LifeLink Devotions for Monday, June 16, 2025

I’ve had to cut down several trees that were dying or threatening to fall over on structures at my house. One time I had a friend come over to help. He’s a marvelous tree climber, and has all the ropes and tackle necessary to make the branches and trunk fall in just the right spots. It was a big job, and I was tired by the time it was done. There were a lot of branches to haul into a pile, and there was a lot of firewood to stack.

My plan was to use my chain saw at a later date to cut off the stumps at ground level so they didn’t interfere too much with the growth of the new lilac bushes I planted. Well, the stumps still stand. And now there are shoots of new trees sprouting 3 feet high from the side of one of the stumps. It doesn’t look good. In fact, just the other day, a guy was driving by and stopped and asked my wife if we would hire him to remove the stumps. He obviously thought they were pretty ugly also.

As I thought about those new shoots of trees from the old stump, I wondered what they would ever amount to if I pruned them and let one of them grow? I know it would take a long time, but someone, someday, would enjoy the fruit of my endeavor.

History tells us that nations, like trees, tend to die. They cease to be productive. God tells us the reason for this is that they move down a political path that rejects the truth of His Sovereignty. Death is always the result of rejection of God. Sometimes nations die a slow death of moral and social decay. Sometimes they are cut down before the decay causes further damage to surrounding territories. In the tenth chapter of Isaiah, God cuts down the nations that have rejected Him. Isaiah 10:33-34 says, “See, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low. He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax.”

God’s judgment always has a two-fold purpose. First, it is to destroy sin. Second, it is to restore life as He intended. Whether we are destroyed or restored is our choice and depends upon the humility of our hearts to repent of our sin and surrender to God’s purpose for our lives. The same is true for nations. When there is humility and repentance, there will be restoration. God promises it. It may take a long time, and we may not be around to see the full effects of the restoration project, but God is faithful to accomplish it.

God’s faithfulness is guaranteed in the very next verses of Isaiah 11. “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.”

The stump is going to produce a new shoot – a Branch that will bear the fruit of restoration. This is the spiritual truth illustrated by the stump in my front yard. Jesus Christ will spring forth from the tree of Israel that was cut down because of its sin. He will be filled with the Spirit of the LORD and He will be qualified with wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, and power to restore the Kingdom and reign as its King. He will bring to the people the delight of living in awe of God.

What we see is the principle of pruning to perfection. It’s what God may be doing in your life right now. At the minimum He’s clipping off the unproductive and sinful branches of your life so that the righteous branches can bear more fruit. At times it seems like He’s cutting down the whole tree. Some people need that. They need to be left with a stump in order for the Branch to sprout fresh and bring them life again. To whatever degree God is pruning you, let Him. Sure it hurts – but the new growth will be much better and you will delight in it.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, June 13, 2025

For me one of the best parts of camping is the campfire. Evening ones are the best time of the day. Sometimes we keep the fire going all day, so anytime there’s stress you can just go sit in a lawn chair by the fire and relax. It’s therapeutic.

But fires take fuel. Sometimes we stay at the campground through Monday, so on Sunday afternoon, when all the other campers have left, I drive through the campground looking for firewood that had been left behind. I usually come back with enough wood to last us Sunday night and Monday.

One of my friends posted something that got me thinking about fire and fuel. Then I read this passage from the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 10:17-20“The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers. The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick man wastes away.  And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down.  In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.”

I’m now more convinced than ever of the truth I heard from my friend. He said, in my paraphrased version, that we have no right to ask the refining fire of God to come upon us unless we are willing to become the fuel!!

When God’s people had wandered far enough into the ways of sin, the Light of Israel became a consuming fire to purify them. He burned everything so that those who were willing to be refined would rely upon Him alone and not on their own wisdom and strength. That is what God wants to do to each one of us – refine us with fire so His light shines in and through us.

As we sit around the campfire, making sure the kids didn’t get too close, we take turns poking at it and moving coals around so that everything would burn as brightly as possible. We add more fuel when necessary. In our spiritual lives we must do the same. We must let the Holy Spirit poke around in our hearts and minds and stir up the coals that are blackened with sin. We must search the entire campsite of our lives for any fuel that has been left behind by past failures – fuel that will ignite into sin if not burned in God’s Holy fire first. We must want the fire of God’s holiness to burn as brightly as possible is us.

So today, spend some time looking for firewood. Then let the Holy One become the flame in you that burns every log, stick, and woodchip so that you no longer rely upon yourself, but on the LORD!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, June 12. 2025

I love doing construction work. After one such project I realized something that was significant to me. Not once did any of the tools I used turn on me. My hammer never once redirected its focus to my thumb. My cordless drill never once impaled me. The wiring didn’t entangle me. The insulation didn’t wrap itself around me. I was in complete control of every tool and every piece of building material, and it did exactly what I directed it to do.

