Devotionals

Be Growing in Grace and Knowledge of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Loring Schultz

“I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:17-18a NLT

Photo by Chris Yang on Unsplash

It is easy to be swayed one way or another on any subject with so many opinions floating around social media. You may take a firm stance on an issue, but slowly if you are not careful your stance will begin to develop some cracks of doubt. That could very well be a plus in your direction if your stance is found to be false or misrepresented. But it is disastrous if you succumb to pressure to soften your stance to please others when it is the truth. Jesus prayed on behalf of His disciples to His Father, “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” (Jn.17:17 nlt) Jesus confirms the truth of God’s Word. Our stance based on the Word of God must be firm because it is true.

Peter, in writing his second letter to Christians in Asia Minor, warned them to be aware of false teachers who were infiltrating the Christian church. Peter begins and ends his letter with the same words of encouragement, “May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.” (2Pt.1:2 nlt) The importance of growing in the knowledge of God was vital to their Christian Walk to recognize falsehood and stand against error. Christians today face the same errors and outright distortion of Scripture being claimed as truth for our times.

Peter was aware was the social pressure put on Christians even in his day. “I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing.” (2Pt.3:17 nlt) A sure way of growing in the grace and knowledge of God is to read and study His Word daily. Know for sure what God says in Scripture so you can stand securely on the truth. God’s truth is the Bible.

Devotionals

A Good Summer Read    

Loring Schultz

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT

Photo by Jessica Hearn on Unsplash
 

Summer vacations are a time to get away and relax from the daily grind of our work and everyday routines. Whether you are relaxing on a beach, a cabin in the woods, on an exotic island, or in your backyard a lot of us may have a book in hand. It may be a hardcover book, a paperback, your kindle, or your phone that is providing you with a good summer read. Whatever your method, you are engaging in a traditional summer activity of reading.

Deciding what will be your summer read could be an easy choice based on your likes and dislikes, or difficult wanting to use the time not only to relax but also to educate yourself about a certain subject. It could vary based on what is going on in your life this year or the events that surround you. As America has just celebrated its 250th birthday, I am drawn to Benjamin Franklin this year as my summer read.

We have a world of books available to us, both good and bad. May we choose wisely this summer with what will encourage us as we read for the pure enjoyment of it. Books that stimulate our minds and thinking in a positive direction in the chaotic world we live will help prepare us for the year ahead and beyond. There are many excellent Christian books available in stores, your on-line shopping site, and even on the boardwalk at favorite seaside vacation resort. I suggest you take advantage of them.

Of course let us not forget the most important summer read of them all, the Bible. You will find everything you are looking for in your search for a good read this summer. It made not appear all at once, but if you stick to it you will find what you need with the enjoyment of being in God’s presence preparing you for the days ahead.

Bible Studies

“Our Daily Bread” – The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’ teaching on Prayer

Loring Schultz

“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11

Rustic wooden table with round and sliced artisanal breads, butter, jar of flour, and kitchen items

The first three petitions Jesus taught His disciples to pray had an upward focus to God, His glory, His kingdom, and His will. Jesus now instructs them to ask God to care for their needs in the next four petitions. Early eighteenth century Theologian Matthew Henry, concerning our need for daily bread, writes the following, “Because our natural being is necessary to our spiritual well-being in this world…… we pray for the necessary supports and comforts of this present life, which are the gifts of God, and must be asked of him, for all the remainder of our lives.” Henry notes that it is needed daily because it is on-going for the rest of our lives.

The Greek word translated ‘daily’ is ‘epiousios’ which carries the meaning ‘the bread of necessity’ and ‘the bread that suffices for each day.’ It is what is needed every day to an exact amount, not too little and not too much. In Jesus’ day and in ours today, bread is a staple food item. Fresh baked bread with no preservatives will last about only one day. That was true in Jesus’ day and His point was well understood, it had to be supplied daily. We ask the Lord to meet our daily needs, being careful not to ask for excess. Our Lord will supply all we need, not all we want or desire.

Asking God to give us our daily bread does not only pertain to food in sustaining us. The daily bread we need also consists of all our daily needs to make it through this life as we serve Him. We need clothes on our backs, a place to call home, repairs to our home, transportation, viable employment, health, strength, and other physical needs. In a sense, when we pray for our daily bread, we are also praying for all that encompasses our survival now and in the future. God knows our future and He knows what our need will be before we will. (Mt. 6:8) Our complete trust in God to provide for us is built on the foundation of our faith in Him by praying to provide for our daily needs right into the future.

