardiasis. Continuing downward, the stream merges with other streams and becomes a river. More pollutants are added as waste flows into the river from drainage systems, and people throw their trash, dump chemicals, etc., into the water. So what is my point?

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3/31/2023 1 Comment

The Power of Care

Do you feel like a caring Creator guards your life, or are you feeling incredibly vulnerable and unsafe? When we know Jesus, at least three important facts should kick into gear. First, we understand from Psalm 139:16 that “Your [God’s] eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.” There is nothing accidental about our lives—we were purposefully designed. Second, we know from John 3:16, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” Faith in Jesus brings us a redeemed life with God that will forever unfold. But we must understand a third critical fact to negotiate life joyfully.

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3/22/2023 0 Comments

Boldness

Herodotus, a Greek historian from Halicarnassus, wrote the Histories, a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars that modern historians and archeologists have largely validated.[1] The Roman orator Cicero called him “The Father of History.” Herodotus wrote, “It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen.” Herodotus understood Spartan warriors' courage and the Greeks' bravery in defeating Persian armies that dwarfed them in size and resources. Imagine if this astute historian had understood the boldness available to those who serve an unshakable kingdom!

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1/16/2023 0 Comments

No Choice in the Matter

David & Teresa

Around 2010, David was having his quiet time on his outside patio when the Lord said, “I want you to give me everything.” He responded, “Lord, You have everything . . . we served You on the mission field . . . ” The Holy Spirit then impressed on his heart, “I want everything in your bank accounts.” David’s heart broke, and he began weeping. Then he conceded, “Lord, it’s all yours.” He went to his wife, Teresa, and shared what had happened. She replied that before emptying their bank accounts, she wanted confirmation. After two days of prayer, Teresa heard from God and agreed with her husband. They emptied all their accounts and wrote a check to Eternal Perspectives Ministries. David told me, “It was fun to write that check but very scary.” About two years later, God directed them to move from Indiana to Oregon. Without funding or a job but full of faith, they obeyed. For six months, with two of their children and a dog, they slept on couches in friends’ homes until the time came when God blessed them with provisions to have their own place and ministry.

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1/14/2023 8 Comments

Navigating the Christian Life

Author Geoff Davis

Over forty years ago, on April 1, 1982, I pinned on a US Army Ranger Tab. When I began that program on February 2, 1982, I started with some of the Army’s best soldiers. God used it as one of the most formative lessons in my walk with Him, so that I might know Him better.

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1/6/2023 1 Comment

The Lord Will Provide

The old Mary would have freaked out but not the new Mary. The old Mary was extremely insecure with finances and struggled with worry. The new Mary was all about trusting God, and now she faced one of the biggest tests in her life. One of her clients owed her over $60,000 and had missed several deadlines in paying their debt. She had leveraged her credit card to keep her business afloat, and if ever there was a time for panic, it was now. But instead of harassing the client to pay or taking them to court, she was gracious to them and kept her confidence that her business was God’s and not hers. He would provide. First, her hospital wrote off a bill she owed of $170,000! Second, other clients provided much-needed funds. Finally, a different bank gave her a new and better credit line of almost $200,000.

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5/14/2022 0 Comments

Your Faith has Healed You!

Life is full of challenges. As you read that what challenge comes to mind that you are facing? For some of us, it is financial, for others relationships, and still others health, the need for work, etc. What is unhealthy is when we let the problem(s) we face dominate our thinking because we flounder in fear and uncertainty. In his book Brave, Strong & Tender, Phil Downer asked, “Do you ever find yourself spending more time thinking about the size of your problems than thinking about the size of your God? Do you feel locked up because of fear?”

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10/1/2021 0 Comments

Not By Strength

Zerubbabel by lineage could have been a king of Judah in the line of David. Instead he served as a governor and one who was exalted by God. “‘I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, My servant’—this is the LORD’s declaration—'and make you like My signet ring, for I have chosen you.’ This is the declaration of the LORD of Hosts” (Haggai 2:23b). He was a great leader. Yet God made it clear through the prophet, Zechariah, that it was not Zerubbabel’s human power that accomplished God’ will, but rather God’s Spirit.

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7/7/2021 0 Comments

God's Gracious Hand

Meditation
Ezra 8:21-23--I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions. I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who abandon Him.” So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and He granted our request.

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10/10/2020 0 Comments

What is Worship?

Meditation
Jonah 1:8,9--Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in. What is your business and where are you from? What is your country and what people are you from?” He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship Yahweh, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”

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7/31/2020 0 Comments

I & II Samuel

If you want to read great books on leadership, read 1st and 2nd Samuel. Early tradition suggests that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book in scripture so I will do my best to examine the combined 55 chapters and share key leadership lessons. No author is named for these books but scholars largely credit the prophets Samuel, Nathan and Gad. Based on 1 Sa. 27:6, the writing may not have been completed until about 930 B.C.[1]

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