This may sound overly simplistic to you; maybe even foolish. Those tools don’t have a mind of their own. They are totally at the disposal of and subject to the will of the owner and operator. 

But take a moment and think about the application of that simple truth to our understanding of the Sovereignty of God. In the context of Isaiah 10, God is speaking to the King of Assyria who has become prideful about his ability to dominate the world political scene. This arrogant king believes that it has been by his own strength and wisdom he has been able to conquer the nations of the world. But God is going to teach him who’s really in control.

Isaiah 10:13, 15  “For he says: “‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding…Does the ax raise itself above him who swings it, or the saw boast against him who uses it? As if a rod were to wield him who lifts it up, or a club brandish him who is not wood!”

Every political power currently in place is there because God has ordained it, (Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13-17) and is being used for the accomplishment of God’s glory. Every politician in office anywhere in the world is a part of God’s perfect plan for the building of His Son’s Kingdom. In fact, every governmental power is seen as an inanimate object in the hands of a Sovereign God who controls all activity and outcomes. Any pride taken by any official for their accomplishments is seen by God as insubordination.

I see two applications of this truth to my personal life today:

First, I do not need to fear the political powers of the present. The threats of terrorists, the corruption of capitalism with communism, and the demise of democracy will not cause me alarm. They are but another step in the destruction of humanism as God calls people to trust Him alone and prepare for the King who is coming!

The influence of political leaders is hardly a blip on God’s monitor. They may cause us to bite our nails and worry, but God isn’t pacing, or wringing His hands. Just as soon as He’s ready He will reduce those leaders to nothing and He will do it with His feet up.

Isaiah says in effect, “Don’t you get it? God doesn’t read the New York Times. If He did, it wouldn’t make any difference. Nothing stops God’s unalterable purposes in this world!”

When will we embrace the reality of God’s awesome control over history? History is and always has been God’s ballgame. He decides who gets on base, who pitches, who scores. He calls one man out and advances another runner. Don’t try to figure it out.

And second, I need to be very careful that I don’t take any pride in what I consider to be my accomplishments. Apart from God I can do nothing (John 15:5). I must, as you must, give God all the glory for everything that happens, and recognize by faith that He is in control…ALWAYS and FOREVER! I am simply a tool in His hands to accomplish His purpose.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, June 11, 2025

When I’m on vacation I look for God to teach me something that I need to grow in my spiritual walk with Jesus. It’s in those times of relaxation that the Spirit uses His Word to connect with us.

One morning after such a trip I was hit by a truth. I realized that even when I’m “doing my own thing” it’s not really my own thing – it’s all a part of His life in me. God is teaching me to trust Him completely and not be self-sufficient in any way.

Let’s look back at our lives for a moment. Try and recall those times in your life when things didn’t turn out the way you wanted them to. Think about the situations you were in where you found yourself crying out for things to be different. Think about the frustration and anger you felt when you thought the people you love the most were the ones hurting you the worst. I hope your list isn’t as long as mine.

Now, in those situations, how many times did you take matters into your own hands and try to resolve the issue?

Self sufficiency.

That’s what God said was true of the people of Israel in the days of Isaiah.

Isaiah 9:8-10“The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel. All the people will know it -Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—who say with pride and arrogance of heart, “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”

God sent them distress to get their attention and alert them to their spiritual need. Their response? Self-sufficiency. They experienced tragedy. They saw the devastating results. They responded with their own plans to rebuild better than before. After the pain of the loss had receded, their first thought was how they could improve and expand their own material world. God wanted them to turn to Him. Instead they turned to their own ambitions.

Self-sufficiency.

Let it not be true of us. Let us not turn the love of God expressed in the discipline of his children into an opportunity for personal gain. Let us wait on the Lord and renew our strength. Let us trust His outcomes rather than manipulating them according to our own desires. Let us walk by faith and not by sight, knowing that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose and not their own.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Yesterday we were challenged to turn on the Light for people walking in darkness. Such people are blindly floundering along in life looking for five basic human needs.

Security.

Solutions.

Status.

Strength.

Support.

As followers of Jesus we have found all of these in Jesus Christ. Every need is met in one place…no, in one Person, and it is our privilege to share the Light with them.

In Isaiah 9:6 we are given a description of how Jesus will provide these basic human needs.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

He is the Wonderful Counselor, providing support and solutions.

He is the Mighty God, providing strength.

He is the Everlasting Father, providing status.

He is the Prince of Peace, providing security.

Whatever you think you need you will find in Jesus.

Surrender your life to Him, and He will set you free.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, June 9, 2025

Last Friday was gloomy. I’m not talking about the weather. I’m referring to the devotional. The reality of millions of people – maybe even billions – living in distress and under duress is gloomy. The thought of millions of people walking in darkness as described in Isaiah 8 is gloomy. Can someone please turn on the lights for them?