Matthew Henry gives us six lessons to learn from the simple petition ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ Adapted from the king’s English centuries ago for better understanding; First it teaches us self-restraint, to do things in moderation, and not be given to indulgence of appetite. Second, we are taught honesty and hard work through the vocation God has given us to meet our needs. Third, it teaches us not to be concerned about tomorrow, but to have continued faith in God that He will care for His children. Fourth, we ask God to give it to us, not sell it or lend it to us, but to give it. This teaches us to see the mercy of God in caring for us. Fifth, not to us only, but to others of like faith, we pray for their needs as well. Christians are to pray and fellowship together, and through this a heart of love and compassion will develop for those less fortunate. In this the Lord will use us to meet their need. And lastly, it teaches us to increase our desire towards God. As we hunger and anticipate the bread to feed us physically, our hunger to meet with God spiritually will also increase. “Give us this day our daily bread.”

A Christian Perspective

The Fight for Life Goes On      

Loring Schultz

“The LORD is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3 NLT

Planned Parenthood health center building with sign and flag
The exterior of a Planned Parenthood health center

This past Tuesday, July 6th, ‘World News Group’ reported the following story with the headline, “Congress allows measure defunding Planned Parenthood to expire.” They write in the first paragraph of the story, “A provision in last year’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ that blocked federal funding for abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, expired Saturday, with no extension. The abortion giant will again have access to government grants, contracts, and Medicaid funds, which in 2024 amounted to more than $800 million, about 39% of the organization’s overall revenue, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.” (1)  Further down in the story it is revealed that, “The Trump administration in December 2025 quietly released over $65 million in Title X federal family planning grants to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.” (1) The sad reality is it does not matter which political party is in office, the fight for life goes on.

Another observation that the fight for life goes on are the number of abortions since the ‘Dobbs Decision’ overturning ‘Roe’ which was to curtail the abortion rate; it did not. “In the three years since the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, the total number of abortions nationally has slightly increased. The most recent data from the Society for Family Planning’s #WeCount project show that the average monthly abortion volume during the first half of 2025 was higher than the monthly average in 2024……For most of the decade prior to the Dobbs ruling, there was a steady decline in abortion rates nationally, with a slight uptick in the years just before the ruling.” (2)

The battlefield unfortunately has been moved to the privacy of the home bathroom. Abortion pills are available to be ordered on-line. “A two-drug combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is the most common medication abortion in the U.S.” (3) Many of these women reside in states with abortion restrictions and order the pills on-line or cross state lines to receive them. They are available over-the-counter with a prescription from a certified healthcare provider. “In 2023, medication abortion accounted for 65% of all clinician-provided abortions in the United States; by contrast, this method accounted for 53% of abortions in 2020.” (4)

As we can see this seems like a never-ending battle, but there isn’t anything God cannot do. We need to continue praying that God will move and change hearts away from this culture of death. We are to not give up supporting Pro-life causes but remain faithful because the fight for life goes on.

Top of Form

Devotionals

In His Own Image

Loring Schultz

Read: Genesis 1:26-28 NLT – Then God said, “Let us make human – Bible Gateway

“So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 NLT

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

What does it mean to be created in the image of God? If we are honest with ourselves, examining our hearts and minds along with looking in the mirror, we are prone to say, ‘no way!’ But take heart, it has nothing to do with us because we are the created ones. The Lord God is our creator and Scripture says He created us in His own image. So what does that mean? Let’s take a look at it.

First of all it must be understood that we are unlike any other living creature God has created. Humans are immortal beings having souls lasting into eternity. We have the ability to communicate and have fellowship with God and God with us, no other living creatures have this intelligence and personal design. Humans have a self-conscious knowing right from wrong (although not always followed). We also have the ability to learn accumulating knowledge. We have the ability to think and reason applying these to situations that occur in our lives.

In the story of creation in the first twenty-five verses of the Bible we see God as personal, a creator, intelligent, having a will, and ruler over all He created. The Lord God created us in His image. He has given us dominion over all He created and has supplied us with wisdom, knowledge, and intelligence to maintain His creation giving us the capacity to also create and build. Being created in God’s own image is where we get the ability to do anything in life. Again, it doesn’t come from us but from being made in the image of God. So, do not be afraid to look in the mirror. It’s OK!

