“The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai…” Exodus 16:1 When you travel you are always between the place you left and where you are going. The children of Israel had just left Elim and were on their way to Sinai. Elim was like a vacation resort. It had twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees….Keep Reading

“Then I said, ‘O Lord, how long?” Isaiah 6:11 It isn’t unusual for me to sit down and look at the keyboard and not have any idea what the first word or subject is for the devotional. It can create anxiety as I wait and wonder, “Where do we go today Lord, where today?” Sometimes I write through eyes that are blurred with tears, other times with a silly grin….Keep Reading

What Goes Around Comes Around David said, “To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd” (Psa 18:25-26, NIV). God’s dealings with nations and individuals are not arbitrary but based on the conduct of each. We may not see the working out of this principle because God does not settle…Keep Reading

Pastor Will Shewey, Shades of Grace United Methodist Church Link to YouTube Video – Luke 4:21-30 From Pastor Will Shewey Our Saturday morning worship has ended. Seventy one persons were in attendance today. Twenty percent of our congregation was from the unhoused community. We continue to build relationship among them and assist with vital necessities of life. Jesus said the poor will always be with us. I have accepted this…Keep Reading

Never, Never, Never Be Satisfied in Life Be content with such things as you have,” says the writer of Hebrews (13:5). Jesus said that the body is more than food and clothes (Matt 6:5). It is that “more” that really gives life meaning. Children of God should never be satisfied with who they are—“now we are the children of God, but it does not yet appear what we shall be…Keep Reading

Jesus said, “… you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:20). Christian living can be like a glass of sweet tea. It is amazing how sugar transforms tea into something really good. Even though it is invisible when it is in the tea it changes everything. Any bitterness is removed and replaced by a soothing sweetness. The…Keep Reading

THE DOWNWARD PATH OF SIN “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psa 1:1-2, ESV). Notice the digression into depravity: We are passing by and pause to hear the counsel of…Keep Reading

Are You in Over Your Head? The saying “He’s in over his head” means that one has become so deeply involved with something or someone that getting out on one’s own seems impossible. Lot got in over his head when he pitched his tent toward Sodom. David got in over his head when he slept with Bathsheba. Peter got in over his head when he took his eyes off Jesus…Keep Reading

“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children” Matthew 11:25 Our Savior gave us those words for a reason. Perhaps the greatest sign that a sermon is pleasing to Jesus is when a child happily remembers it. Walk with Jesus down the Gospel streets and notice how…Keep Reading

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17 Two soldiers talked early in the morning. It would be over soon, and victory was certain. It was like a pit bull coming up against a chihuahua; there was no way they could lose this fight. The younger one asked, “Do you really think that it will be that easy?” The…Keep Reading

WHEN WE GET IT WRONG A friend asked me, “Can you write a message about messing up the truth. Some of us (most of us) at times have messed up the truth . . . Even for ourselves, for the situations, circumstances and experiences. Most of the time, we see through foggy glasses. Can God blame us if we don’t get it the truth right sometimes?” Hear a message from…Keep Reading

“The memory of the righteous is blessed…” Proverbs 10:7 I had just left the graveside of an old friend when I came upon a truck hauling three old cars. I imagined that they were talking, and I listened in: They were three old cars that were being hauled away. They had rolled their last mile, and now, they were about to take their final parking place. At first they just…Keep Reading