Yes. God can, and He has. Isaiah 9:1-2 says, “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress…The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

I’ve seen it happen many times. I remember one morning that sticks out in my mind. I prayed with a man who had the light of God’s grace shine into his life and save him from His sin. The darkness did not overwhelm him. He saw the light, and there is now no more gloom in his soul.

I am overwhelmed that God used me to explain the Light to him. I am in awe of God’s Holy Spirit who revealed Jesus to him. I am inexpressibly thankful for his response to the Gospel message and that he is now fully and eternally my brother. He no longer walks in the darkness. He is right now walking in the light of God’s saving grace.

There is no greater thrill in life than to know we are accomplishing our purpose. Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ know our purpose – to be light to those walking in darkness and to bring them to the One True Light. It is the greatest event in anyone’s life, when they discover life in the land of death. The next greatest event is when we get to be a part of leading someone else to that light. There should be no higher priority on our to-do list than to fulfill the mission of Jesus Christ to bring light to those living in darkness.

So let me ask you – when was the last time you had the thrill of turning on the light for someone?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, June 6, 2025

What is it like to live without hope? What does it feel like to have no confidence in the glorious return of Jesus Christ to set all things right? What pain people must feel who live only for today and who find their only worth and pleasure in what today brings.

Hope was personified in Greek mythology as Elpis, a young woman, usually carrying flowers or a cornucopia in her hands. When Pandora opened Pandora’s Box, she let out all the evil except one: hope. Evidently, the Greeks considered hope to be as dangerous as all the world’s evils.

In  his book Human, All Too Human, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued that “Zeus did not want man to throw his life away, no matter how much the other evils might torment him, but rather to go on letting himself be tormented anew. To that end, he gives man hope. In truth, it is the most evil of evils because it prolongs man’s torment.”

How sad that so many people live by this philosophy. The prophet of God named Isaiah described the condition of such people in the Bible. He said,

“Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion. When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.” (Isaiah 8:18-22)

What a prediction of people’s pathetic predicament. We are surrounded every day with people who are in the bondage of such a world view. They see the corruption and suffering around them. They have experienced it in their own lives. They have tried to find answers from people who, in spite of their advertised abilities, are in the same situation. They have cursed their earthly rulers and blamed them for not fixing their problems. In their anger they have looked up to God and cursed Him. Then, as they continue to look for solutions from the world’s system, their darkness deepens. They are people with no hope.

But here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. What an amazing statement by Isaiah. He sees himself and the other faithful followers of God in his family as the signs and symbols that the LORD Almighty is truly on the throne and in control of all things. His life was the example of hope that the people in darkness needed to see.

What a challenge to us who have the hope of glory in our hearts. We are the signs and symbols to the hopeless world that God’s promises can be trusted. We are the light that is to shine in the midst of the deepening darkness. We are the ones who proclaim, not just with our lips but with our lives, that the Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. The hope we profess in word and deed is the testimony of faith that will cause the hopeless to ask us for what we have.

How we live is truly a statement of what we really believe. How will people in the dark see the light of God’s truth and have hope if we are living in the same darkness? Let the light of God shine in your life today.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, June 5, 2025

I am about to make myself feel old. I want to tell a short story from my daughter’s life but it is forcing me to calculate how much of life has already passed me by. It’s bad enough to think that this story took place over thirty years ago when she was in high school. It also causes me to rejoice in the faithfulness of God to guard and to guide our lives.

One day, in my office, as I was reviewing some literature from Focus on the Family, I discovered a t-shirt they had for sale. It would be perfect for my little girl. It said exactly what she was living while in the public school she attended. On the front of the shirt was a picture of a bunch of fish all swimming in one direction. Right smack dab in the middle of this school of fish was one different colored fish swimming in the other direction. Underneath the picture was written the words Go Against the Flow. I ordered the shirt, and she wore it proudly.

I was so proud of my daughter for how she was living for Jesus in a very difficult environment. I am so thankful for the three friends God provided her who went against the flow with her. I rejoice that she is still living that way today.

Isaiah was another one who went against the flow. He was commanded to by God. God strong armed him. I’m glad God loves us enough to strong arm us when He needs to. Here’s what God said to him: “The LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary;”

Let’s put that into modern day and culturally relevant language.

“Don’t let your imagination run wild thinking about how the government is falling apart and ruining your life. Don’t spend your time imagining that people are constantly plotting against you as an individual or against our country. Don’t get involved in all the critical coffee shop conversations about the economy or the war or anything that makes us doubt that God is in control. Don’t be afraid of terrorists, oil spills, environmental catastrophes, or crashing stock markets. Don’t let the fear of anything dominate your thoughts or dictate your actions. Instead, trust the Sovereign God. He is your sanctuary.”