Devotionals

Pride is a Repellent

Loring Schultz

“Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.” Psalm 138:6 NLT

Man standing behind a table filled with trophies, medals, and framed certificates at an achievement awards ceremony
A man proudly showcases numerous trophies and certificates at an awards event.

Summer days and nights bring much enjoyment with longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures. Along with the joy comes the need to protect one shelf from the sun’s rays and the nasty bugs that are as much a part of summer as relaxing at your favorite picnic spot. Protection comes from the variety of items on the market today from sunscreen to bug repellents. These work to keep away dangerous rays from the sun and annoying pests of summer for a better experience of the warmer season.

I never thought of pride being a synonym for repellent, but David says in Psalm 138 that the Lord ‘keeps his distance from the proud.’ Pride acts as a repellent by keeping itself at arm’s length from all who are around it. Prideful individuals who constantly boast of their accomplishments turn off everyone in the sound of their voice. People grow tired and weary of hearing the repeated claims of their achievements. Their pride is repelling and driving them away.

We can all call to mind someone who would fit into that category of boastful pride, but where would we place ourselves on the same scale? We may tend to overlook a little boasting now and then thinking I deserve it (I did an excellent job). And maybe so, but where should our boasting be? Paul gives us some good advice. “Therefore, as the Scriptures say, ‘If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.’” (1Cor.1:31 nlt) The Lord is the one who enables to achieve anything so let us boast in Him and not repel ourselves to others and especially to the Lord God.

Devotionals

Offering Lip Service

Loring Schultz

“Then the Lord said, ‘Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote’” Isaiah 29:13 NASB

Man speaking at microphone during community forum with crowd

I am sure there is not one of us who hasn’t been assured of some affirming word only to find out you were paid lip service. It could come as a compliment, a sincere interest in solving a problem, or pledging support to a project. Over time you realize that the compliment was short lived, there was no real interest in solving the problem, and the project is not being supported, all from those who spoke words of admiration, problem solving, and support, but it was only lip service.

Unfortunately in our fallen world lip service is given with no thought to the dishonestly of the words spoken. Some may excuse it as not wanting to hurt anyone. Others may consider it the best option to avoid confrontation, others use it to buy time, and still others have no regard for their deliberate untruthfulness only to make themselves look sincere.  Lip service can come from our best friends, teachers, family members, co-workers, bosses, and even politicians. But before we add to the list, as it is exhaustive, we need to start with ourselves, and examine where we, as Christians, offer lip service.

Jesus confronting the scribes and Pharisees quoted from Isaiah in Matthew chapter 15, THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN (Mt.15:8-9 nasb)

The religious rulers were adhering to manmade oral laws handed down after the Babylonian captivity that were not part of the Law. They were honoring God with their lips by obeying laws they have made to honor Him through ritual and not from their hearts. They were uttering lip service to please God and make themselves look good, so they thought. They were more concerned in following their rules than following the Lord God.

Even as Christians, we are prone to lip service if we are not walking by the Spirit. One basic definition of lip service is ‘service by words only.’ I’m afraid many of us are able to relate. It is bad enough treating others with lip service, but how many times do we treat God with lip service? When we worship God on the Lord’s Day with others of like faith, or when we have our prayer time alone with Him, do our actions as we depart match the words we have spoken? Is there action to prove true the words we just spoken from our hearts, or were they only words? The Lord is please with those who worship Him from the heart and not through lip service.

Uncategorized

The Hand of the Lord     

Loring Schultz

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 NLT

This morning, I glanced up on the shelf above my desk and saw my plush ‘Mr. Bill’ figure standing straight up without a care in the world. Mr. Bill was a clay cartoon character in the early days of the late-night show, Saturday Night Live. He was an innocent happy-go-lucky young gent having a fun time as the skit begins but as it began to unfold disaster always found Mr. Bill. Mr. Bill’s misfortunes always came from Mr. Hands who would enter the scene putting together other clay figures to hurt Mr. Bill. As danger was approaching Mr. Bill would yell, ‘Oh Nooooo!’ Mr. Hands may have created Mr. Bill, but those same hands created his enemies as well.

