Focal Point
Weekly devotions released Mondays at 6:30am
08 - Predestined
October 23, 2023 • Dr. Joel Stephens
Fear is powerful. Fear is always about the unknown. When we face difficulties, our thoughts drift to all the what-ifs. And even when life is going well, sometimes we can begin to fear what might possibly fall apart and derail how well life is going.
07 - Chosen
October 16, 2023 • Dr. Joel Stephens
In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul tells us that all praise is due to God, because he "has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ." However, there are those times when we do not feel spiritually blessed. We can even begin to doubt whether or not this verse is true, or we begin to wonder if somehow we missed out on these blessings.
06 - Think on These Things
October 9, 2023 • Dr. Joel Stephens
In Philippians 4, Paul says for us to do some things that, quite frankly, seem pretty difficult. He says that we are to "Rejoice in the Lord always." I don't know about you, but rejoicing always - in every situation - is hard. And being worry-free is even harder. But I am definitely interested in experiencing the peace of God that is beyond what I can understand!
05 - Press Box Coach
October 2, 2023 • Dr. Joel Stephens
Sometimes we can get overwhelmed by all is going on around us. And we need to pull away from the front line action and gain some perspective. Ephesians 5:17 says that we should "Understand what the will of the Lord is." That doesn't happen accidentally. We have to pull away from the busyness of life and spend time alone with God in order to hear clearly from Him. And in those times when you can't understand what God is doing, remind yourself of Who He is. He is good. He is all-powerful.
04 - Redeeming the Time
September 25, 2023 • Dr. Joel Stephens
Ephesians 5:16 says we should "[make] the most of the time [we have been given], because the days are evil." Other translations capture that phrase as "redeem the time." In other words, we are taught to take advantage of every opportunity to live for God. Those opportunities are limited because our lifespans are limited. We only have so many trips around the sun allotted to us. That means we have a limited number of opportunities to share the Gospel with others
03 - Walk Circumspectly
September 18, 2023 • Dr. Joel Stephens
In Ephesians 5:15 we read, "Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk -- not as unwise people but as wise." Most translations present that as "walk (or live) carefully." But the KJV captures the original language best in this instance with "walk circumspectly." In other words, live with your head on a swivel, with a 360-degree view of the spiritual battlefield. And the clear indication is: if we don't live our lives with our spiritual head on swivel, then we are living carelessly and foolishly.
02 - Fix Our Eyes
Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus."