I don’t think we are aware of how often we choose to go with the flow of culture. We swim along with the current so that we fit in with all the other fish. We have made a conscious choice to let the world – the people and the material benefits – be our sanctuary.

I looked up the Hebrew word for sanctuary and I was blown away by the definition. It cut right to the bottom of my heart. It powerfully impacted me. The word now has new meaning to me. It gave me the resolve of a salmon on its way upstream to its breeding pool.  I think it is the key to going against the flow; at least it is for me. Let me walk you through it.

The word sanctuary has as its root the word sanctify, which means “to set apart.”  Right away I thought, “To what or whom have I been set apart? How I am living is the evidence of the answer to that question.”

Then I saw the word holy in the definition. One definition of holy is to be without contradiction. So again I thought to myself, “How many contradictions to my faith exist in my life? How many times do I turn and go with the flow, thereby contradicting what I said I believed?”

Then I came to this – “to be honored and treated as sacred.” Bam! That was it. God is my sanctuary where I am treated as sacred and where I am honored. Every time we go with the flow of the world it is because we are looking to be honored and treated with respect by someone. We want to be affirmed and accepted. But when we go with the flow, those needs will never be satisfied. God is our sanctuary. It is in Him alone that you will be honored. It is in relationship with God that you will be treated as sacred. Not just special, but sacred! And the love you find in God’s sanctuary is unquenchable. It is unconquerable. It is eternal. It is what you long for.

So come on all you fellow saved salmon – let’s swim into the sanctuary of God, no matter how strong the current is against us.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Yesterday we had an assignment: read Romans chapter 8 and create a list of the promises we can trust because God is with us. Here are my personal bullet points. Every one of them is a guarantee of ultimate victory.

• I am not condemned but have been set free from the penalty of sin.
• I now live according to the Spirit of God and not according to the flesh.
• Living in the Spirit of God brings peace.
• Living in the Spirit brings victory over sin
• Living in the Spirit brings fellowship with God and the assurance of my relationship with Jesus.
• The glory of being with Jesus someday overshadows any suffering of today.
• God knows my heart and my mind and knows exactly what I need to be fulfilled in Him.
• Therefore, I can trust that everything God does in my life is ultimately for my good and for His glory because I love Him and have surrendered to His purpose.
• He chose me, He called me, He justified me, and he glorified me…present tense…He glorified me!
• How can I respond in any other way than to say, If God is for me, who can be against me!
• He will give me all I need to live for Him.
• No person has the power over my life to hurt me with their words because God has justified me.
• No one can condemn me because Jesus constantly intercedes for me to the Father based on His sacrifice on the cross for me.
• No person nor any event can ever separate me from God because He is with me and His love is unquenchable and unconquerable.

AMEN! 

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Over and over in the Bible parents are commanded by God to give their children specific names. I’m not sure how I would feel about that. What would you do if you had no choice in the naming of your children?

In the Bible, names carried great significance. They were used to define physical traits, to proclaim a child’s purpose, to teach character, and to announce God’s plans to man.

When the prophet Isaiah was about to be a father, God gave him a name for his son. Are you ready for this? The name was Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. It means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil. God was using the birth of Isaiah’s son to proclaim to the people of Israel what He was about to do to the enemies of Jerusalem.

King Ahaz of Judah was scared because the kings of Syria and Israel  were about to invade. Isaiah announced the word of the Lord to Ahaz and told him to stand in his faith. God gave him a sign of a baby born to a virgin. The baby’s name was to be Immanuel, or God with us.

Later, when little Quick to Plunder was born, God revealed his plan to Isaiah. Syria and Jerusalem would be overrun by the Assyrians and destroyed. Then Assyria would attempt to invade Judah. They would conquer most of it but would not be able to overthrow Jerusalem. Twice in the details of the plan God reminded Isaiah of the fact the He was with them. Twice He used the name Immanuel.

Things looked bleak for King Ahaz. But God had one thing He wanted Ahaz to remember and trust – God is with us!  Then in Isaiah 8:9-10 He says, “Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.”

Ahaz needed to remember that God had chosen His people and set them apart for His purpose and His glory. He needed to know that if God is for us, who can be against us!

We need that reminder as well. We need to read and reread Romans 8 until we really believe it and trust it. We need to put every detail of our lives into the context of those promises. We must stop thinking in the flesh and reacting to our circumstances. We must live in the truth that God is with us.

My challenge to you today is this – read Romans 8 as many times as you can, and let the truths sink in. Tomorrow I will give you my list of bullet point truths. You can compare the list the Holy Spirit gives you. There are many promises of God that you can trust to be fulfilled.

Pastor John