The hand of the Lord is mentioned many times in the Bible. God’s hand is a guiding hand to help and strengthen us in our lives. It is a hand to hold us up and pick us up when we fall. God’s hand is powerful and protective. His hand will never do us harm. God’s hand will not hurt us. But the Lord’s hand is also a hand of discipline. It is a hand of divine judgement for the evil in the world. The book of Hebrews says, “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (10:31 nlt) The same hands will protect and help us but also discipline us when we are not in step with God.

Mr. Hands created Mr. Bill but he was not his protector. Mr. Bill was not being disciplined when disaster struck because he did nothing wrong that we know of. It may seem a strange analogy from a Saturday Night Live skit, but we can praise God that His powerful hand is always moving towards our good for protection or for discipline if needed.

Devotionals

Do not be deceived, evil is not good

Loring Schultz

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:16-17 ESV

US Supreme Court building with columns and dome, people walking on stairs and plaza, and American flag on flagpole
Visitors walk around the front of the US Supreme Court building with an American flag waving nearby.

Deception has been around  since the Garden of Eden. At the root of all deception is the father of lies Satan, himself. Satan has been deceiving people for years that bad is not that bad or not bad at all, in fact it’s actually good. The Puritans of the 17th century recognized the deceitfulness in some of the laws of their day that were evil.

 In one Puritan prayer it says,

“Show me how to know when a thing is evil,

                   which I think is right and good,

                   how to know when what is lawful

                   comes from an evil principle….” (1)

The above could have been written in 2026. Even Christians, when not careful, can be influenced by the world around them in seeing things from a secular worldview or even worse from a distorted Biblical worldview in the name of fairness and justice. Don’t be deceived. Evil is not good. If Scripture says it is evil, then it is evil. Secular governments passing legislation that attributes to the acceptance of anti-biblical truths puts Christians on defense for just believing the truth of Scripture.

Let us take heart and pray for one another to stand strong in defense of God’s Word. This is nothing new, but it is the devil’s continual attempt to sway people away from God and the truth of His Word. Sadly, it worked on Eve in the garden and with many others throughout history and is running rampant today. Pray that you will not be deceived.

(1) Bennett, Arthur Ed. The Valley of Vision. East Peoria: Versa Press, 2023. Pg 69

Bible Studies

“Thy Name, Thy Kingdom, Thy Will” – The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’ teaching on Prayer

Loring Schultz

“Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

Photo by Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash

The Lord’s Prayer is a simple model Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him to teach them to pray. It begins with an upward focus to the God of heaven, His glory and His will leading to the human needs of each of us. Jesus’ focus, also His priority in prayer, is the exaltation to God. The first petition He taught His disciples to pray is ‘Hallowed be thy name.’ It may be translated as ‘holy’ be thy name. God’s name is to be treated with reverence for it is holy. This should make us aware as we approach God in our failed human state that we are about to converse with a holy God. It is our place to begin our prayer by treating His name as holy, ‘hallowed be thy name.’ It was Jesus’ first petition in His prayers and should be ours as well.

The second and third petitions flow together with the first exalting God the Father. In all that we do, Christians are to do everything for the glory of God including our prayers. Our prayers should reflect the desire for glorifying God by honoring Him and praying for His kingdom to be established and His will be done in all things. This brings glory to God as we pray in agreement that God’s will and His kingdom will come about according to His plans established before the foundations of the world.

We may ask, why then should we pray? If God’s plans for His kingdom and His will are already determined, then why pray? Note the following reason on why we should pray; Prayer is not only about asking for things from God, although that is certainly an important part of prayer, but more importantly it is a time of meeting with God, your creator. It is a time to sit with Him and seek to know Him better. We need again to remember ‘who God is’ and ‘who we are’ and that the God of the universe wants to have a relationship with us. He has reached out to make that happen for we would not do that on our own. Therefore He deserves our praise and reverence exalting His name as we sit in prayer with Him. Modern day theologian the late R. C. Sproul notes when asked ‘Does our prayer change God’s mind? No, prayer changes us’ and that is the basis of prayer, to know God and to be changed by Him.

The Messianic Kingdom will indeed become a reality one day in the future. The Lord Jesus will rule from Jerusalem over the entire earth for 1,000 years. But currently this world is under the rule of Satan and his demons. Paul writing in Ephesians says the following, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Eph.6:12 nlt) Therefore as Christians we desire to see the Kingdom of God in its fullness come quickly. Until then we pray ‘hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,’ and for God’s will for us to be completely known that we obey His will ‘in earth as it is in heaven.’